Lecture Overview
• Neural Bases of Behavior
• Nervous System Organization
• A Tour Through the Brain
• Our Genetic Inheritance
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Neural Bases of Psychology
• Neuroscience:
interdisciplinary field studying how
biological processes relate to behavioral
& mental processes
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Neural Bases of Psychology (Continued)
• Our nervous system
consists of neurons
(cells responsible
for receiving &
transmitting
electrochemical
information).
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
The Structure of a Neuron
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Communication
Neural
• Within a neuron, communication results from
an action potential (a neural impulse that
carries information along the axon of a
neuron).
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)
• Between neurons,
communication occurs through
transmission of neural
information across a synapse
by neurotransmitters
(chemicals released by neurons
that alter activity in other
neurons).
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)
• Receiving neurons
receive multiple
messages from
other neurons.
These multiple
messages then
determine if an
action potential
occurs or not.
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)
• Note how the
axon terminals of
sending neurons
almost completely
cover the cell
body of the
receiving neuron.
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Pause & Reflect:
Assessment
•
What happens to excess neurotransmitters
or to those that do not “fit” into the
adjacent receptor sites? (The answer
appears on the next slide.)
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Pause & Reflect:
Assessment
• The sending neuron
normally reabsorbs
the excess (called
“reuptake) or they
are broken down by
special enzymes.
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Applying Psychology to Everyday Life
• Key neurotransmitters:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Serotonin
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Dopamine (DA)
Norepinephrine (NE)
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
GABA (gamma aminobutyric
acid)
• Endorphins
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
How Hormones Affect Us
• Endocrine System:
collection of glands
that manufacture &
secrete hormones into
the bloodstream
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Why Do We Need Two Communication
Systems—Neurotransmitters + Hormones?
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Nervous System Organization
• Central Nervous System (CNS): brain
& spinal cord
• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): all
nerves & neurons connecting CNS to
the rest of the body
– PNS is subdivided into the somatic &
autonomic nervous systems
– Autonomic nervous system subdivided
into sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems
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Central Nervous System:
Terms
Important
• Neuroplasticity: brain’s lifelong ability to reorganize &
change its structure & function throughout the life
span
• Neurogenesis: process by which new neurons are
generated
• Stem Cells: immature (uncommitted) cells with the
potential to develop into almost any type of cell
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Nervous System Organization:
Central Nervous System (CNS)
• Brain
• Spinal Cord
(transmits
information
into & out of
the brain )
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Nervous System Organization: Central
Nervous System (CNS)
• The spinal cord is
also responsible
for involuntary,
automatic
behaviors called
reflexes.
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Nervous System Organization: Peripheral
Nervous System (PNS)
•
PNS connects CNS to the rest of the body & is
subdivided into:
– Somatic Nervous System (SNS): connects to sensory
receptors & controls skeletal muscles
– Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): controls
involuntary bodily functions & is further subdivided
into:
»Sympathetic Nervous System (arouses)
»Parasympathetic Nervous System (calms)
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Nervous System Organization
 Anatomy &
functions of the
sympathetic
(arouses) &
parasympathetic
(calms) nervous
systems
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Pause & Reflect: Assessment
1. You touch a hot stove & then immediately
& reflexively pull away. This action was
controlled by _____.
2. After being startled by the sight & sound of
a fierce dog rushing toward you, it is most
likely that your _____ is dominant.
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A Tour Through the Brain
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A Tour Through The Brain: Hindbrain
• Three key structures & functions of the
hindbrain:
– Medulla: life survival functions
– Pons: respiration, movement, waking,
sleeping, & dreaming
– Cerebellum: coordination of fine
muscular movement, balance, & some
aspects of perception & cognition
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Midbrain: collection of brain structures in
the middle of the brain; coordinates
movement patterns, sleep, & arousal
• Reticular Formation: (archaic term for cells
in the hindbrain, midbrain, & brainstem);
screens incoming information & controls
arousal
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Forebrain: collection of upper-level brain
structures, including the thalamus,
hypothalamus, & limbic system
– Thalamus: relays sensory messages to the
cerebral cortex
– Hypothalamus: responsible for drives,
hormones, & regulating the body’s
internal environment
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Structures of the Forebrain
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Limbic System:
interconnected
group of forebrain
structures involved
with emotions,
drives, & memory
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A Tour Through The Brain:
Cortex
•
Cerebral Cortex: surface
layer on the left & right
cerebral hemispheres;
regulates most complex
behavior, including
sensations, motor control,
& higher mental processes
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Cerebral
A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of the
Cerebral Cortex (Continued.)
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A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of
the Cerebral Cortex
• Frontal Lobes: receive &
coordinate messages from
other lobes; responsible
for motor control, speech
production, & higher
functions, such as
thinking, personality,
emotion, & memory
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Pause & Reflect:
Critical Thinking
• Phineas Gage’s mining accident
sent a 13-pound tamping iron
through his frontal lobes. How
did this affect his short- & longterm behavior & mental
processes?
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Cerebral Cortex
Parietal Lobes: located at the top of the
brain direct behind the frontal lobes;
responsible for interpreting bodily
sensations
• Temporal Lobes: located on each
side of the brain above the ears;
responsible for audition, language
comprehension, memory, & some
emotional control
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A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of the
Cerebral Cortex (Continued)
• Occipital
Lobes: located
at the back of the
brain; responsible
for vision & visual
perception
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A Tour Through The Brain: Primary Motor
Cortex & Somatosensory Cortex
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Pause & Reflect:
Critical Thinking
• Why are the hands &
face on this drawing
so large? What do
they represent?
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A Tour Through The Brain:
Lateralization
• The left & right
hemispheres of your
brain each specialize
in particular (but often
overlapping) operations.
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Nature or Nurture?
• Sex differences in
lateralization. Note how
activation (red color) is
confined to only one
hemisphere in the male
brain on the left, & how it
occurs on both
hemispheres in the female
brain on the right.
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A Tour Through The Brain: Split-Brain
Research
• Severing the
corpus
callosum
provides
information on
the role &
functions of the
left & right
hemispheres.
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A Tour Through The Brain:
Split-Brain Research (Continued)
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