Chapter 1 Biopsychology as a Neuroscience

Question 1

Comparative psychology

Answer 1

One of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that studies the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior, often by using the comparative approach.

Question 2

Leucotome

Answer 2

A surgical device used in psychosurgery to cut out a core of brain tissue.

Question 3

Korsakoff’s syndrome

Answer 3

A neuropsychological disorder that is common in alcoholics and whose primary symptoms include memory loss, sensory and motor dysfunction, and, in its advanced stages, severe dementia. - resulted from a lack of vitamin B = Thiamine

Question 4

Applied research

Answer 4

Research that is intended to bring about some direct benefit to humankind.

Question 5

Cerebral cortex

Answer 5

The outer layer of neural tissue covering the cerebral hemispheres of humans and other mammals.
key role in attention, perception, awareness, thought, memory, language, and consciousness.

Question 6

Between-subjects design

Answer 6

An experimental design in which a different group of subjects is tested under each condition.

Question 7

Cognitive Sciences

Answer 7

One of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that focuses on the use of functional brain imaging to study the neural mechanisms of human cognition.

Question 8

Case Studies

Answer 8

Studies that focus on a single case, or subject.

Question 9

Scientific Interference

Answer 9

The logical process by which observable events are used to infer the properties of unobservable events.

Question 10

Translational Research

Answer 10

research that aims to translate the findings of pure research into useful applications for humankind

Question 11

Neurophysiology

Answer 11

The study of the functions and activities of the nervous system

Question 12

Neuropathology

Answer 12

The study of nervous system disorders

Question 13

Neuroanatomy

Answer 13

The study of the structure of the nervous system.

Question 14

Within-subjects design

Answer 14

An experimental design in which the same subjects are tested under each condition.

Question 15

Neuropharmacology

Answer 15

The study of the effects of drugs on neural activity.

Question 16

Neurochemistry

Answer 16

The study of the chemical bases of neural activity.

Question 17

Neuroendocrinology

Answer 17

the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system.

Question 18

Physiological psychology

Answer 18

One of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that studies the neural mechanisms of behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments.

Question 19

Generalizability

Answer 19

The degree to which the results of a study can be applied to other individuals or situations.

Question 20

Clinical

Answer 20

Pertaining to illness or treatment.

Question 21

Neurosciences

Answer 21

The scientific study of the nervous system.

Question 22

The autonomic nervous system (ANS)

Answer 22

The part of the peripheral nervous system that participates in the regulation of the body’s internal environment.
is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions, such as the heart rate, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and sexual arousal. This system is the primary mechanism in control of the fight-or-flight response.

Question 23

Transorbital lobotomy

Answer 23

A prefrontal lobotomy performed with an instrument inserted through the eye socket.

Question 24

Morgan’s Canon

Answer 24

The rule that the simplest possible interpretation for a behavioral observation should be given precedence.

Question 25

Psychosurgery

Answer 25

Any brain surgery performed for the treatment of a psychological problem (e.g., prefrontal lobotomy).

Question 26

Thinking Creatively

Answer 26

thinking in productive, unconventional ways.

Question 27

Neuropsychology

Answer 27

One of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that studies the psychological effects of brain damage in human patients.

Question 28

Critical Thinking

Answer 28

The process of recognizing the weaknesses of existing ideas and the evidence on which they are based.

Question 29

Coolidge effect

Answer 29

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 partner.

Question 30

Comparative Approach

Answer 30

The study of biological processes by comparing different species—usually from the evolutionary perspective.

Question 31

Lordosis

Answer 31

The arched-back, rump-up, tail-to-the-side posture of female rodent sexual receptivity.

Question 32

Prefrontal lobes

Answer 32

Areas of the cortex, left and right, that are located at the very front of the brain—in the frontal lobes.

Question 33

Evolutionary Perspective

Answer 33

The approach that focuses on the environmental pressures that likely led to the evolution of the characteristics (e.g., of brain and behavior) of current species.

Question 34

Pure Research

Answer 34

research motivated primarily by the curiosity of the researcher and done solely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge.

Question 35

Dependent Variable

Answer 35

The variable measured by the experimenter to assess the effect of the independent variable.

Question 36

Cognition

Answer 36

Higher intellectual processes such as thought, memory, attention, and complex perceptual processes.

Question 37

Quasiexperimental studies

Answer 37

Studies of groups of subjects who have been exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world; such studies have the appearance of experiments but are not true experiments because potential confounded variables have not been controlled.
involves the manipulation of an independent variable without the random assignment of participants to conditions or orders of conditions

Question 38

Psychophysiology

Answer 38

One of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that studies the relation between physiological activity and psychological processes in human subjects by noninvasive methods.

Question 39

Converging Operations

Answer 39

The use of several research approaches to solve a single problem.

Question 40

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Answer 40

A measure of the gross electrical activity of the brain, commonly recorded through scalp electrodes.

Question 41

Biopsychology

Answer 41

The scientific study of the biology of behaviour

is the study of how the nervous system (neural mechanisms) controls behaviour, cognition, and emotional processes.

Question 42

Psychopharmacology

Answer 42

one of the 6 divisions of biopsychology that studies the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior.

Question 43

Independent Variable

Answer 43

The difference between experimental conditions that is arranged by the experimenter.

Question 44

Prefrontal Lobotomy

Answer 44

A surgical procedure in which the connections between the prefrontal lobes and the rest of the brain are cut, as a treatment for mental illness.

Question 45

Ethological research

Answer 45

The study of animal behavior in its natural environment.

Question 46

Neurons

Answer 46

Cells of the nervous system that are specialized for the reception, conduction, and transmission of electrochemical signals.

Question 47

Confounded variable

Answer 47

An unintended difference between the conditions of an experiment that could have affected the dependent variable.

Question 48

Behaviour

Answer 48

Behaviour: overt movements and activity of an animal, human or otherwise; behaviour can be directly observed, measured, and quantified; behaviour is produced by muscular activity that moves the body within the physical space.
For example, the limb movements of runners that move their bodies forward.

Question 49

Cognition

Answer 49

-Cognition:
• the internal, psychological states and processes that accompany (and that may produce) behaviour;
• thoughts, attention, emotions, motivational states, and others;
• not accessible and cannot be measured directly;
• requires some indirect “proxy” measure that is thought to reflect these cognitive operations.
• For example: the motivation behind going for a run (fitness, weight control); the emotional states experienced during a run (“runner’s high”)