Lecture 1 (introduction to Biological psychology) Flashcards
What does it mean that interactions between brain and behavior are reciprocal?
That they work both ways.
Conserved characteristics?
Some features multiple species share because they arose in a shared ancestor.
Ontogeny?
The process by which an individual change in the course of its lifetime
Neuroplasticity?
The ability of the brain to be changed by the environment and by experience.
Reductionism?
When the analysis is on a simpler or more basic level of organization than that of the structure or function to be explained.
How much of the brain is active?
ALL OF IT!
The whole brain is indeed active when we are doing almost any task. But when we do particular tasks, some part of the brain will be more activated than others.
Broca’s area?
Speech production.
Where can you find the neurotransmitter?
At the end of the axons.
Biological psychology?
The field that related behavior to bodily processes.
Who were the first people to study the relationship between brain and behavior?
Philosophers.
In which way do neuroplasticity play a role when becoming a mother?
When women become a mother, their baby’s cry causes the mother’s brain to secrete a hormone – this shows that experience alters the structure and/or function of the brain.
What does dopamine do?
Pleasure related cognition. Focusing our attention and doing several things at the same time.
What influence does dopamine have on schizophrenia?
Some areas of the brain will have up to three times more receptors for dopamine.
What influence does dopamine have on Parkinson?
Resting tremor. Insufficient amount of dopamine in the brain will lead to resting tremor.
What does hormones do?
Regulate appetite. Sleeping.
How can long time stress lead to depression?
When you experience long-term stress. The kidney will produce cortisol and when the stress is over, the cortisol will signal to some parts of the brain to stop producing cortisol in the kidney. But some people will not get this stop-signal because the cortisol will block this option which can lead to depression.
What is temperament?
The biological basis of personality.
How does temperament influence us?
This sets the stage for vulnerabilities to various psychopathologies. For example, fearful in many situations can lead to risk factor for anxiety.
What are some debates that have shaped the study of biological psychology?
- Did the structural differences arise before the symptoms of a given disease, or the other way around?
- Does the mind control the brain? Or the other way around?
- Are brain and mind the same thing?
Monism?
Mind and brain are the same substance.
Dualism?
Mind and brain are separate.
Equipotentiality?
Brain functions as an undifferentiated whole.
Heritability?
Percentage of trait variation attributed to genetics; can be calculated by comparing concordance rate of twins.
Research methods to study heredity?
The family history method, the twin method, and the adoption method.
