AP Psychology
Cerqueira Guide Unit 3
Biological Bases of Behavior
III. Biological Bases of Behavior (8–10%)
An effective introduction to the relationship between physiological processes and behavior—including the influence of
neural function, the nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to behavior—is an important element in the
AP course.
AP students in psychology should be able to do the following:
• Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of the neuron and the process
of transmission of a signal between neurons.
• Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms).
• Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
• Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
— central and peripheral nervous systems;
— major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
— brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
• Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research (e.g., case studies, splitbrain research, imaging techniques).
• Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior.
• Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
• Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke).
Date
Class
info
F
1/30
HW
tonig
ht
53-56
M
2/2
R quiz
on 5356.
57-67,
12930
T
2/3
C quiz
on
neurons
67-74
W
2/4
R quiz
on 6774.
74-83
Th
2/5
R quiz
on 7483.
83-91
F
2/6
C quiz
on the
brain
95101,
10709,
11113
(4th only
- 2nd on
field trip)
Topics to know/class activities
Everything psychological is simultaneously biological. Neuron parts: dendrite, cell body,
axon, (“axons speak/dendrites listen”), myelin sheath, action potential (electrical),
depolarization, firing, refractory period, threshold for firing, all-or none response.
Excitatory v. inhibitory. Speed of impulse v. strength.
Synapse (“protoplasmic kiss”), neurotransmitters (chemical), vesicles, lock-and-key,
receptor sites, reuptake. Neurotransmitters you must know: ACh, dopamine, serotonin,
norepinephrine. Endorphins. Agonists v. antagonists. Blood-brain barrier. Nervous
systems: CNS (brain + spinal cord, sensory neurons, motor neurons, interneurons) , PNS
(autonomic + somatic). Autonomic is subdivided into sympathetic and parasympathetic
(“fight or flight”). How reflexes work. The advantages of neural networks. How the
endocrine systems differs from the nervous system (slow v. fast!) – “the distinction is no
longer clear.” Hormones, adrenal glands, pituitary, testes/ovaries. The role of hormones
on sex and gender (“is biology destiny?”)
Titchener’s brain! “The brain is what the mind does.” Brain imaging devices: EEG, PET,
MRI, fMRI. Hindbrain structures: brainstem, medulla, reticular formation, cerebellum,
thalamus. Limbic system: amygdala, pituitary, hippocampus, hypothalamus. (Ask Jones:
What are the four Fs of the hypothalamus?)
Cerebral cortex – divided into two hemispheres with four lobes each. LOBES: frontal,
parietal, occipital, temporal (location and function). Motor cortex & sensory cortex. 10%
of our brains? PHINEAS GAGE (what can we learn from him?) “Gage was no longer
Gage.” Language and the brain: aphasia, Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, how reading
aloud happens (Fig. 2.32 &2.33) Plasticity (this is fascinating!)
Divided brain: corpus callosum, hemispheres, split-brain patients (Sperry/Gazzaniga).
[Note: read 83-86 carefully – it’s hard!] Studying hemispheric differences – look for
examples of hemispheric differences. Left brain/right brain – what’s fact and what’s
fiction? (p.87) Skim 88-91 on handedness. NICE SUMMARY on 91 (“how do we get mind
out of meat?”)
Evolutionary psychology. Heredity v. environment (behavioral genetics). Chromosomes,
DNA, genes.(humans are 96% like chimpanzees!) Complex human traits are influenced by groups
of genes. TWIN STUDIES: Identical v. fraternal twins. Why twins raised apart and
adoption studies are so important! (The plural of anecdote is not data!) What does Pinker
call ‘”the most important puzzle”? More evo psych – review the questions on the bottom
of 109. Natural selection & mating: what do men/women find important? Criticism of
evo psych.
M
2/9
T 2/10
2nd period: C quiz in class -beginning of period, then review
4th period: Extra review day prior to the test.
(optional) Todaysmeet.com review 7-8 pm
Test on Unit 3; see next Cerqueira guide for tonight’s reading