PSY 106: Ch.
1 - Introduction Vision = several mechanisms involved
INTRO
Nervous system = all we can do, know,
experience
Universal: curiosity
o Explain what makes things happen
Animism: spirits caused stuff in nature to
move
o Still used spirits to explain human
beh
Sth intangible animates them
Mind-body question
o What role does the mind play
o Ctrl NS
o Part of NS?
o SPIRIT?
Dualism
o Mind and body = separate
o Body = ordinary matter
o Mind is not
Monism
o Everthing = matter and energy
o Mind is a phenom produced by NS
Beh neuroscientsts = empircal practical
monistic approach
All we can detect = laboratory
o Manifestations of Phys world: matter
and energy
Understanding Human Consciousness: A
Physiological Approach
Scientific approach to human consciousness
is possible
Consciousness
o Simple wakefulness
o The fact that we humans are aware of
and can tell others about our
thoughts perceptions memories and
feelings
o Can be altered by chem of brain =
physio f(x)
o Communication
Blindsight
Damage to particular part of the brain
Perceptions must enter consciousness to
affect behavior = incorrect
Behavior = guided by sensory info of which
we are completely unaware
Ex.
o Blind person can point to cane
Primitive system = visual system of
animals/fish/frogs
o Control eye movements
Mammalian system
o Ability to see world around us
After mammalian system is damaged,
primitive system - guides movements
Visual info can control beh without
producing conscious sensation
Consciousness = not all parts of the brain
Split Brains
Disconnect part of brain rel. to
consciousness = disconnected verbal beh.
From consciousness
Parts of brain involved in verbal beh =
consciousness
Epilepsy
o One side of brain = overexcited
o Transfer it to other side of brain
through Corpus Callosum
Large bundle of nerve vibers
that connect brain
o Wild activity = seizure
Cutting corpus callosum = reduced
epileptic seizures
o Split-brain operation
Cerebral hemispheres - receive sensory info
, symmetrical halves of the brain
o Control movement of opposite sides
o Corpus callosum - permits them to
share info
After operation
o Hemispheres = disconnected
o Operate indie
o Not obvious effects
Only one hemisphere controls
speech = left
o Parang left hand has a mind of its
own
Puts book down bc boring
(cant read)
Olfactory system = exception
o Left nostril = left brain
o Tells what odors are bc the left brain
also controls speech
o If smelled by right nostril, only left
hand can move
o Right hand cant move bc left
hemisphere did not smell it
 Conscious = only if info about is able to Parietal cortex knew it was
reach part of brain responsible for verbal congruent, info was
comm transmitted to premotor cortex
Rise of feeling of
Unilateral Neglect ownership
Failure to notice things located to the left o Stabbed with needle
Damage to particular part of right side of Increased activity in anterior
the brain cingulate cortex
o Cortex Activated when person
o Parietal lobe anticipates pain
Receives info from skin, Reactions: react as if
muscles, joints, organs, their own hand was the
Body and position target
Auditory and visual info
Put together info about The Nature of Behavioral Neuroscience
movements and location of
body with the location of space The Goals of Research
Know what to do/how to Scientific explanation
move o Generalization
Not blind not numb Beh = examples of general
Can see things on left, can tell if someone is laws
touching left side of body Conditioning etc
Ignore these stimuli and act as if left side of o Reduction
bodies dont exist Explain complex in terms of
Inattention to things on the left - do not simpler ones
become conscious Movement of muscles =
Also neglect left halves of other things changes in membranes
o But to ignore left side, you have to of muscle cells
perceive entire object (how will u Beh NS-ists = not simply reductionists
know where the middle was?) o Identical beh may occur for diff
Know about all buildings but they can only reasons and maybe initiated by diff
visualize the ones on the right of their visual physio mech
field o Understand what function it
Two symptoms: performs before we understand what
o Neglect of left halves of things in physio events made it occur
envi Physio mech - tell us sth about psych
o Neglect of left half of body processes
Good beh neuroscientis = expert in study
Perception of Self of beh and physio
Parietal lobe - body ownership
Rubber hand illusion Biological Roots of Behavioral
o If stroked similarly = feels like rubber Neuroscience
hand is their own Ancient people thought the heart was seat
o If not stroked similarly = not of thought and emotion
experience rubber hand as own Hippocrates: brain
o Increased activity in parietal lobe, Aristotle: brain vs heart
premotor cortex Rene Descartes
Began feeling as rubber hand is o Understand world = understand how
own = premotor cortex it was constructed
No premotor cortex = not o Reflexes
same stroke
 Immediately withdraw from
stimulus
o Dualist
Each person has a mind
o Link exists bt. human mind and phys
housing
o Mind controlled movements of body
o Body supplied mind with info abt
envi
o Moving statues
First model in studying how
nervous system works
Model
works on known
principles and does stuff
a more complex system
can do
Models of brain
depending on phone,
computers
o Tested experimentally
Galvani
o Contraction of muscle - electrical
stimulation
o Ability to contract - characteristic of
tissues
Muller
o Removing organs + test response to
chem
o Doctrine of specific nerve energies
All nerves carry same
impulse/message = we
perceive the message in
different ways
Messages occur in diff channels
Some parts perform some
functions while other parts
perform others
Flourens
o Experimental ablation
Removed brain = see what
animal couldnt do
o Discovered regions of brain = heart
rate, breathing, visual, audio
Broca
o Experimental ablation = human brain
Not remove
Observe stroke victims
Loss of ability to speak
Portion of cerebral cortex
(front part of left side) =
respon. for speech = Broca's
area
Fritsch and Hitzig
o Stimulation to diff parts of brain =
contraction of specific muscles on
opposite side of body
o Primary motor cortex
Hermman von Helmholtz
o Ophthalmoscope
Retina
Color vision/blindness
Speed of conduction (nerves)
More simple than electrical
message
Natural Selection and Evolution
Functionalism and the Inheritance of
Traits
Darwin's theory
o All char = significance
o Beh = not inherited
o Brain that causes beh to occur =
inherited
Functionalism
o Char of living org perform useful
functions
Understand working of machinery = know
what its functions are
Do not necessarily have purpose, but they
have a function
Ex. Camouflage
Natural selection
o Adaptive char
If indiv char permit to reproduce more
successfuly, some of the indiv's offspring
will inherit favorable char.
o Char = more prevalent in that species
Mutations
o Accidental changes in the
chromosomes of sperms or eggs and
form new org
o Selective advantage
Beneficial mutations
o Effect of phys alteration affects beh
Changes in brain = camouflage
= more likely to escape survive
produve offspring
o Variety
Advantage
Adapt more
Evolution of the Human Species Evolution of Large Brains
Evolution = gradual change in structure Advantages = humans
and physiology of plant and animal species o Bipedalism
o Vertebrates from the sea = o Linguistic ability
amphibians o Etc
o Reptiles Large brain = large skull
Egg = land Baby's head = small bc upright posture =
Anapsids = turtle smaller birth canal
Diapsids = dinosaur Then head grows/develops
Synapsids = mammals Body = prod brain with neural circuits that
Therapsids can be modified by experience
Dominant land Brain = general - purpose, programmable
animal comp
Extinction Human brain
Cynodant = o Brains = large (in
survivor -> proportion/percentage)
mammal Size of brain does not have to be
o Mammals proportional with the body
Predators = insects What counts - plenty of nerve cells that are
Had to be small vs dinosaurs available for learning, remembering,
Extinction reasoning, planning
Mammals = survived = fur, Brains vary in number of neurons in each
maintain body temp gram of tissue
Expanded Slowing process of brain dev = more time
o Cenozoic period for growth
After cretaceous period (dino) o Prenatal period of cell division in
Warmer than now brain is prolonged in humans
Primates = tropical forests o After birth, brain continues to grow
First primates - small and pryed
on insects Ethical Issues in Research with Animals
Larger forward facing eyes Humane and worthwhile
o Plants evolved Humane= matter of procedure
Dispersal of seeds - forest life o Comfortable, sanitary conditions
Sweet, nutritious fruit = o Anesthetics, analgesics
survive = seed dispersal Worthwhile
->fruit eating primates o Eat, train to do stuff, owning pets
o Hominids (humanlike apes) o Owning pets
Appeared in Africa Causes much more suffering
Savanna Not required to receive
Gather roots and tubers, hunt, permission from board
kill, defend of experts
Made tools Dogs and cats bc
Fire abandoned by former
o Closest relatives pet owners vs scientific
Chimps, gorillas, very little diff research
in DNA o Moral absolutes cannot be settled
o Homo erectus logically
Upright man Can be accepted/rejected but
o Homo neanderthalis not proved/disproved
Resembled modern human Animal rights activists
Tolls out of stone and wood o Disproportionate concern - focus on
o Homo sapiens = east africa research
 o It is the one indispensable use of
animals
o If we dont use animals, how do we
treat disease
o Some: life of some animals > life of a
million humans
Research with animals - impt discoveries
Computers - not substitute for living orgs
Justify: actual and potential benefits to
human health
Understanding, pursuit of knowledge

Careers in Neuroscience
Beh neuroscientists
o Study beh phenomena that can be
observed in non human animals
o Study humans
o Study/understand physio beh
o Sleep, emo, ingestive, aggressive,
sexual, parenting, learning, memory
Neuroscience
o All aspects of nervous system
Neurology
o Practice of medicine
o Few = research
o Damaged brains
Experimental neuropsychology
o Scientists with PhD and specialized
training in the principles and
procedures of neurology