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Physio-BIO Psych ( Notes Prelim)
Physiological/Biological Psychology (University of Perpetual Help System DALTA)
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PHYSIOLOGICAL/BIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Biological Psychology: The Major Issues
Functional
evolved from single
ancestor.
Male birds sing during
reproductive season and
only in his territory. The
functions of the song are
to attract females and
warn away other males.
The Mind-Brain Relationship
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Biological Psychology – study of
physiological,
evolutionary,
and
developmental mechanisms of behavior
and experiences.
It is approximately synonymous with the
terms biopsychology, physiobiological
psychology, psychobiology and behavioral
neuroscience.
Neuroscience – includes much that is
relevant to behavior but also includes
more detail about anatomy and chemistry.
Biological Explanations of Behavior
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Physiological Explanation
o Relates a behavior to the activity of
the brain and other organs.
Functional Explanation
o Describes why a structure or
behavior evolved as it did.
Ontogenetic Explanation
o Describes how a structure or
behavior develops including roles
of genes, nutrition, experiences,
and their interactions.
Evolutionary Explanation
o Reconstructs the evolutionary
history of a structure or behavior.
Type of Explanation
Physiological
Ontogenetic
Evolutionary
Example from Songbird
An area of their brain
grows under the
influence of
testosterone; hence, it’s
larger in breeding males
Young male bird learns
its song by listening to
adult males
Certain pairs of species
have similar songs. It
suggests that the two
The Brain and Conscious Experience
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Dualism – the belief that mind and body
are different kinds of substance that exist
independently.
Monism – alternative to dualism, the belief
that universe consists of only one kind of
substance.
Forms of Monism:
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Materialism – the view that everything
that exists is material or physical.
Mentalism – the view that only the mind
really exists.
Identity Position – the universe has only
one kind of substance, which includes both
material and mental aspects.
Career opportunities
Specialization
Research Fields
Neuroscientist
Behavioral
neuroscientist
Cognitive
neuroscientist
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Description
Research positions
ordinarily require a
PhD. Researchers are
employed by
universities,
hospitals,
pharmaceutical firms,
and research
institutes.
Studies the anatomy,
biochemistry, or
physiology of the
nervous system.
Investigates how
functioning of the
brain and other
organs influences
behavior.
Uses brain research,
such as scans of brain
anatomy or activity, to
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Neuropsychologist
Psychophysiologist
Neurochemist
Comparative
Psychologist
(ethologist, animal
behaviorist)
Evolutionary
psychologist
(sociobiologist)
Practitioner Fields of
Psychology
analyze and explore
people’s knowledge,
thinking, and problem
solving.
Conducts behavioral
tests to determine the
abilities and
disabilities of people
with various kinds of
brain damage and
changes in their
condition over time.
Most
neuropsychologists
have a mixture of
psychological and
medical training; they
work in hospitals and
clinics.
Measures heart rate
breathing rate, brain
waves, and other
body processes and
how they vary from
one person to another
or one situation to
another.
Investigates the
chemical reactions in
the brain.
Compares the
behaviors of different
species and tries to
relate them to their
habitats and ways of
life.
Relates behaviors,
especially social
behaviors, including
those of humans, to
the functions they
have served and,
therefore, the
presumed selective
pressures that caused
them to evolve.
In most cases, their
work is not directly
related to
neuroscience.
However,
practitioners often
Clinical psychologist
Counseling
psychologist
School psychologist
Medical Fields
Neurologist
Neurosurgeon
Psychiatrist
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need to understand it
enough to
communicate with a
client’s physician.
Requires PhD or PsyD.
Employed by hospital,
clinic, private practice,
or college. Helps
people with emotional
problems.
Requires PhD or PsyD.
Employed by hospital,
clinic, private practice,
or college. Helps
people make
decisions, vocational,
and other decisions.
Requires master’s
degree or PhD. Most
are employed by a
school system.
Identifies educational
needs of
schoolchildren,
devises a plan to meet
the needs, and then
helps teachers
implement it.
Practicing medicine
requires an MD plus
about 4 years of
additional study and
practice in a
specialization.
Physicians are
employed by
hospitals, clinics,
medical schools, and
in private practice.
Some conduct
research in addition
to seeing patients.
Treats people with
brain damage or
diseases of the brain.
Performs brain
surgery
Helps people with
emotional distress or
troublesome
behaviors, sometimes
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Allied Medical Field
Physical Therapist
Occupational
therapist
Social worker
using drugs or other
medical procedures.
These fields ordinarily
require a master’s
degree or more.
Practitioners are
employed by
hospitals, clinics,
private practice, and
medical schools.
Provides exercise and
other treatments to
help people with
muscle or nerve
problems, pain, or
anything else that
impairs movement.
Helps people improve
their ability to
perform functions of
daily life, for example,
after a stroke.
Helps people deal
with personal and
family problems. The
activities of a clinical
social worker overlap
those of a clinical
psychologist.
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Gregor Mendel – a late-19th-century monk
who thought that inheritance was a
blending process in which properties of the
sperm and the egg simply mixed, like two
colors of paint.
Genes – basic physical and functional unit
of heredity.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) – it contains
the genetic code of organisms.
RNA (ribonucleic acid) – convert the
information stored in DNA into proteins.
Homozygous – identical pair of genes on
the two chromosomes.
Heterozygous – unmatched pair of genes,
Dominant gene – shows a strong effect in
either homozygous or heterozygous
condition.
Recessive gene – shows its effect only in
the homozygous conditions.
Sex-linked and Sex-limited Genes
These are the genes located on the sex
chromosomes. Examples of Sex-linked traits:
1. Hemophilia
2. Red-green color blindness
3. Baldness
Heredity and Environment
3 Kind of Twins
1.
2.
3.
4.
Monozygotic – identical twins
Dizygotic Twins – fraternal twins
Siamese Twins – conjoined twins
Phenylketonuria (PKU) – genetic inability
to
metabolize
the
amino
acid
phenylalanine, can lead to mental
retardation.
The Evolution of Behavior
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The Genetics of Behavior
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Evolution – change over generations in the
frequencies of various genes in a
population.
Common
Misunderstandings
About
Evolution
Does the use or disuse of some structure or
behavior cause an evolutionary increase or
decrease in that feature? (Lamarckian
evolution)
Have humans stopped evolving?
Does evolution mean improvement?
Deals with how behaviors have evolved,
especially social behaviors.
Group Selection – altruistic groups survive
better than less cooperative ones.
Reciprocal altruism – the idea that
individuals help those who will return the
favor (“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch
yours.”)
Kin Selection – selection for a gene that
benefits the individual’s relatives.
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The Use of Animals in Research
Possible Compromise
Reasons for Animal Research
The legal standards emphasizes the 3 R’s:
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The underlying mechanisms of behavior
are similar across species and sometimes
easier to study in a nonhuman species.
Humans are naturally curious.
What we learn about animals sheds light
on human evolution.
Certain experiments cannot use humans
because of legal or ethical restrictions.
The Ethical Debate
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In other experiments, animals have been
subjected to brain damage, electrode
implantation, injections of drugs and
hormones and so forth.
“I don’t think you’d have to kill –
assassinate – too many [doctors involved
with animal testing]... I think for 5 lives, 10
lives, 15 human lives, we could save a
million, 2 million. 10 million non-human
lives.” –Animal Defense League
Degrees of Opposition
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Minimalist – tolerate animal research
under certain conditions.
They accept some kinds of research but
wish to prohibit others depending on the
probable value of the research, the
amount of distress to the animal, and the
type of animal.
Abolitionist – take a more extreme
position and see no room for compromise.
They maintain that all animals have the
same rights as humans.
They regard killing an animal as murder,
whether the intention is to eat it, use its
fur, or gain scientific knowledge.
Keeping an animal in a cage is slavery.
“Never knowingly harm an innocent.”
1. Reduction – using fewer animals
2. Replacement - using computer models or
other substitutes for animals, when
possible
3. Refinement – modifying the procedures to
reduce pain and discomfort
 Institutional Animal Care and Use
Committee – composed of veterinarians,
community representatives and scientists
that evaluate proposed experiments
involving animals.
The Cells of the Nervous System
Anatomy of Neurons and Glia
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Neurons – receive information and
transmit it to other cells
Glia – also called glial cells or neuroglia,
maintain homeostasis, form myelin, and
provide support and protection for
neurons.
Santiago Ramon
Neuroscience
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Cajal,
a
Pioneer
of
He wanted to become an artist but his
father insisted that he study medicine.
He managed to combine 2 fields, becoming
an outstanding anatomical researcher and
illustrator
His detailed drawings of the nervous
system are still considered definitive today
The Structures of an Animal Cell
Cell Parts
Membrane (Plasma
Membrane
Nucleus
versus
“Sometimes a little harm leads to a greater
good.”
y
Mitochondrion
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Description/Functions
Structure that
separates the inside of
the cell from the
outside environment
Structure that
contains the
chromosomes
Performs metabolic
activities , providing
energy that the cell
requires for all other
activities
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Ribosomes
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Sites at which the cell
synthesizes new
protein molecules
Network of thin tubes
that transport newly
synthesized proteins
to other locations
long distances as neurons do, although
they do exchange chemicals with adjacent
neurons.
Types of Glia
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The Structure of a Neuron
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Soma – cell body which contains the
nucleus.
Dendrites – receive communications from
other cells.
Axon – information sender of the neuron
Myelin Sheath – insulating materials with
interruptions called as Nodes of Ranvier.
Presynaptic Terminal – end bulb, the point
from which the axon releases chemicals
that cross through the junction between
one neuron to next.
Schwann Cells – helps to myelinate the
axons of PNS.
Motor Neuron – receives excitation from
other neuron through its dendrites and
conducts impulses along its axon to a
muscle
Sensory Neuron – conducts information
from the senses to the CNS
Afferent Axon – brings information into a
structure
Efferent Neuron – carries information
away from a structure
Interneuron / Intrinsic Neuron – carries
information one neuron to another neuron
Glia (Neuroglia)
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Astrocytes – (Star shaped) helps
synchronize the activity of the axons,
enabling them to send messages in waves.
Removes waste materials created when
neurons die and control the amount of
blood flow to each brain area
Microglia - very small cells, also remove
waste material as well as viruses, fungi,
and other microorganisms.
Oligodendrocytes and Schwann Cells specialized types of glia that build the
myelin sheaths that surround and insulate
certain vertebrate axons.
Radial Glia – guide the migration of
neurons and their axons and dendrites
during embryonic development
The Blood-Brain Barrier
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The mechanism that keeps most chemicals
out of the vertebrate brain
When the immune system cells identify a
virus, they kill it and the cell that contains
it
Active Transport – a protein-mediated
process that expands energy to pump
chemicals from the blood into the brain
include glucose, amino acids, purines,
choline, a few vitamins, iron and certain
hormones
The Nourishment of Vertebrate Neurons
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Most cells use a variety of carbohydrates
and fats for nutrition, but vertebrate
neurons depend almost entirely on
glucose, a simple sugar.
Glucose is practically the only nutrient that
crosses the blood-brain barrier in adults.
The exceptions to this rule are ketones (a
kind of fat), but ketones are seldom
available in large amounts
Other major components of the nervous
system, do not transmit information over
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