Hayden Jackson Psychology IBSL Monday, September 24, 2012 3rd Period 1.

Introduction: Historical and cultural development (2.1) a. We have attempted to find causes of behavior through biological resources for centuries b. Hippocrates is an early example of this i. Humorismfour humors affected behavior c. Two very important developments that contributed to modern biological analysis i. Discovery that brain was responsible for behavior ii. Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species 1. Proposed that all species developed through evolution over time d. As medicine developed in the 19th century, psychology moved away from trying to observe the mind and towards trying to find a link between physiological processes and behavior e. Nature-nurture issue i. Its now accepted that its a little bit of both 2. Principles of the biological level of analysis (2.2) a. Emotions and behavior are products of the anatomy and physiology of the nervous and endocrine systems i. Suggests that all observable behavior can be traced back to physiological events ii. Links have been found between the behavior and physiological events in three areas 1. Effect of neurotransmitters 2. Effect of hormones 3. Effect of brain localization iii. Emotions are seen to be produced by brain and hormonal activity 1. Requires and understanding of the nervous and endocrine systems 2. But the psychologists working on this dont deny the environmental effects on human behavior a. Many of them are trying to piece them together b. Patterns of behavior can be inherited i. Inspired by Darwins work ii. Evolutionary psychology and genetics support this very well 1. Both rely on our understanding of evolution 2. Shows us that humans have changed according to the demands of their environment 3. The helpful changes are passed along through natural selection iii. Unlikely that single genes are responsible for any of our behavior 1. Sometimes, a certain gene needs a certain environmental stimuli before it takes its course a. Makes the nature-nurture issue even more confusing c. Animal research may inform our understanding of behavior i. Key assumption of biological approach is that there are different types of species now because of evolutionary adaptation 1. Based on Darwins work 2. This suggests that we share an ancestor 3. A human is a type of animal 4. Therefore, you can make inferences on human behavior based on animal behavior because the underlying mechanisms are the same

ii. Using animals in research 1. Some animal brains are close to human brains, like monkey and ape brains 2. You can also make generalizations from the manipulation of neurotransmitters in some mammals, like rats 3. The shorter lifespan in some animals is helpful, because we dont have to wait 4. Controversy involved with animal testing 3. Biological research methods and ethics (2.3) a. Laboratory experiments i. Used to establish cause-effect relationships between the variables studied ii. Key point is the use of both animal and human experiments 1. When researchers want to try a new medication out its not ethical to try it on humans 2. Also, placebo effect isnt an issue with animals 3. These benefits are arguments in favor of animal research iii. Some are against animal research 1. Morally wrong 2. Not that big of a difference between animal and human suffering 3. If theyre different enough to excuse wrongdoing, maybe they are too different from humans to make generalizations b. Case studies i. Instead of manipulation, observation 1. Researchers observe naturally occurring irregularities 2. Useful source of information in a medical context ii. Little harm to participants 1. Just privacy issues that need to be taken care of c. Correlational studies i. Also no manipulation required ii. Takes scores of two or more measures and works out relationship between them iii. This approach is often used in twin studies and adoption studies 1. An important source of information about link between genetics and behavior iv. Caution must be used with these results 1. Correlation=/=causation 4. Physiology and behavior: Localization of function (2.4) a. Early investigations of localization of function i. The earliest investigations look ridiculous to us ii. Phrenology is a great example of this 1. Franz Joseph Gall said that different parts of the brain were responsible for specific parts of personality and behavior 2. By searching manually for bumps and depressions on the skull, you could make inferences about a persons personality iii. While this sounds ridiculous now, this has some truth to it 1. It is very true that different parts of the brain have different functions 2. Research like this has lead us to where we are today b. Case studies of people with naturally occurring brain damage i. Up until the 20th century research into brain function was limited to studies of people with naturally occurring brain damage 1. As it is not experimental, we could never establish a clear link between findings and meanings 2. But it would be unethical to cause the damage just to do research

ii. The study of Phineas Gage was a famous example of this kind of research 1. He survived the passing of an iron rod through his head 2. Dramatic personality changes after the incident iii. Two other studies 1. Paul Broca and coherent speech a. He couldnt speak at allcould only say Tan b. A postmortem biopsy revealed that damage to a certain area caused this c. Became known as Brocas areaproduction of language 2. Carl Wernicke a. Worked on research of speech too b. Wernickes areapart of the brain focused on language comprehension c. Modern technology and localization of function i. Electroencephalogram (EEG) 1. Developed in beginning of 20th century and given name by Hans Berger in 1929 2. Electrode are placed on outside of persons head in specific locations a. The electrodes detect changes in electrical activity below them b. EEG produces a graphical representation of the activity from the electrodes 3. Biggest use is sleep research a. Requires a person to spend a night wired to the machine b. Can compare REM patterns to normal person REM patterns 4. Useful with sleep but not with much else a. Its not accurate enough i. Electrodes are outside the skull ii. They detect activity of an uncountable number of neurons iii. We can get a generalized look at the brain activity but not detailed enough to make conclusions ii. Computerized tomography (CT) 1. Combines computer and X-ray technology a. Can show soft tissue, which X-rays cannot i. Brain is a soft tissue ii. Can also show at any depth you want 2. Great for showing structural changes in brain a. Brain tumors and brain damage 3. Limitations a. Only structural images, no images of brain activity iii. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 1. When body is exposed to a strong magnetic field, the protons in the water in the body change their alignment 2. When its used in combination with radio frequency fields, the atoms can be changed in a way detectable by a scanner 3. Can be dangerous for those with metal implants a. But for most people, it is very safe b. Safer when exposure to X-ray is a concern 4. Functional MRI (fMRI) a. Modification of regular MRI technique

b. Can map metabolic changes that indicate brain activity i. Provides us with a precise picture of brain activity when certain activities are being performed ii. Helps us understand the roles of different parts of the brain iv. Positron emission tomography (PET) 1. Requires injection of radioactive substance into the participant a. Usually a form of sugar that produces gamma rays when metabolized by the brain b. The gamma rays produced can be detected by the machine 2. Relies on the knowledge that parts of the brain metabolize the sugar at different rates according to their amount of activity 3. Displays a colorful map of activity 4. Not as precise as fMRI d. Studies of individuals who have undergone brain surgery i. HM 1. Had brain surgery in 1953 to correct epilepsy, was studied regularly 2. Important part of hippocampus was removed a. Had an effect on his memory, probably b. Researchers could not be sure until 1997: he was on anti-epileptic drugs i. These drugs probably caused further brain damage ii. Sperry and the split brain 1. Influential in helping neuroscientists understand the lateralization of the brain a. Lateralized brainthe two sides seem to be responsible for certain activities 2. Participants had all undergone an operation to sever the corpus callosum 3. Could now study the differences between the hemispheres a. They could be studied separately e. Neuroplasticity i. Concept that specific location of a function isnt necessarily fixed for all individuals ii. Area of brain dedicated to certain functions can be changed according to environmental demands iii. When an activity is done repeatedly, the brain is changed physically to accommodate iv. Environment and brain function 1. Brain changes in response to the way we use it a. Meditating monks have different brain functions because of repeated activities 2. Brain can change in response to brain damage 3. Language problems can cause those areas of the brain to be repurposed 4. Taxi drivers have better and larger vision areas 5. Physiology and behavior: Neurotransmission (2.5) a. How nerve cells communicate i. Brain is made of an enormous number of neurons (>100 billion) ii. They receive information through their dendrites and transmit it electrically to the terminal buttons at the end iii. Synapses are where the communication between different neurons 1. Communication between neurons is a chemical process 2. Neuron sends out neurotransmitter chemicals iv. Voluntary movement must be processed through the brain 1. Reflex movement does not: its through the spinal cord only, so its faster

v. Neurons are very specific in the neurotransmitters they can send and receive vi. Transmission process at the synapse 1. Neurotransmitters are stored in vesicles inside terminal button a. The vesicles are transported to the edge of the button and the neurotransmitters are released into synaptic gap 2. Neurotransmitters can bind with a receptor of the next neuron if the receptor is the right type and is open a. If enough of the neurotransmitter is transmitted, the electrical transmission goes through 3. Any unused neurotransmitter is absorbed back into the neuron it came from (called reuptake) 4. Any of these three parts can be altered by drugs a. Certain drugs can encourage or prevent the release of neurotransmitters b. Certain drugs can occupy receptor sites, blocking communication and leaving its own effect on the neuron c. Certain drugs can prevent reuptake, which allows them more time to bind to neurons d. Caffeine is an example of these kinds of drugs (occupation of receptor sites) i. Inhibits the transmission of adenosine, which prepares the body for sleep b. Drugs and behavior i. Brain can become addicted to drugs like caffeine ii. If the user prevents transmission of adenosine too much, more will be produced, making the user more sleepy, and requiring more caffeine 1. This is how all drug addictions work c. Dopamine levels i. L-dopa was a breakthrough in Parkinsons disease treatment 1. Increased the amount of dopamine 2. Initially helps, but the body eventually develops an immunity of sorts to it 3. A balance has to be made with the dopamine levels d. Serotonin levels i. Relationship between Prozac and LSD 1. Prozac reduced symptoms of depression a. Depression related to low levels of serotonin b. It blocked reuptake of serotonin 2. LSD works against serotonin activity by blocking serotonin receptors 3. One of serotonins purposes is to block dreaming during the day a. This would explain the hallucinogenic effects of LSD 4. The two drugs conflicted a. While the depression medication worked, the LSD users needed a larger dose of LSD to get the same effect 6. Physiology and behavior: Hormones (2.6)