Psychology in
Action (8e)
by
Karen Huffman
PowerPoint  Lecture Notes Presentation
Chapter 2: Neuroscience and
Biological Foundations
Karen Huffman, Palomar College
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Lecture Overview

Neural Bases of Behavior

Nervous System Organization

A Tour Through the Brain

Our Genetic Inheritance
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology

Neuroscience:
interdisciplinary
field studying how
biological
processes relate to
behavioral and
mental processes
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology

The nervous
system consists of
neurons (cells
responsible for
receiving and
transmitting
electrochemical
information).
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Figure 2.2 A motor neuron
Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition
Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers
Neural Bases of Psychology:
The Structure of a Neuron
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication

Within a neuron, communication occurs
through an action potential (neural impulse
that carries information along the axon of a
neuron).
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
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).
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)

Receiving neurons
receive multiple
messages from
other neurons, and
these messages
determine if an
action potential
occurs or not.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
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.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology:
Applying Psychology to Everyday Life

Major Neurotransmitters:
•
Serotonin
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Dopamine (DA)
Norepinephrine (NE)
Epinephrine (adrenaline)
GABA (gamma aminobutyric
acid)
Endorphins
•
•
•
•
•
•
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Table 2.1
Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition
Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers
Neural Bases of Psychology:
Receptor Sites

normal message

blocked message (wrong shape)

agonistic drugs mimic shape
and enhance neurotransmitter

antagonistic drugs fill the site
and block neurotransmitter
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Neural Bases of Psychology:
How Hormones Affect Us

Endocrine System:
collection of glands
that manufacture and
secrete hormones
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization


Central Nervous System
(CNS): includes the brain and
spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System
(PNS): includes all nerves and
neurons connecting CNS to the
rest of the body (subdivided into
the somatic and autonomic
nervous systems)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization:
Central Nervous System (CNS)


Brain
Spinal Cord
(transmits
information into
and out of the
brain )
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization:
Central Nervous System (CNS)

The spinal cord is
also responsible
for involuntary,
automatic
behaviors called
reflexes.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization:
Subdivisions of the
Peripheral Nervous System



Somatic Nervous System (SNS): connects
to sensory receptors and controls skeletal
muscles.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS):
controls involuntary bodily functions
ANS is subdivided into: Sympathetic
Nervous System (arouses) and the
Parasympathetic Nervous System (calms)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Nervous System Organization:
 Parasympathetic and
Sympathetic Nervous
Systems
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through the Brain
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain: Hindbrain

Three key structures of the hindbrain:
 Medulla: life survival functions
 Pons: respiration, movement, waking,
sleeping, and dreaming
 Cerebellum: coordination of fine
muscular movements, balance, and
some aspects of perception and
cognition
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)

Midbrain: collection of brain structures in
the middle of the brain that coordinates
movement patterns, sleep, and arousal

(Reticular formation: runs through the
hindbrain, midbrain, and brainstem and
screens incoming information and
controls arousal
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)

Forebrain: collection of upper-level brain
structures, including the thalamus,
hypothalamus, and limbic system
 Thalamus: relays sensory messages to
the cerebral cortex
 Hypothalamus: responsible for
emotions, drives, and regulating the
body’s internal environment
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Figure 2.18 The limbic system
Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition
Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers
A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)

Limbic System:
interconnected
group of forebrain
structures involved
with emotions,
drives, and
memory
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Cerebral Cortex

Cerebral Cortex: thin
surface layer on the
left and right cerebral
hemispheres regulating
most complex behavior,
including sensations,
motor control, and
higher mental processes
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
(Cont.)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex

The frontal Lobesreceive and coordinate
messages from other
lobes and are responsible
for motor control, speech
production, and higher
functions, such as
thinking, personality,
emotion, and memory.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through the Brain:
The Importance of the Frontal Lobes

Phineas Gage’s mining
accident sent a 13pound tamping iron
through his frontal
lobes. How did this
affect his short- and
long-term behavior and
mental processes?
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
(Cont.)
Parietal Lobes: located at the top of the brain


directly behind the frontal lobes and responsible for
interpreting bodily sensations
Temporal Lobes: located on each side of the
brain above the ears and responsible for audition,
language comprehension, memory, and some
emotional control
Occipital Lobes: located at the back of the
brain responsible for vision and visual perception
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
The Motor Cortex and
Somatosensory
Cortex
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain: Motor
and Somatosensory Cortex (Cont.)

Why are the hands
and face on this
drawing so large?
What do they
represent?
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Split-Brain Research

Severing the
corpus
callosum
provides data
regarding the
functions of the
brain’s two
hemispheres.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Figure 2.35 The corpus callosum
Myers: Psychology, Eighth Edition
Copyright © 2007 by Worth Publishers
A Tour Through The Brain:
Split-Brain Research (Continued)
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
A Tour Through The Brain:
Lateralization

The left and right
hemispheres of the
brain each specialize
in particular operations.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance

To answer questions about the influence of
nature versus nurture, psychologists use
behavioral genetics research.

Behavioral Genetics: studies the relative
effects of nature (heredity, genes, and
chromosomes) and nurture
(environment) on
behavior and
mental processes.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance: Genes & DNA

The nucleus of every
cell in our body contains
genes, which carry the
code for hereditary
transmission. These
genes are arranged
along chromosomes
(strands of paired DNA).
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance: Genes & DNA

Tongue-curling is one of the only traits that
depends on a specific dominant gene.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance: Twin Research
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance

Evolutionary Psychology:
studies how natural
selection and adaptation
help explain behavior and
mental processes
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance

Sex differences
in lateralization. Note how
activation is confined to
only one hemisphere in
the male brain on the left,
and how it occurs on both
hemispheres in the
female brain on the right.
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Our Genetic Inheritance:
Better Living Through Neuroscience



Neuroplasticity: brain’s lifelong ability to
reorganize and change its structure
and function
Neurogenesis: the division and
differentiation of non-neuronal cells
to produce neurons
Stem cells: Precursor (immature) cells that
give birth to new specialized cells
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)
Psychology in
Action (8e)
by
Karen Huffman
PowerPoint  Lecture Notes Presentation
End of Chapter 2: Neuroscience
and Biological Foundations
Karen Huffman, Palomar College
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in Action (8e)