Biological psychology studies the biological foundations of behavior and mental processes. Researchers in this field draw from psychology, biology, physiology, and neuroscience to understand the relationships between brain activity and observable behavior. Key research methods include histology to examine brain tissues, imaging technologies like MRI and PET to observe the living brain, and recording technologies like EEG and MEG to measure electrical and magnetic activity in the brain.
Biological psychology studies the biological foundations of behavior and mental processes. Researchers in this field draw from psychology, biology, physiology, and neuroscience to understand the relationships between brain activity and observable behavior. Key research methods include histology to examine brain tissues, imaging technologies like MRI and PET to observe the living brain, and recording technologies like EEG and MEG to measure electrical and magnetic activity in the brain.
Biological psychology studies the biological foundations of behavior and mental processes. Researchers in this field draw from psychology, biology, physiology, and neuroscience to understand the relationships between brain activity and observable behavior. Key research methods include histology to examine brain tissues, imaging technologies like MRI and PET to observe the living brain, and recording technologies like EEG and MEG to measure electrical and magnetic activity in the brain.
Biological psychology studies the biological foundations of behavior and mental processes. Researchers in this field draw from psychology, biology, physiology, and neuroscience to understand the relationships between brain activity and observable behavior. Key research methods include histology to examine brain tissues, imaging technologies like MRI and PET to observe the living brain, and recording technologies like EEG and MEG to measure electrical and magnetic activity in the brain.
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BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY HISTORY OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Biological psychology is defined as “the branch 3000 B.C.
of psychology that studies the biological - Egyptians discard the brain during the foundations of behavior, emotions, and mental mummification process; however, processes.” (Pickett, 2000). published case studies indicate accurate Biological psychologists try to answer four types observations of neural disorders. of questions about any given behavior. 400 B.C.−200 A.D. - Physiological: How does it relate to the - Hippocrates declares that the brain is the physiology of the brain and other source of intellect. organs? - Galen makes accurate observations from - Ontogenetic: How does it develop dissection; however, believed that fluids within the individual? transmitted messages. - Evolutionary: How did the capacity for the behavior evolve? 1600–1800 - Functional: Why did the capacity for this behavior evolve? (That is, what - René Descartes suggests mind-body function does it serve?) dualism; hydraulic transmission. - Anton van Leeuwenhoek invents the Researchers in biological psychology draw light microscope. techniques and theories from psychology, - Galvani and du Bois-Reymond discover biology, physiology, biochemistry, that electricity transmits messages in the neurosciences, and related fields to identify the nervous system. relationships between the nervous system's activity and observable behavior. 1800–1900
Biological explanations of behavior do not - Bell and Magendie determine that
necessarily assume that the individual neurons communicate in one direction understands the purpose or function of the and that sensation and movement are behavior. controlled by separate pathways. - Gall and Spurzheim demonstrate that Philosophers and scientists continue to address phrenology is inaccurate, but the notion the mind-brain or mind-body relationship. of localization of function in the nervous system is accurate. Dualism, the view that the mind exists - Paul Broca discovers localization of separately from the brain, is opposed by the speech production. principle that only matter and energy can affect - Fritsch and Hitzig identify the other matter and energy. localization of motor function in the Nearly all philosophers and scientists who have cerebral cortex. addressed the mind-brain problem favor some 1900–Present version of monism, the belief that the universe consists of only one kind of substance. - Ramón y Cajal declares that the nervous system is composed of separate cells. No one has found a way to answer the “hard - John Hughlings Jackson explains brain problem” of why brain activity is related to functions as a hierarchy, with more mental experience at all. However, later chapters complicated functions carried out by discuss studies of what types of brain activity higher levels of the brain. are necessary for consciousness. - Otto Loewi demonstrates chemical murderers function compared with the brains of signaling at the synapse. typical people. - Charles Sherrington coins the term - COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY “synapse,” wins Nobel Prize in 1932. (CT) - An imaging technology in which - Sir John Eccles, Andrew Huxley, and computers are used to enhance X-ray Alan Hodgkin share the 1963 Nobel images. Prize for their work in advancing our - POSITRON EMISSION understanding of the way neurons TOMOGRAPHY (PET) - An imaging communicate. technique that provides information - Bernard Katz receives the 1970 Nobel regarding the localization of brain Prize for his work on chemical activity. transmission at the synapse. - MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING - Society for Neuroscience counts more (MRI) - An imaging technique that than 38,000 members in 2007. provides very high-resolution structural images. RESEARCH METHOD IN BIOLOGICAL - VOXEL - Short for “volume pixel”. A PSYCHOLOGY pixel is the smallest distinguishable square part of a two-dimensional image. HISTOLOGY refers to the study of microscopic A voxel is the smallest distinguishable structures and tissues. Histological methods box-shaped part of a three-dimensional provide means for observing the structure, image. organization, and connections of individual - FUNCTIONAL MRI (FMRI) - A cells. technology using a series of MRI - MICROTOME - A device used to make images taken 1 to seconds apart in order very thin slices of tissue for histology. to assess the activity of the brain. - GOLGI SILVER STAIN - A stain RECORDING – methods that allow researchers developed by Camillo Golgi used to to record the electrical and magnetic output from observe single neurons. the brain continue to be useful. - NISSL STAIN - A stain used to view populations of cell bodies. - ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM (EEG) - MYELIN STAIN - A stain is used to - A technology for studying the activity trace neural pathways. of the brain through recordings from - HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE - A electrodes placed on the scalp. stain used to trace axon pathways from Note: German psychiatrist Hans Berger their terminals to points of origin. made the first EEG recording. Berger observed that his recordings varied with AUTOPSY - The word autopsy means “to view wakefulness, sleep, anesthesia, and for oneself.” Researchers have frequently relied epilepsy. on observations made during an autopsy, or - EVOKED POTENTIAL - An alteration examination of the body following death. in the EEG recording produced in IMAGING - New imaging techniques provide response to the application of a significant advantages over the autopsy. With particular stimulus. current imaging technologies, we can watch the Note: The analysis of evoked potentials living brain as it engages in processes such as allows researchers to map the brain’s reading or emotional response. We can identify EEG response to environmental stimuli. differences in the ways the brains of serial - MAGNETOENCEPHALOGRAPHY naturally occurring lesions that result from (MEG) - A technology for recording the injury magnetic output of the brain. or disease, gaining a great deal of information Note: (a) To record the tiny magnetic about the function of the brain. fields generated by the brain, a series of supercooled sensors known as The lesion is pathological or traumatic damage superconducting quantum interference to tissue. devices (SQUIDs) are arrayed around the participant’s head. (b) This sequence Note: To investigate the function of a particular illustrates the process of using MEG to part of the brain, radio frequency current is record a participant’s response to a tone. passed through the tips of insulated electrodes that have been surgically implanted. The BRAIN STIMULATION - One of the important resulting changes in behavior are correlated with questions raised in biological psychology relates the lesions produced. to the localization of functions within the brain and nervous system. Interpretation of the results - ABLATION – Deliberate lesions are of stimulation research must be done with great performed in a number of ways. In some caution. Because brain structures are richly studies, large areas of brain tissue are connected with other areas of the brain, surgically removed and it’s called stimulating one area will also affect other areas ablation. to which it is connected. BIOCHEMICAL METHOD - allow for the - REPEATED TRANSCRANIAL artificial stimulation of the nervous system with MAGNETIC STIMULATION (rTMS) - chemicals as well as the assessment of the A technique for stimulating the cortex at biochemical environment in an area of particular regular intervals by applying a magnetic interest within the nervous system. pulse through a wire coil encased in - MICRODIALYSIS - A technique for plastic and placed on the scalp. assessing the chemical composition of a Note: In this procedure, small magnetic very small area of the brain. pulses are delivered to the brain through - MICRODIALYSIS - allows researchers a wand held above the scalp. The to identify which neurochemicals are magnetism temporarily changes the active in a precise location, as well as activity of small areas of cortex lying the approximate quantity of these below the wand. This technique shows chemicals. promise for research as well as for the treatment of depression and GENETIC METHOD - Many researchers strive hallucination. to identify the relative contributions of hereditary and environmental variables on a LESION - A lesion is an injury to neural tissue particular behavior. There are a number of ways and can be either naturally occurring or to approach this type of question. None of these deliberately produced. As was the case with approaches is completely satisfying, but each stimulation, the primary purpose of lesion has resulted in dramatically furthering our analysis is to assess the probable function of an knowledge of the role of heredity in behavior. area. The behavior observed prior to the lesion can be compared with behavior occurring after - TWIN STUDIES the lesion, with changes attributed to the area o Twin Studies One approach to the that was damaged. Neuropsychologists evaluate question of heredity versus environment is to compare the variable of interest by using identical (monozygotic) and fraternal (dizygotic) twins. - STUDIES OF GENETICALLY- o Comparisons between the two types of MODIFIED ANIMALS twins, therefore, provide a sense of the o By using this method, researchers can extent of genetic influence on a trait of assess the roles of particular genes and interest. the proteins they encode. o Some psychological disorders, such as o Opiates, such as morphine and heroin, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, are activate receptors for naturally occurring significantly influenced by heredity. substances known as endorphins. o Others, such as major depressive o We can therefore conclude that certain disorder, show some evidence of genetic aspects of an animal's normal reaction to vulnerability but are also heavily morphine are dependent on the existence influenced by environmental variables. of opiate receptors. Without these o This indicates that some heritability for receptors, pain reduction, addiction, and depression does occur but that withdrawal do not occur. environmental variables play a more significant role than in the case of - KNOCKOUT GENES - Genes that take bipolar disorder. the place of normal genes but that fail to produce the specific protein produced by - ADOPTION STUDIES the normal genes. o Another approach to quantifying the - STEM CELL - An undifferentiated cell influences of heredity and environment that can divide and differentiate into is to compare the similarities of an other types of cells. Growing adopted individual to his or her replacement tissue for repairing biological and adoptive parents. damaged organs, including the brain and o Similarities to the biological parents spinal cord suggest a role for heredity, whereas similarities to the adoptive parents suggest a role for the environment. o Adoption studies have been used to assess the relative contributions of heredity and environment to such characteristics as intelligence and criminality. o In contrast, if you planted seeds under more variable conditions, the resulting plants would reflect the contributions of both genetic and environmental factors. o Like the ideal conditions for our plants, genetic influences may be magnified by the similar environments provided by adoptive parents.
- HERITABILITY - The amount of
variability of a trait in a population that is due to genetics.