•! PSYC 106 – Introduction to Biological Psychology"
•! Professor Gorman"
What is biopsychology?!
Why study biopsychology?"
When you hear the word
“biological,” what comes to
mind?"
MANTRAS"
•!
Biology is NOT determinism"
•!
Brains produce behavior AND behavior
changes brains"
•!
Multiple approaches COMPLETE, don’t
COMPETE"
Anatomy –"
Physiology – "
Development – "
Evolution – "
Ecology – "
Why do birds sing?"
Why does your dog growl?"
Why is someone dependent on
alcohol?"
Levels of Analysis: "
Reductionism vs emergent properties (TRANS)"
"How does bird learn song?"
"
"Through social interactions"
"
"Through hearing/brain"
"
"Through particular song nuclei"
"
"Looking at structure of these nuclei"
"
"Cellular mechanisms"
"
"Ionic mechanisms"
•! Monisha Sullivan"
•! Nadine Burke"
•! Anda & Felitti (ACE)"
•! Michael Meaney"
•! Bruce McEwen"
•! Is it surprising that childhood traumas are
associated with higher rates of addiction?"
•! Heart disease?"
•! Cancer?"
“Mechanisms” – HOW adverse
experiences alter brain/body/mind?"
•! Animal studies – fear/anxiety/hormones/
immune function/gene expression "
•! Human studies try to confirm"
Course Description:
This course surveys the field of Physiological/Biological
Psychology, an area of study concerned with physiological
and evolutionary explanations of perception, cognition, and
behavior. Because these functions depend on the nervous
system, a major focus of the course will be on the structure
and function of the brain with an emphasis on brainbehavior relations. Topics will include: evolutionary
perspectives on brain and behavior, anatomy and
development of the brain, neural signaling
(neurotransmitters, drugs, hormones), and neural
mechanisms of sensory processing, motor control
(movement, action), motivated behavior (feeding,
drinking), emotion, and learning and memory.
Required Texts:
Biological Psychology (10th Ed.) James W. Kalat,
available at the bookstore
Supplemental readings may be posted on the course
website
Optional Resources:
Study Guide for Kalat's Biological Psychology
Book website with quizzes
http://www.wadsworth.com (follow links to the book
psychology ! biopsychology etc.)
Course Structure:"
Fundamentals"
Inputs -- Sensory Components"
Outputs -- Motor/Movements"
In-between -- Motivation/Cognition etc"
Odds and Ends"
Study Questions"
•! Along what dimensions can the nervous
system be usefully divided into smaller
units, either functionally (i.e., in terms
of how things work) or structurally (i.e.,
in terms of how it is built)?
•! Why and how does Nadine Burke use
assessments of adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) in her San Francisco
medical clinic?
•! Today 1.1, 4.1-4.3; New Yorker Article
•! Next Class 1.2; 2.1-2.2
Fig. 2-1, p. 28!
Fly, worm, bacterium?"
1-4 mm"
Choi, BIOL PSYCHIATRY 2009;65:227–234"
Summary"
•!
•!
•!
•!
Structured -- Not homogeneous mush"
Named descriptively"
Function is localized but also distributed!
Can identify structure/function (brain/
behavior) relationships"
Study Questions"
•! Along what dimensions can the nervous
system be usefully divided into smaller
units, either functionally (i.e., in terms
of how things work) or structurally (i.e.,
in terms of how it is built)?
•! Why and how does Nadine Burke use
assessments of adverse childhood
experiences (ACEs) in her San Francisco
medical clinic?