Biopsychology-Chapter 1 – Flashcards
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Physiological Psychology
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Neural mechanisms of behavior Controlled experiments with direct manipulation of the brain Example experiment: remove hippocampus from rat and assess ability to run a maze
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Psychopharmacology
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Controlled experiments of the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior Example experiment: develop medication to improve memory for Alzheimer's patients
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Neuropsychology
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Psychological effects of brain damage in humans Usually has a clinical emphasis Example experiment: damage to the orbital cortex is connected with sociopathic behavior
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Psychophysiology
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Relation between physiological activity and psychological processes Types of studies: visual tracking is abnormal in schizophrenics
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Cognitive Neuroscience
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The neural bases of cognition Functional brain imaging is the major method of cognitive neuroscience
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Comparative Psychology
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Comparing different species to understand evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior Laboratory and/or ethological research Types of studies: Rats have relatively larger olfactory systems to account for their heightened sense of smell
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Biopsychology
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the scientific study of the biology of behavior and the mind Also called: Psychobiology, behavioral biology, behavioral neuroscience
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Biopsychology has been around since the beginning of human history, but didn't emerge as a discipline until the late 1940s
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Egyptians discarded the brain Aristotle thought the heart was the center for intelligence and the brain cooled the blood Descartes argued a separation between mind and brain Da Vinci claimed the brain processed the world around us
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Donald Hebb
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proposed that psychological phenomena (perceptions, emotions, thoughts, memories) might be produced by brain activity. Hebb's work helped discredit the notion that psychological functions were too complex to be derived from physiological and chemical processes in the brain
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Other branches of neuroscience
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Neuroanatomy Neurochemistry Neuroendocrinology Neuropathology Neuropharmacology Neurophysiology
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Neuroanatomy
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structure of the nervous system
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Neurochemistry
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chemical bases of neural activity
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Neuroendocrinology
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interactions between the nervous & endocrine systems
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Neuropathology
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nervous system disorders
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Neuropharmacology
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effects of drugs on neural activity
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Neurophysiology
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functions and activities of the nervous system
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Comparative Approach
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gains insight by making comparisons with other species
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Non-Experiments
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researcher doesn't control variables of interest -quasi-experimental studies -case studies
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Between-subject design
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different group of subjects tested under each condition
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within-subject design
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same group of subjects tested under each condition
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independent variable
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the difference between the conditions what is being manipulated?
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dependent variable
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the effect of the independent variable what is being measured?
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Confounded variable
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variable that affects the dependent variable but is not controlled for
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Pure research
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conducted for the purpose of acquiring knowledge
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applied research
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intended to bring about some direct benefit to humankind
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Korsakoff's Syndrome
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Symptom: severe memory loss and confabulation Original finding: Commonly occurs in alcoholics Conclusion: thought to be a direct result of the toxic effects of alcohol on the brain Problem: Not ALL Korsakoff syndrome patients are alcoholics or even consume alcohol Revelation: Korsakoff's is a thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency issue Application: Thiamine is now given to malnourished patients as well as sobering alcoholics
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Scientific Inference
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the empirical method that biopsychologists use to study the unobservable ex:how does the brain "see" movement?
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critical thinking in biopsychology
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the ability to evaluate scientific claims by identifying potential omissions or weaknesses in the evidence
