Biopsychology Notes

Biopsychology
“The need for a motherʼs touch is really brain based.” Idea of being held and nurtured as a baby is necessary for development

THE HUMAN BRAIN
• only weighs 3 pounds • most complex structure in the universe • memories are stored as chemicals more cells than there are stars in the galaxy • • 100 billion nerve cells to communicate and store information evolution: over time organisms originate and adapt to their unique environments. heredity: the biological transmission of traits from parents to offspring.

Charles Darwin
• 1831 - The Beagle to South America the Galapagos • 1859 - there he writes the controversial book The Origin of Species found that species... " 1. adapted to their environments ! 2. those who failed to adapt became extinct • formation of a new species over time natural selection: some members of a species tend to produce more offspring than others. variation: differences in traits among individuals within a given population phenotype: observable features by which individuals are recognized genotype: genetic structure inherited from oneʼs parents

10,950 days of life
• lifeline project • environmental pressure • competition

The Human Advantage
• Bipedalism - the ability to walk upright 10 million years ago

• encephalization - refers to increases in brain size 2 million years ago • language

Experience
• left side of the brain functions • analytic thought • logic • language • science and math • right side = brain functions • holistic thought • intuition • creativity • art and music

Genes & Behavior
• • • • • • Genetics: the inheritance of physical and psychological traits. DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid Genes: rodlike structures called chromosomes 46 chromosomes - 23 dad 23 mom Sex chromosomes - XX females XY males father provides X or Y determines if male or female

Genetics and Psychology
• Downʼs Syndrome - extra chromosome in the 21st pair. • Genetic mapping - 100,000 genes

The Brain and Behavior
• Rene Descartes (1596-1650) - “animal machine” 1. Central Core - automatic process • medulla - top of the spinal cord: heart rate, breathing, waking, and sleeping • left side of body is controlled by the right side of the brain & vice versa pons - dreaming and waking up • • reticular formation - keeps brain alert during sleep • thalamus - relay station - vision • cerebellum - bodily motion 2. Limbic system - emotional and sexual behaviors • body temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar level • hippocampus - long term memory (sequence memory test) • “Living Google Man” amygdala - aggression, feeding, and drinking • • hypothalamus - maintains homeostasis: hungry signal • cerebral cortex - sensory, abstract thinking, and reasoning • left hemisphere - language, memory for words and numbers, positive emotions

• right hemisphere - memory for music, geometric patterns, facial recognition, negative emotions • face blindness • corpus callosum - connects the two hemispheres Lesions - carefully inflicted injuries to specific brain areas • • 1. Remove areas of the brain • 2. Cut connections • 3. Destroy areas with: heat, cold, or electricity

Four Lobes
• Central fissure: vertically • Lateral fissure: horizontally • Frontal lobe: planning, deciding, and persuing goals • Parietal lobe: sensory information • Occipital lobe: visual information • Temporal lobe: auditory

The Cortical Functions
• Motor cortex: 600 voluntary muscles: fingers especially the thumb and speech • Somatosensory cortex: temperature, touch, body position, and pain: lips, tongue, thumb, and index fingers • Auditory cortex - both ears, language, comprehension • Visual cortex - retina transmits to visual information • Association Cortex - planning and decision making occur