Chapter One
What is Behavioral Neuroscience?
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Neuroscience as an Interdisciplinary Field
• Neuroscience
– “The scientific study of the brain and nervous
system, in health and in disease” (UCLA,
2000)
– Incorporates the fields of psychology, biology,
chemistry, medicine, mathematics, physics,
engineering, and computer science
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From Molecules to Behavior
• The functions of the brain and nervous
system are studied on many different
levels
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Historical Highlights in Neuroscience
• Ancient milestones
– Trepanation
– Egyptian medical papyrus; mummification
– Ancient Greeks: Hippocrates, Galen
• The dawn of scientific reasoning
– Descartes (1596-1650): mind-body dualism
– Van Leeuwenhoek
– Galvani and du Bois-Reymond
– Bell and Magendie
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Prehistoric Brain Surgery
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Galvani – the Role of Electricity in Neural
Communication
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Modern Neuroscience Begins
• Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi
– The Neuron Doctrine
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Gall and Spurzheim: phrenology
Paul Broca
Fritsch and Hitzig
John Hughlings-Jackson (1835-1911)
– Founding of modern neuroscience
• Sherrington, Loewi, Eccles, Katz, Huxley,
Hodgkin
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Phrenology Bust
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Behavioral Neuroscience Research
Methods – Histology
• The study of microscopic structures and
tissues
• Provides the means for observing
structure, organization, and connections of
individual cells
• Tissue fixation, microtome machine, and
specialized stains
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Tissue Sectioning using a Microtome
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Behavioral Neuroscience Research
Methods – Autopsy
• Examination of the body after death
• Correlational method that must be
interpreted carefully and precisely
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Behavioral Neuroscience Research
Methods – Imaging
• Types of imaging technologies
– Computerized tomography (CT)
– Positron emission tomography (PET)
– Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Functional MRI (fMRI)
• Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
• Advantage of imaging over autopsy
– Can watch the living brain as it behaves
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CT Scans – Historical and Modern
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PET Scans Show Patterns of Brain
Activation
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Functional MRI (fMRI) Tracks Cerebral
Blood Flow
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Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Constructs
Maps of the Brain’s Fiber Pathways
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Recording
• Records electrical and magnetic output
from the brain
– Electroencephalogram (EEG)
– Event-related potentials
– Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
– Single-cell recordings
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Event-Related Potentials (ERPs)
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Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
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Brain Stimulation
• Artificial stimulation of specific brain
regions and observation of resulting
behavior
– Surface electrodes during neurosurgery
– Surgically implanted electrodes
– Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation
(rTMS)
– Optogenetics
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Deep Brain Stimulation and rTMS
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Lesions
• Lesion: injury to neural tissue
• Naturally occurring
• Deliberately produced
• Ablation
– Surgical removal of neural tissue
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Other Research Methods
• Biochemical methods
– Use of chemical stimulation and microdialysis
• Genetic methods
– Twin studies (concordance rates)
– Adoption studies (heritability)
– Studies of genetically-modified animals
(knockout genes)
– Epigenetics (gene expression due to external
factors)
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Other Research Methods (cont’d.)
• Stem cells
– Undifferentiated cells that can divide and
differentiate into other types of cells
– One of the most promising approaches to
understanding neural development,
regeneration, and disease
– Embryonic or adult: advantages and
disadvantages of both
– Can be used to repair the nervous system
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Research Ethics in Behavioral
Neuroscience
• Mechanisms for protection of human
participants and animal research subjects
– Hippocrates
– Federal government and the Common Rule
– University review and institutional review
boards
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Research Ethics – Human Participants
• Coercion of research participants is
unacceptable
• Benefits to participants should not be
“excessive or inappropriate”
• Participants must be informed that they
can leave without penalty at any time
• Participants must be told enough about
the experiment to make an informed
decision about participating
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Research Ethics – Human Participants
(cont’d.)
• Participants must receive contact
information in case they have questions
• Participants must be assured their data
will be confidential
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Research Ethics – Animal Subjects
• Animal research should have a clear
scientific purpose
• Excellent care and housing should be
provided
• Experimental procedures should cause as
little pain and distress as possible
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