Chapter 1: Biology as a Neuroscience Flashcards
What is biopsychology?
The scientific study of the biology of behaviour.
What did Hebb’s book discuss?
The first comprehensive theory of how psychological phenomena might be produced by brain activity.
What is neuroanatomy?
The study of the structure of the NS
What is neurochemistry?
The study of the chemical bases of neural activity
What is neuroendocrinology?
The study of interactions between the NS and the endocrine system
What is neuropathology?
The study of NS disorders
What is neuropharmacology?
The study of the effects of drugs on neural activity
What is neurophysiology?
The study of the functions and activities of the NS
What is “between-subjects design”?
A different group of subjects is tested under each condition
What is “within-subjects design”?
The same group of subjects is tested under each condition
What is the “confounded variable”?
The unintended difference in an experiment
What is the Coolidge effect?
The fact that a copulating male who becomes incapable of continuing to copulate with one sex partner can often recommence copulating with a new sex partneru
What are quasiexperimental studies?
Studies of groups who have been exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world.
What is the difference between pure and applied research?
Pure research is motivated primarily by the curiosity of the researcher, while applied research is intended to bring a direct benefit to humankind
What is physiological psychology?
Studies neural mechanisms of behaviour through direct manipulation/recording of the brain.
What is psychopharmacology?
Focuses on the manipulation of neural behaviour with drugs.
What is neuropsychology?
The study of psychological effects of brain damage in humans.
What is psychophysiology? What is the major method of it?
Studies the relation between physiological and psychological processes. The major method is noninvasive physiological recording.
What is cognitive neuroscience? What is the major method of it?
Studies the neural bases of cognition (higher intellectual processes). The major method is functional brain imaging.
What is comparative psychology?
Studies the biology of behaviour, rather than the neural mechanisms of behaviour. It compares the behaviour of different species to understand evolution, genetics and adaptiveness of behaviour.
What is ethological research?
Studying animal behaviour in its natural environment.
What is evolutionary psychology?
Studying behaviour by considering its likely evolutionary origins.
What is behavioural genetics?
The study of genetic influences on behaviour.
What is scientific inference?
The empirical method of studying the unobservable.
What is Morgan’s Canon?
When there are several possible interpretations for a behavioural observation, give precedence to the simplest one.
What is psychosurgery?
Surgery of the brain for psychological reasons.
What is Korsakoff’s syndrome caused by?
A thiamine deficiency.
Who developed the prefrontal lobotomy as a treatment for psychiatric disorders?
Moniz
