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Biological Psychology Part I: Neurons and Signals, General Nervous System, and Brain Research Methods
Biological Psychology
Can also be called biopsychology,
of the brain, and other ways our physical bodies influence our behaviour
Is a strong and growing field in psychology
Part I Overview:
Neurons The Cellular basis of behaviour Neuron Signal Transmission General Nervous System
send and receive the fast messages that make up our thoughts, feelings, behaviours, etc.
Neurons are found in your brains, and also in
important parts.
from the cell body. These connect to other neurons, and receive signals from them
Cell Body / Soma round part of the cell that
holds the cell organelles and keeps the cell alive and operating properly
Axon wire that extends out of the cell body
axon; like the plastic covering on wires. Act to make the signal transmission faster
Terminal button / synaptic knob the
ending(s) of the axon, where it meets with another nerve cell. Contains neurotransmitters
neurons to communicate with each other. They match with receptor sites on the opposite neuron.
Synapse the space between the terminal
the cell is stimulated enough by other neurons, (threshold level is reached) it will fire a signal down the axon to communicate to other cells.
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Second Action Potential Video
(file only)
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fast
Threshold of -55 millivolts is required before
the neuron will fire (+ All-or-none principle, can only fire, or not fire, no half signals)
When the signal reaches the end of the
neuron, it causes CHEMICAL signal to start. Chemicals are how one cell talks to another. Electric signal is just WITHIN one neuron
myelin sheath blobs. These little gaps allow the signal to jump from one gap to the next, making the signal much much faster.
(loss of myelin sheath causes problems in
small period of time before sending another one. This is called the refractory period.
If cells fire signals too quickly and too often,
they can die. This can happen if your brain is injured, and excitatory neurotransmitters are released in great numbers.
Neurons Neurotransmitters
Between cells, chemical signal happens by
movement of neurotransmitters. They travel from one nerve cell to the next one across the gap (synapse).
Some neurotransmitters excite the cell they
attach to (make more positive more likely to fire), and some will inhibit (make more negative, less likely to fire).
Neurons Neurotransmitters
Amount and type of neurotransmitters that
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do different jobs in our brains. Here are a few examples. There are many more
SSRI Medications
the outside world. Our nerve cells can only fire in ONE direction, so we need two sets of cells; one for signals to the brain, one for signals from the brain.
Sensory Neurons (Afferent) signals from the
senses to the brain Motor Neurons (Efferent) signals from the brain out to the rest of the body
parts. Central and Peripheral was mentioned before. There are further divisions possible.
bone. Spinal cord large number of nerves that run out of the brain and send information to and from the brain and the body.
controls functions of our body that we dont consciously control (breathing, heart beat, digestion, etc)
make you ready to fight or run. Also slows other functions that arent needed right then (like digestion) to save resources for the emergency situation.
our bodies actions in the opposite direction. Moves us away from the stressful position to a normal relaxed state.
Slows heartbeat, breathing, lowers blood
involved when you see some candy, and reach out to get it? ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ __________________________________
Reflexes
Automatic reactions to certain stimuli. Some of our reflexes happen WITHOUT any
action by our brains. Spinal cord can initiate action by itself sometimes.
When doctor hits just below your knee and
your leg jerks up. Touching very hot or cold things pull away
Spinal Reflexes
Signal is ALSO sent to your brain, but decision to act has already happened
skin and bone, and even if we can see it its hard to tell what its doing.
the brain.
someones brain will give us some clues. (Case Study) E.g. Phineas Gage railway worker hurt on the job behaviour and personality changed
Had part of his lateral hippocampus removed to stop the seizures. The surgery probably saved his life. Hippocampus is very important in memory formation, and so
electrical energy from outside the head; Common in sleep research, but can be used in other areas as well.
multiple angle xray creates a very detailed image of an internal body area; can not show functioning
to CAT scan, but uses a large magnet and radio waves to capture a very detailed internal image. High resolution, and avoids the radiation of CAT. See animation.
slightly radioactive tracer element in a chemical used by the body to make a picture of ACTIVITY of the body.
E.g. we can watch which parts of the brain are
using more glucose (a sugar burned as fuel by the body), and therefore which parts of the brain are most active.
not just what it looks like. However, very expensive to make tracers, etc. And not quite as high resolution as other techniques.
aspects of PET and MRI to create very detailed images of BOTH structure and activity.
Uses the difference