Biological Foundations of Behavior
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

 Nervous System
 Neurons
 Brain
 Endocrine System
 Damage, Plasticity, and Repair
 Genetics and Behavior
 Biological Foundations and Health and Wellness
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Neuroscience
…study of the body’s electrochemical communication circuitry
Characteristics of the nervous system
 complexity
 integration
 adaptability (plasticity)
 electrochemical transmission
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Nervous System: Pathways
Afferent Nerves carry information
 spinal cord and brain
Efferent Nerves carry information
 muscles
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Nervous System: Divisions
Central Nervous System (CNS)
 brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
 somatic nervous system
– sensory nerves

 muscular activity autonomic nervous system – internal organs
 sympathetic nervous system – arouses
 parasympathetic nervous system – calms
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Nervous System: Divisions
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Nervous System - Cells
Neurons
 information processing
 about 100 billion in brain
 mirror neurons (in primates)
Glial Cells
 provide support and nutrition
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Neurons: Structure
 cell body
 dendrites
 axon
 myelin sheath
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Neurons: Structure
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Neural Impulse
Axons
 ions/ion channel
 negatively/positively charged
 semipermeable membrane
 polarization
Resting Potential
 stable charge of an inactive neuron
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Neural Impulse
Action Potential
 depolarization (ion channel opens)
 repolarization
 ion exchange sweeps along length of axon
 all-or-none principle
 once initiated, cannot be stopped
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Synapses and
Neurotransmitters
Synapse/Synaptic Gap
 space between sending axon’s terminal buttons and the receiving dendrite or cell body
Synaptic Transmission
 electrical impulse is converted into a chemical signal
 axon vesicle releases neurotransmitter into gap
 dendrite receptor site detects neurotransmitter
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Synapses and
Neurotransmitters
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Neurotransmitters carry information across the synaptic gap to next neuron.
Acetylcholine
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 muscle actions, learning, memory black widow venom ↑ Ach levels botox (botulin) ↓ Ach levels
Alzheimer’s disease: ↓ Ach levels

GABA anxiety: ↓ GABA levels
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Neurotransmitters
Glutamate
 excitatory
 learning & memory
 involved in many psychological disorders
Norepinephrine

 stress and mania: ↑ norepinephrine levels depression: ↓ norepinephrine levels
 regulates sleep states in conjunction with ACh
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Neurotransmitters
Dopamine
 voluntary movement
 reward anticipation

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 stimulant drugs: activate dopamine receptors
Parkinson’s disease: ↓ dopamine levels schizophrenia: ↑ dopamine levels
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Neurotransmitters
Serotonin

 regulation of sleep, mood, attention, learning depression: ↓ serotonin levels
 prozac: ↑ serotonin levels
Endorphins
 natural opiates
 mediate feelings of pleasure and pain
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Neurotransmitters
Oxytocin
 both a hormone and a neurotransmitter
 related to onset of lactation in new mothers
 related to attachment/emotional bonds
Note: Drugs can interfere with neurotransmitters
 mimics or enhances NT effects
 blocks effects of NT
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Neural Networks
 interconnected pathways of nerve cells
 integrate sensory input and motor output
 take years to develop
 a given piece of information embedded in multiple connections between neurons
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Brain Lesioning
 naturally occurring or induced
Electrical Recording
 electroencephalograph (EEG)
 single-unit recording
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 X-Ray
 CT Scan
 PET
 MRI
 fMRI
 TMS
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Hindbrain

Brainstem
 medulla – control breathing, regulate reflexes
 pons – sleep & arousal

Cerebellum
 motor coordination
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Substantia Nigra
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Parkinson disease

Reticular Formation
 stereotyped behavior patterns like walking
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Brain: Structure and Function
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
Limbic System
 memory and emotion
 amygdala
- discrimination of objects needed for survival
- emotional awareness and expression
 hippocampus
- formation and recall of memories

Thalamus
 relay station for much sensory information
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Basal Ganglia
 coordination of voluntary movements
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Hypothalamus
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 eating, drinking, sexual behaviors regulate body’s internal state
 emotion, stress, reward
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The Brain in Different Species
What brain structures are similar across species?
How is the brain suited to each species?
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Neocortex : outermost layer
Four Lobes :
 occipital ( vision)
 temporal (hearing, language processing, memory)
 frontal (intelligence, personality, voluntary muscles)
 parietal (spatial location, attention, motor control)
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Are Brains Wired to
Recognize Faces?
 prosopagnosia
 fusiform face area (FFA)
 FFA – specifically for processing faces?
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Somatosensory, Motor, and
Association Cortex
Somatosensoy Cortex (in parietal lobe)
 body sensations
Motor Cortex (in frontal lobe)
 voluntary movements
Point-to-Point Mapping
Association Cortex (75% of cortex)
 not sensory or motor, but associations between
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x Corpus Callosum
 W.J., the Split Brain Patient
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Hemispheres of the Cortex
Hemispheric Specialization of Function
 left hemisphere verbal processing, speech, grammar
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Broca’s Area
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Wernicke’s Area
 right hemisphere spatial perception, visual recognition, emotion
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Happiness: Prefrontal Lobe Asymmetry
 positive emotional responses more left prefrontal lobe activity
 negative emotional responses more right prefrontal lobe activity
Biofeedback
Mindfulness (Awareness) Meditation
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 set of glands that regulate the body by secreting hormones into the bloodstream
 hormones = chemical messages
 relatively slow communication system
 interconnected with the nervous system
 pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, testes
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Brain Damage and Plasticity
Recovery from brain damage depends on
 age of the individual
 extent of the damage
Repairing the damaged brain
 collateral sprouting
 substitution of function
 neurogenesis
 brain tissue grafts
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 chromosomes, genes, and DNA
 Human Genome Project
 dominant-recessive genes principle
 molecular genetics
 selective breeding
 behavior genetics and adoption studies
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Genes and the Environment
Genotype – genetic heritage
+ the effects of experience =
Phenotype
– observable characteristics
 environment alters how genetic traits develop
 both physical & psychological characteristics
 genetic expression
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Biological Foundations and
Health and Wellness
 stressors
… circumstances and events that threaten individuals and/or tax their coping abilities
 stress
… our response to those stressors
 causes/effects of acute and chronic stress
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

 Discuss the nature and basic function of the nervous system.
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
Explain what neurons are and how they process information.
Identify the brain’s levels and structures and summarize the function of those structures.
 Identify the endocrine system and describe how it affects behavior.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.


Describe the brain’s capacity for recovery and repair.
 Explain how genetics increases understanding of behavior.
 Describe the role of the biological foundations of human psychology in the body’s stress response.
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The Nervous System
 structure and function of the nervous systems
 structure of a neruon
 electrochemical communication
 neurotransmitters and their effects
Brain: Structure and Function
 brain imaging techniques
 hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain
 cerebral lobes and functions
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Brain Damage and Plasticity
 collateral sprouting, substitution of function, neurogenesis, brain tissue grafts
Genetics and Behavior

“genes v. environment” and adoption studies
Biological Foundations & Health and Wellness
 acute and chronic stress
© 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.