UNIT 2

BIOLOGICAL BASES OF

BEHAVIOR

An Early History of Biopsychology

Plato: the mind is located in the brain

Franz Gall and Phrenology

– Early 1800s

– Read bumps on skull to understand traits

If I was to take your brain out of your body, place it into patient needing brain surgery, where would the new ‘self’ call home? Are you simply the end product of a biological and chemical reaction?

Biopsychology Today

Everything we do is ultimately controlled by our body and brain – Body/brain composed of cells

– Brain cells called neurons communicate electrically and chemically

– Different parts of the brain have specific functions

– Our brains create meaningful experiences from sensory information

– Brain structure and function is influenced by experience

AGENDA

1) Quiz 2) Stroke of Insight - Discussion 3) Todays Theme: Hemisphere

Dominance 4) VIDEO: Split Brain Patients 5) Hand back & Discuss Test

The Cortex Each hemisphere is divided

into 4 lobes Frontal lobe

Temporal lobe

Parietal lobe

Occipital lobe

The lobes are separated by deep convolutions known as

fissures

Cortex Breakdown…

Occipital Lobes – Visual cortex

– Damage?

Temporal Lobes – Auditory cortex

– Auditory hallucinations?

Parietal Lobes – Primary sensory or

somatosensory cortex

– Allocation of space?

Frontal Lobes – Most evolved

– Motor cortex, which allows us to move

– Allocation of space?

Some Hemispheric Strengths

Left Hemisphere Language

Logic

Right side of body

Right Hemisphere Perception

Sense of self

Inferences

Left side of body

Split-Brain

Epilepsy, seizures and the corpus callosum

Reduction in epileptic seizures

Different abilities in each hemisphere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfGwsAdS9Dc

TEST

• Only Counted Multiple Choice

• Those who scored over 10 points on FRQ received .5 extra credit for every point above.

HW: Re write ALL missed FRQ’s until they are perfect.

HOW TO ANSWER FRQ

“TUDA”

T – List the term U – Underline term D – Define term A – Answer QUESTION

FOR EXAMPLE

….. Genie…

• Case Study

• Case Study • Case Study • Case Study is an in-depth study of one extreme or unique individual in hopes of revealing universal principles

• Case Study is an in-depth study of one extreme or unique individual in hopes of revealing universal principles. This is why the study of Genie would be described as a Case Study.

FOR EXAMPLE

….. Acsh’s Study about conformity…

• Control Group

• Control Group • Control Group • Control Group is the group that is not exposed to the independent variable

• Control Group is the group that is not exposed to the independent variable, in Asch’s experiment this would be the participants who were not subjected to hear the groups responses prior to his own.

HOMEWORK: 1. REVISE ALL FRQ’s USING: “TUDA”

• I will not accept them until they are perfect. • This is worth 15 homework points.

2. TEST REFLECTION – 1 typed page • Go Question by question…Why did you get it

wrong? Did you not understand Q? Did you not understand the concept? Did you not study? Did you guess?

• What do we need to do in order to improve next exam?

BOTH DUE BY FRIDAY IN THE BASKET ON MY DESK

AGENDA:

1. Map the Brain with the Truine Model 2. COLLABORATION: Map brains parts together 3. Explain Unit Project 4. VIDEO: Secrets of the Mind

TRUINE MODEL: REPTILIAN BRAIN

• Primary focus is survival

• Instinct • Internal Functions • OLDEST STRUCTURE

TRUE STORY:

TRUINE MODEL: MAMALIAN BRAIN

• Contains the Limbic System (Seat of EMOTION)

• In charge of appetite, sex drives and some vision.

TRUINE MODEL: HUMAN BRAIN

• Youngest Part • Counteracts Emotions • Information Processing • Abstract Complex

Thoughts & Behaviors

Primitive Brain Structures “AUTOPILOT”

Brainstem Oldest part of brain Contains medulla, controlling heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing Also contains pons, which helps regulate sensory information and facial expressions Contains Reticular Formation (RF) for alertness/arousal, sleep/wakefulness

Thalamus Pair of egg-shaped structures on top of brainstem Routes all incoming sensory information except for smell to appropriate areas of brain

Cerebellum “little brain” at read of brainstem Controls coordination, balance, and muscle tone

These parts of the brain are our “autopilot” so other regions can deal with higher-level “human” functions

The Limbic System

Located in between the primitive parts of the brain and the cerebral hemispheres

Hippocampus processes new memories Amygdala controls emotions such as aggression and fear – in animals, the “attack” response Hypothalamus regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature and sex drive – also controls pituitary gland

PRIMARILY, the limbic system processes drives, smell and various emotional responses

The Cortex

• Most highly evolved part of the human brain

• Body’s ultimate control and information-processing center

• Reasoning Center

Limbic System vs. Cortex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u76jBk59RFk

NEURONS and SYNAPSES

Types of Neurons

Sensory Motor Interneurons

Sensory Neurons

From sensory organs to the brain and

spinal cord.

Drawing shows a somatosensory neuron Vision, hearing, taste and smell nerves are cranial, not spinal

Spinal

Cord

Brain Sensory

Neuron

Motor Neurons

From the brain and spinal cord to the

muscles and glands.

Spinal

Cord

Brain Sensory

Neuron

Motor

Neuron

Interneurons

Interneurons carry information

between other neurons only found in

the brain and spinal cord.

HOW LONG DOES THIS TAKE WITH

NORMAL STIMULI?

BUT HOW DO THESE

CELLS

COMMUNICATE?

Action potentials

• Brief Electrical charge that travels down an axon

Neurotransmitters:

Chemicals that transmit messages between neurons

STRUCTURES OF THE

NEURON

PLEASE DRAW THIS ON A BLANK SHEET

OF PAPER

THE CELL BODY

• CONTAINS THE CELL’S NUCLEUS

• Round, centrally located structure

• Contains DNA • Controls protein

manufacturing • Directs

metabolism • No role in neural

signaling

DENDRITES

• Information collectors

• Receive inputs from neighboring neurons

• Inputs may number in thousands

• If enough inputs the cell’s AXON may generate output.

DENDRITIC GROWH

• Mature neurons generally can’t divide….

• BUT new dendrites can grow.

• Provides room for more connections to other neurons.

• NEW CONNECTIONS ARE THE BASIS FOR LEARNING

AXON

• The cell’s output structure

• One axon per cell, 2 distinct parts:

AXON AXON TERMINAL

Myelin Sheath

• White fatty casing on axon • Acts as an electrical insulator • Not present on all cells • When present increases the speed of neural signals

Myelin Sheath

I. Action potentials

• Domino Effect

A. Resting State 1. Outside of the neuron membrane is positive

2. Inside of the membrane is negative (-70 mV)

3. More Na+ outside, more K+ inside

Why don’t the charges escape?

4. The membrane is selectively permeable

Selectively permeable

B. Depolarization (Rising Phase) Causes the inside of the membrane to become

positively charged (depolarized)

2) Repolarization (Falling Phase of Action Potential)

3) Refractory Period

• Short amount of time

when no new action

potentials can be fired

Resting potential (-70 mV) must

Be restored

Nerve Cell Membrane

•Each level contains about 10% o the energy in the previous level.

Voltage of Membrane

Neuron on Neuron

Axons branch out and end near dendrites of neighboring cells.

Axon terminals are the tips of the axon’s branches

Gap is the Synapse Cell

Body

Dendrite

Axon

Synapse

Axon terminals contain small storage sacks called synaptic vesicles

Vesicles contain neurotransmitter molecules

Sending Neuron

Synapse Axon

Terminal

Neurotransmitter Release • Action Potential Causes vesicle to open • Neurotransmitter released into synapse • Locks onto receptor molecule in postsynaptic

membrane.

Neurotransmitter molecules have specific shapes

Binding sites for NT’s

When NT binds to receptor, ions enter… Starts AP again…

What happens when the action potential reaches the terminal branch?

• Vesicles containing neurotransmitters are

released into the synapse

• Neurotransmitters bind to postsynaptic receptors

• Cause excitatory or inhibitory effects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntenaz7Sf4k

Signals into the neuron

• Inhibitory: cause neuron to become hyperpolarized

• Hyperolarized =Inhibitory

• Excitatory: cause neuron to become depolarized

• Excitatory= depolarized

Neurotransmitters bind receptors in a lock-and-key model

Neurotransmitters

• Neurotransmitters can have an excitatory or inhibitory effect

– Excitatory- cause action potential to fire

– Inhibitory- prevent action potential from firing

Some Drugs work on

receptors • Some drugs are shaped like neurotransmitters.

• Agonists- “excites” mimics the effects of a

neurotransmitter example: morphine

• Antagonists- “inhibit” - inhibits release of

neurotransmitter or binds to receptor and blocks its function

example: curare

RECAP

Psychopharmacology

Botulism

Blocks release of ACh at the neuromuscular junction, causing paralysis

“Botox” is botulism toxin used to prevent facial muscles from making wrinkles

Curare – found in vines in S. America; used as poison

Can stun or kill prey quickly

Blocks ACh receptors causing paralysis

• Antipsychotic medications

– Block dopamine receptors

– Reduces schizophrenic hallucinations

• Caffeine

– Increases the release of excitatory neurotransmitters by blocking the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine

• Cocaine

– Prevents reuptake of dopamine

– Leads to heightened arousal of entire nervous system

ION CONCENTRATIONS

Cell Membrane in resting state

K+

Na+ Cl- K+ A-

Outside of Cell

Inside of Cell

Na+ Cl-

Cell membrane is Semi-

Permeable

Cell Membrane at rest

Na+ Cl- K+

Na+

Cl- K+ A-

Outside of Cell

Inside of Cell

Potassium (K+) can pass through to equalize its concentration

Sodium and Chlorine cannot pass through

Result - inside is negative relative to outside

- 70 mv

RESTING POTENTIAL

• At rest inside of the cell is at -70 microvolts • With inputs to dendrites inside becomes more positive • If resting potential rises above threshold and action potential

starts to travel from cell body down the axon. • Figure shows resting axon being approached by an AP

Depolarization ahead of AP

• AP opens cell membrane to allow sodium (NA+) in • Inside of cell rapidly becomes more positive than outside • This depolarization travels down the axon as leading edge of

the AP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGWZFcsyMgA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGWZFcsyMgA

Fugu Fish

How do neurotoxins work?

AIM: How do neurotransmitters affect the nervous system?

Agenda

1. Quiz 2. REVIEW NERVE CELLS

3. CNS/PNS + Endocrine Systems 4. Stop 5 Minutes before end of class to hand back work

Nervous System

Central Nervous System (CNS)

= interneuron

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Motor and Sensory neurons

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Brain Enables all functioning

Billions of neurons and their connections

These neurons work together in neural networks to facilitate efficient output.

As we learn, these networks strengthen

Spinal Cord Connects brain to PNS

Handles reflexes

Central Nervous System

Brain Spinal Cord

Central Nervous System

The Brain and Neural Networks

Complex Neural Network

Interconnected neurons form networks in the brain.

The Nerves

Nerves consist of neural “cables” containing many axons.

They are part of the peripheral nervous system

NERVOUS SYSTEM

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM Consists of the brain and spinal cord

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM Made up on nerve cells that send messages

between the central nervous system and all the parts of the body

Somatic Nervous System (Voluntary muscles and sense organs)

Transmits sensory messages to the central nervous system Activated by touch, pain, changes in temperature, and

changes in body position

Autonomic Nervous System (involuntary muscles and internal organs)

Regulates the body’s vital functions, such as heartbeat, digestion and blood pressure

Sensory (afferent) Nervous System

Sensory Input

Sensory (afferent) Nervous System

Motor Output

Sympathetic System Prepares body for action

“Fight or Flight”

Parasympathetic System Calms body after emergencies

Restores peace

What does the Nervous System do for us? • Involved in:

• Thinking, dreaming, feeling, moving, reacting to the external world

• It works day and night, regulates our internal functions

NERVOUS SYSTEM

Somatic Nervous System (Voluntary muscles and sense organs)

Transmits sensory messages to the central nervous system Activated by touch, pain, changes in temperature, and

changes in body position

Sensory (afferent) Nervous System

Sensory Input

Sensory (afferent) Nervous System

Motor Output

Autonomic Nervous System (involuntary muscles and internal organs)

Regulates the body’s vital functions, such as heartbeat, digestion and blood pressure

Figure 3.6 The dual functions of the autonomic

nervous system

Myers: Exploring Psychology, Sixth Edition in

Modules Copyright © 2005 by Worth Publishers

AUTONOMIC

NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Fight-or-flight response

• Sympathetic: Arouses

• Parasympathetic: Calms

AUTONOMIC

NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Can we influence the parasympathetic nervous system? – How?

The Endocrine System

The Endocrine System is the body’s

“slow” chemical communication

system. For example, epinephrine (adrenaline) increases heart rate, blood pressure, blood

sugar and feelings of excitement during emergency

situations.

The Endocrine System

• Derives its name from the fact that

various glands release hormones

directly into the blood, which in

turn transports the hormones to

target tissues via ducts.

• Helps coordinate and integrate complex psychological reactions

• Endocrine glands secrete hormones into the bloodstream

• Hormones serve to organize the nervous system and body

• Hormones also activate behavior, such as sexual behavior, hunger and aggression

The Endocrine System

• GROUP 1

– Hypothalamus

– Testis

• Group 2

– Pituitary Gland

– Ovary

• Group 3

– Pancreas

– Parathyroids

• Group 4

– Adrenal Glands

– Thyroid Gland

• IN YOUR EXPERT GROUP. BECOME AN EXPERT ON YOUR TWO LOCATIONS OF THE ES. ALL GROUPS MUST UNDERSTAND:

– FUNCTION

– STRUCTURE

• WHEN DONE YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR TEACHING OTHERS.

Figure 3.8 The

body’s major

endocrine glands

Myers: Exploring

Psychology, Sixth

Edition in Modules Copyright © 2005 by

Worth Publishers

Th

e

En

do

crin

e

Syste

m

Pituitary Gland

Is called the “master gland.”

The anterior pituitary lobe releases hormones that regulate other glands.

The posterior lobe regulates water and salt balance and releases other hormones

Gigantism versus Dwarfism

Hypothalamus Controls Pituitary Links endocrine

And nervous system

Thyroid & Parathyroid Glands

Regulate metabolic and calcium rate.

Goiter’s Disease

Adrenal Glands

Adrenal glands consist of the adrenal medulla and the adrenal cortex.

The medulla secretes adrenal hormones The adrenal cortex regulates salt and carbohydrate

metabolism. Pancreas: sugar levels

Gonads

Sex glands: 1) regulate development 2) maintain reproductive organs in adults. Ovaries- secrete estrogen. Testes- secrete testosterone

Imagine you are an endocrinologist

Imagine you are an endocrinologist

1) The patient suffers from too little calcium in the blood

2) The patient is an adult male and is only 3 feet and 6 inches tall

3) The patient has goiters 4) The patient suffers from diabetes 5) The patient is a 24 year old female without

female secondary sexual characteristics

Five patients come to you with the following conditions. Diagnose which gland in the endocrine system may be

affected:

How would taking anabolic steroids (testosterone) cause the testis to shrink?

Mr. Musselman suffers from

HYPOGLYCEMIA

In what gland is the issue based?

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02sfaaq392&continuous=1

MOOD SWINGS

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02sfa8q392&continuous=1

Teenage Brain

• QUIZ • Ability Experiment • Biological Genetics • Evolutionary Psychology

AGENDA

FREE WRITE You are a novelist writing a mystery. You begin with a marvelous plot and the realization that your detective needs certain traits and abilities to be successful. This person needs to be sensitive enough to deal with witnesses and victims; tough enough to stay alive in the face of bombs, hired killers, and guard dogs; intelligent enough to break secret codes and outwit the criminal mastermind; and witty enough to be interesting and to find human in devastating situations.

Create a brief biography for this fictional character, in which you outline the heritable traits and life experiences that have allowed your detective to become this person. Which characteristics seem to be primarily “inborn”? Which ones were acquired by experience?

Behavior Genetics: What’s the Point?

• Behavior Genetics seeks to understand the relative influence of our heredity and our experiences

• Nature vs. Nurture? It’s both – but how much of each?

Behavior Genetics: Genetics Review

Chromosomes • Pairs of thread like bodies that contain

genes • Average human cell has 23 pairs • Sex cells?

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) • Organic molecule arranged in a double-helix • Contains the “code of life”

Genes • Basic units of inheritance • Segment of DNA

Genome • “map” for an organism’s genetic complete

make-up • Human Genome Project

Heredity examines the transmission of trait from one generation to next

Nature vs. Nurture How might we study this?

FAMOUS TWIN STUDY

• Both twins are married to women named Betty and divorced from women named Linda. • One has named his first son James Alan while the other named his first son James Allan. • Both twins have an adopted brother whose name is Larry. • Both named their pet dog "Toy." • Both had some law-enforcement training and had been a part-time deputy sheriff in Ohio. • Each did poorly in spelling and well in math. • Each did carpentry, mechanical drawing, and block lettering. • Each vacation in Florida in the same three-block-long beach area. • Both twins began suffering from tension headaches at eighteen, gained ten pounds at the

same time, and are six feet tall and 180 pounds.

CURIOSITY?

Why are children in the same family so different?

Molecular Genetics • Studies how particular genes

influence behavior (and traits) • e.g. Is there a gene that

determines obesity? Sexual orientation?

• Can now reveal at-risk populations for diseases.

• Promise and peril of molecular genetics? • Genetic engineering • Eugenics • Pre-natal screening ethical

dilemmas

Heritability The extent to which differences among people are

attributed to genes.

1. If the heritability of intelligence is 50%, what does this mean?

2. A woman is 60-inches tall. She finds out that the heritability of height is 90%. Does this mean she can credit 54 inches to here genes and 6 inches to her environment?

3. AS ENVIRONMENTAL DIFFERENCE DECREASE… HERITABILITY INCREASES…

Behavior Genetics: Temperament

Temperament refers to emotional reactivity and seems to be set very early in life (Environment can enhance or diminish this

genetic predisposition)

My niece Gabby has always been very shy Slow to warm up

My cousin Nolan is very extroverted

Gene-Environment Interaction

Can changing the environment change the way gene are expressed?

Callused feet Non-callused feet

Gene-Environment Interaction

• Genes and environment work together like two hands clapping THEY INTERACT

• Environment can trigger genetic “switches”

Factors such as diet, drugs, and stress can affect epigenetic

molecules that regulate gene expression.

FORGET NATURE VS. NURTURE

THINK

NATURE VIA NURTURE

Evolutionary Psychology

• Whereas behavior geneticists seek to explain our behavioral differences in terms of our genes, evolutionary psychologists focus on our similarities, as dictated by natural selection.

Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene (1976) • Varied organisms in a population compete to survive

• Certain biological and behavioral variations facilitate survival

• Surviving organisms may reproduce and pass on their genes

• This leads to overall changing characteristics in a population

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolution: • How does it work? • How long does it take?

Darwin Awards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc5DNhMxYvk

Evolutionary Psychology • Today, evolutionary psychologists examine persistent trends in

human behavior and seek to explain them • Keep in mind, however, that genetically driven tendencies only

partially govern human behavior!

FOR INSTANCE: Sexuality and Mating

MALES • QUANTITY OVER QUALITY • INCREASE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS BY

SPREADING THEIR GENES AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE

• ATTRACTION TO FERTILE FEMALES • NOT PHYSICALLY BOUND TO PREGNANCY

FEMALES • QUALITY OVER QUANTITY • MORE INVESTED IN BEARING/NURTURING

CHILDREN • SEEK MEN WHO EITHER PROVIDE SUPERB

GENES OR ARE GOOD PROVIDERS

Sexuality and Mating

Evolutionary Psychology

Perhaps males should invest more in child-

rearing?

CRITISISM

Evolutionary Psychology

• Do these arguments just provide excuses for bad behavior?

• Do humans have more of a social and cultural responsibility to make the world better?

• What about environmental influence? • How does the environment

reinforce these trends?

• How much of a role does environment play in the persistence of these roles?

• Who benefits?

CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Culture: • Distinctive values, beliefs, language

• Both tangible (food, clothing) and intangible (values, beliefs

Norms: • Rules that represent the typical

behaviors of a particular group. • Ex: “Personal Space”

Individualism vs Collectivism: • Individualist cultures place value of

singular person over that of a group. • What does your culture have? Why?

OTHER INFLUENCES • Gender Roles – expected behaviors for

males and females • Women as caregivers? • Men as breadwinners? • The Reality? Women now

OUTNUMBER men in the workplace in the US, yet in 87% of families with children, are still the primary caregivers.

• Variations across culture and time…

What do these roles and stereotypes provide us?

OTHER INFLUENCES (Gender Development)

• Aggression involves an intent to harm, whether verbal or physical: males admit to and exhibit more than females.

• Men are and are perceived as more powerful and engage in behaviors that exhibit and perpetuate this power inequity.

• Females place greater emphasis on social connections, choosing careers that involve social interaction or require nurturing roles

• Males have more difficulty admitting they are wrong

SCENARIO Early in 2000, a 6-year-old girl in Michigan was shot and killed by a first grade classmate. This young boy brought a loaded gun to school and shot her after a petty conflict developed during class. He later claimed that he had only intended to scare her but that the gun “went off.” The bullet struck the little girl in the throat and she died a short time later. No one was surprised to discover that the 6-year-old killer was being raised in neglectful and abusive circumstances, complicated by his caretaker’s drug abuse. Amid reactions of shock and outrage, one question was repeated over and over: How could it happen? Was there something biologically wrong with the child, so that he didn’t understand or couldn’t control what he was doing? Did his life experience make him prone to violence? Using the concepts from this chapter, provide your explanation of how the boy’s development-both nature and nurture- might have led to this tragedy. Explicitly discuss issues of genetics and environment, explaining how each factor might or might not have contributed to his behavior. YOU MIGHT FIND IT HELPFUL to organize your discussion around topics like: Temperament, prenatal environment, peer influence, culture, and gender.

Limitless

Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOLqNOfzus4

Neuron Firing:

Electro Chemical Process 1. Neuron at rest is polarized 2. Neuron receives signals from neighboring

neurons 3. Total excitatory input exceeds absolute threshold 4. Neuron fires according to all or none principle –

action potential shoots down the axon 5. Neurotransmitters are released across synapse. 6. Refractory period