Chapter 1
Biopsychology as a
Neuroscience
What Is Biopsychology,
Anyway?
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Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Four Major Themes
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1. Thinking about biopsychology
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Becoming a critical thinker
Becoming a creative thinker
2. Clinical implications
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Study of diseased or damaged brains leads
to new knowledge
New knowledge leads to new treatments
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Four Major Themes (continued)
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3. The evolutionary perspective
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Environmental pressures on human
evolution
Comparative approach (other species)
4. Neuroplasticity
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Brain growth and restructuring
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
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What Is Biopsychology?
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“The scientific study of the biology of
behavior”
Also called psychobiology, behavioral
biology, behavioral neuroscience
Psychology: the scientific study of
behavior
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
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What Is Biopsychology?
(continued)
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Hebb (1949) proposed that
psychological phenomena might be
produced by brain activity
Biopsychology takes an eclectic
approach based on experiments,
case studies, observation, and
inference
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Biopsychology and Other
Disciplines of Neuroscience
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Knowledge from other disciplines of
neuroscience is applied to the study of
behavior
Each discipline studies a different
aspect of the nervous system that
informs our understanding of what
produces and controls behavior
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Other Disciplines of
Neuroscience
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Neuroanatomy
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Neurochemistry
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Structure of the nervous system
Chemical bases of neural activity
Neuroendocrinology
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Interactions between the nervous system
and the endocrine system
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Other Disciplines of
Neuroscience (continued)
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Neuropathology
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Neuropharmacology
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Nervous system disorders
Effects of drugs on neural activity
Neurophysiology
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Functions and activities of the nervous
system
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Biopsychological Research:
Three Major Dimensions
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Human and nonhuman
subjects
Experiments and
nonexperiments
Pure and applied research
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Human and Nonhuman
Subjects
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While some questions about behavior
can only be addressed using human
subjects, much can be learned from
studying the brains of other species
Species differences are more
quantitative than qualitative
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Human and Nonhuman
Subjects (continued)
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Why use nonhumans?
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Simpler brains makes it more likely that brain-behavior
interactions will be revealed
Comparative approach – gain insight by making
comparisons with other species
Fewer ethical restrictions than with humans
Why use humans?
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They can follow instructions
They can report their introspections
They’re cheaper
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Experiments and
Nonexperiments
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Experiments involve the manipulation of
variables
In nonexperiments, the researcher does
not control the variables of interest
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Quasiexperimental studies
Case studies
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Experiments and
Nonexperiments (continued)
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Experiments involving living subjects
require that subjects be placed in
various conditions
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Between-subjects design: Different group
of subjects tested under each condition
Within-subjects design: Same group of
subjects tested under each condition
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Experiments and
Nonexperiments (continued)
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The difference between the conditions
is the independent variable
The effect of the independent variable is
the dependent variable
Must avoid confounded variables that
affect the dependent variable
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Experiments and
Nonexperiments (continued)
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Example: control of confounded
variables—the Coolidge effect
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The confounded variables: A female
hamster may be more receptive to a new
partner due to novelty or to his vigor
(compared to the fatigued former partner)
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
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Lester & Gorzalka
(1988) solve
confounded
variable problem
with a clever
experimental
design: a third
male
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Experiments and
Nonexperiments (continued)
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Quasiexperimental studies – studies
of groups of subjects exposed to
conditions in the real world
Not real experiments as potential
confounded variables have not been
controlled
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Experiments and
Nonexperiments (continued)
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Case studies focus on a single
individual, such as Jimmie G.
Usually more in-depth than other
approaches, but may not be
generalizable
Generalizability – the degree to which
results can be applied to other cases
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Pure and Applied Research
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Pure research – conducted for the
purpose of acquiring knowledge
Applied research – intended to bring
about some direct benefit to humankind
Some research projects may have
elements of both
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Divisions of Biopsychology
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Six major divisions
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Physiological psychology
Psychopharmacology
Neuropsychology
Psychophysiology
Cognitive neuroscience
Comparative psychology
Each has a different approach, but there
is much overlap
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Divisions of Biopsychology
(continued)
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Physiological psychology
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Psychopharmacology
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Neural mechanisms of behavior
Direct manipulation of the brain
Effects of drugs on the brain and
behavior
Neuropsychology
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Psychological effects of brain damage
in humans
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Divisions of Biopsychology
(continued)
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Psychophysiology
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Relation between physiological activity and
psychological processes
Example: visual tracking in schizophrenics
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Cognitive
neuroscience –
the neural bases
of cognition
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Functional brain
imaging is the
major method of
cognitive
neuroscience
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Divisions of Biopsychology
(continued)
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Comparative psychology
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Comparing different species to understand
evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of
behavior
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Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Converging Operations
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Using multiple approaches to address a
single question
Korsakoff’s syndrome – a condition
characterized by severe memory loss
and most commonly seen in alcoholics
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Is Korsakoff’s the result of the toxic effects
of alcohol on the brain?
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Converging Operations
(continued)
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Jimmie G. – an alcoholic with Korsakoff’s
syndrome
Korsakoff’s is also seen in malnourished
persons who had little or no alcohol
Thiamine-deficient rats exhibit memory
deficits
Alcohol accelerates the development of
brain damage in thiamine-deficient rats
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Converging Operations
(continued)
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By exploring the possible causes of
Korsakoff’s using multiple approaches,
or converging operations, findings are
more accurate
Korsakoff’s syndrome is the result of
thiamine deficiency, but the damage is
accelerated by alcohol
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Scientific Inference
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The empirical method that
biopsychologists use to study the
unobservable
Scientists measure what they can
observe and use these measures as a
basis for inferring what they can’t
observe
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Scientific Inference (continued)
The
perception
of motion
under four
different
conditions
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Critical Thinking
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The ability to evaluate scientific
claims by identifying potential
omissions or weaknesses in the
evidence
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Critical Thinking (continued)
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Case 1: Delgado claims that a charging
bull can be tamed by stimulation of its
caudate nucleus
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Exciting account reported in popular press
Many possible alternative explanations
Morgan’s Canon – prefer the simplest
explanation
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Critical Thinking (continued)
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Case 2: Moniz wins Nobel Prize for
prefrontal lobotomy
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Adoption for human therapy based largely on
one study of a single chimpanzee
Inadequate postoperative evaluation of human
patients, often by the physician who prescribed
the surgery
Undesirable side effects such as amorality, lack
of foresight, emotional unresponsiveness,
epilepsy, and urinary incontinence
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Critical Thinking
(continued)
The prefrontal lobotomy
procedure developed
by Moniz and Lima
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