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2
The
Biological
Basis
of
Behavior
neuroscience
-
the
study
of
the
brain
and
the
nervous
system.
Types
of
Neurons
sensory
(or
aerent)
neurons
-
neurons
that
carry
messages
from
motor (or eerent) neurons - neurons that carry messages from the
supporting cells
-hold neurons in place
-provide nourishment
-remove waste products
-protect the brain from harmful substances
-form myelin sheath
(neurons in blue- green; glia in red)
Action potential
Positively (+) charged ions flow
into the cell, creating the
electrical impulse (spike,
firing)
All or none
The incoming
message must be
above a certain
threshold to cause a
neuron to fire
After it fires, the
neuron is returned to
its resting state
Then, the neuron is
ready to fire again
The
Synapse
Neurons
never
touch
synapBc
space
(or
synapBc
cleG)
-
7ny
gap
between
the
axon
terminal
of
one
neuron
and
the
dendrites
of
the
next
neuron.
synapse
-
area
composed
of
-axon
terminal
of
one
neuron,
-synapBc
cleG
-dendrite
of
the
next
neuron.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights
reserved
receptor
sites
-
loca7ons
on
a
Neurotransmitters
Acetylcholine-
In
Rosenzweigs
experiment,
young
rats
lived
in
two
kinds
of
cages:
impoverished,
with
nothing
to
manipulate
or
explore,
or
enriched,
with
a
variety
of
objects.
When
Rosenzweig
examined
the
rats
brains,
he
found
that
the
enriched
group
had
larger
neurons
with
synap7c
connec7ons
(shown
as
dendrites
in
the
drawing)
than
the
rats
that
lived
in
the
bare
cages.
Experience,
then,
can
actually
aect
the
structure
of
the
brain.
Source: From Brain changes in response to experience by M. R. Rosenzweig, E. L. Bennett, and M. C. Diamond.
Copyright 1972, Scientific American, Inc.
parts:
(PNS)
CNS
Brain
Hindbrain
Midbrain
Forebrain
Hindbrain
Cerebellum
Pons
Medulla
Hindbrain
medulla -
-breathing
-heart
rate
-blood
pressure.
pons
-certain
reexes
-body
movements
coordina7on
-balance
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Midbrain
Forebrain
Cerebral cortex
thalamus
hypothalamus
limbic system
Forebrain
Cerebral
cortex
-
-emo7ons
-mo7va7on
-stress
-ea7ng
and
drinking
Limbic
system
-learning
-emo7onal
response
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Forebrain
cerebral
cortex
-mo7va7on
-emo7onal
responses
-stress
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Eyes
Cerebral Cortex
frontal
lobe
-voluntary
movement
-planning
goal-directed
behavior
-concentra7on
-problem
solving
parietal lobe-
Occipital
lobe
-vision
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
prefrontal
cortex
-impulse
control
-judgment
-conscious
awareness.
primary
motor
cortex
(B)
-voluntary
movement
primary
somatosensory
cortex
(C)
-sensa7on
Limbic
System
-A
system
of
brain
structures
(thalamus,
hypothalamus,
hippocampus,
amygdala,
and
olfactory
bulb)
-involved
in
learning,
mo7va7on,
emo7onal
behavior
hippocampus
-
plays
an
essen7al
role
in
the
forma7on
of
new
memories.
Hypothalamus-
emo7ons,
mo7va7on,
stress,
eaBng
amygdala
-
in
conjunc7on
with
the
hippocampus
regulates
emo7ons.
FEAR.
olfactory
bulb
-
the
smell
center
in
the
brain.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Hemispheric
Specializa7on
The
cerebrum
has
two
separate
hemispheres
(not
iden7cal):
right
hemisphere
-
-
leG
hemisphere
-
-
Split brain
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
(A) When split-brain patients stare at the X in the center of the screen, visual information projected on the right side of the screen
goes to the patients left hemisphere, which controls language. When asked what they see, patients can reply correctly. (B) When
split-brain patients stare at the X in the center of the screen, visual information projected on the left side of the screen goes to the
patients right hemisphere, which does not control language. When asked what they see, patients cannot name the object, but can
pick it out by touch with the left hand.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Brocas and Wernickes areas, generally found only on the left side of the brain, work
together, enabling us to produce and understand speech and language.
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
EEG - electroencephalograph
greater activity
radioactive substance
(tracer) is injected
into the blood
Gene7cs
informa7on.
genes
-
elements
found
on
chromosomes
that
control
the
transmission
of
traits.
chromosomes
23
pairs
of
threadlike
bodies
within
the
cell
nucleus
that
contain
the
genes.
human
genome
-
the
full
set
of
genes
(35,000
genes)
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved
Behavior
Gene7cs
Nature or nurture?
A
variety
of
methods
are
used
to
study
the
contribu7on
of
genes:
Twin
studies
-
studies
of
iden7cal
and
fraternal
twins
to
determine
the
rela7ve
inuence
of
heredity
and
environment
on
human
behavior.
idenBcal
twins
-
from
a
single
fer7lized
egg;
share
100%
of
Evolu7onary
Psychology
EvoluBonary
psychology-
examines
the
adap7ve
value
of
behaviors
from
an
evolu7onary
perspec7ve
Natural
selecBon:
-based
on
Darwins
theory
of
evolu7on
-organisms
best
adapted
to
their
environment
tend
to
survive
and
carry
their
genes
-
organisms
with
less
adap7ve
characteris7cs
tend
to
vanish
from
the
earth.
e.g.
innate
fear
of
spiders/snakes;
language
acquisi7on
Copyright 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved