Myers EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY 7th Ed Chapter 2 Neuroscience and Behavior James A McCubbin PhD Aneeq Ahmad Ph D Modified by Ray Hawkins Ph D Worth Publishers Neuroscience and Behavior Neural Communication Neurons How Neurons Communicate How Neurotransmitters Influence Us The Nervous System The Peripheral Nervous System The Central Nervous System Neuroscience and Behavior The Endocrine System The Brain Older Brain Structures The Cerebral Cortex Our Divided Brain Studying Hemispheric Differences in the Intact Brain History of Mind Phrenology Bettman Corbis In 1800 Franz Gall suggested that bumps of the skull represented mental abilities His theory though incorrect nevertheless proposed that different mental abilities were modular Neural Communication Biological Psychology branch of psychology concerned with the links between biology and behavior some biological psychologists call themselves behavioral neuroscientists neuropsychologists behavior geneticists physiological psychologist or biopsychologists Necessity of knowing biological processes underlying human behavior and mental functioning as much behavior is motivated by biological needs Neuron a nerve cell the basic building block of the nervous system Neural Communication Dendrite the bushy branching extensions of a neuron that receive messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body Axon the extension of a neuron ending in branching terminal fibers through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands Myelin MY uh lin Sheath a layer of fatty cells segmentally encasing the fibers of many neurons enables vastly greater transmission speed of neutral impulses Neural Communication Neural Communication Action Potential A neural impulse A brief electrical charge that travels down an axon and is generated by the movement of positively charged atoms in and out of channels in the axon s membrane Threshold Each neuron receives excitatory and inhibitory signals from many neurons When the excitatory signals minus the inhibitory signals exceed a minimum intensity threshold the neuron fires an action potential Neural Communication Action Potential Properties All or None Response A strong stimulus can trigger more neurons to fire and to fire more often but it does not affect the action potentials strength or speed Intensity of an action potential remains the same throughout the length of the axon Neural Communication Synapse SIN aps a junction between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite or cell body of the receiving neuron This tiny gap is called the synaptic gap or cleft Neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters chemicals released from the sending neuron travel across the synapse and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron thereby influencing it to generate an action potential Reuptake Neurotransmitters in the synapse are reabsorbed into the sending neurons through the process of reuptake This process applies the brakes on neurotransmitter action Neural Communication How Neurotransmitters Influence Us Serotonin pathways are involved with mood regulation From Mapping the Mind Rita Carter 1989 University of California Press Dopamine Pathways Dopamine pathways are involved with diseases such as schizophrenia and Parkinson s disease From Mapping the Mind Rita Carter 1989 University of California Press Neural Communication Lock Key Mechanism Neurotransmitters bind to the receptors of the receiving neuron in a key lock mechanism Agonists Antagonists The Nervous System Nervous System the body s speedy electrochemical communication system consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central nervous systems Central Nervous System CNS the brain and spinal cord Peripheral Nervous System PNS the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous system CNS to the rest of the body The Nervous System Nervous system Central brain and spinal cord Peripheral Autonomic controls self regulated action of internal organs and glands Skeletal controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles Sympathetic arousing Parasympathetic calming The Nervous System Nerves neural cables containing many axons part of the peripheral nervous system connect the central nervous system with muscles glands and sense organs Sensory Neurons neurons that carry incoming information from the sense receptors to the central nervous system The Nervous System Interneurons CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene between the sensory inputs and motor outputs Motor Neurons carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands Somatic Nervous System the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the body s skeletal muscles The Nervous System Autonomic Nervous System the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls the glands and the muscles of the internal organs such as the heart Sympathetic Nervous System division of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body mobilizing its energy in stressful situations Parasympathetic Nervous System division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body conserving its energy Autonomic Nervous System ANS Sympathetic NS Arouses fight or flight Parasympathetic NS Calms rest and digest Central Nervous System The Brain and Neural Networks Interconnected neurons form networks in the brain Theses networks are complex and modify with growth and experience Complex Neural Network Central Nervous System The Spinal Cord and Reflexes Simple Reflex The Endocrine System The Endocrine System is the body s slow chemical communication system Communication is carried out by hormones synthesized by a set of glands Hormones Hormones are chemicals synthesized by the endocrine glands that are secreted in the bloodstream Hormones affect the brain and many other tissues of the body For example epinephrine adrenaline increases heart rate blood pressure blood sugar and feelings of excitement during emergency situations 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 Thyroid Parathyroid Glands Regulate metabolic and calcium rate Adrenal Glands Adrenal glands consist of the adrenal medulla and the cortex The medulla secretes hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine during stressful and emotional situations while the adrenal cortex regulates salt and carbohydrate metabolism Gonads Sex glands are located in different places in men and women They regulate bodily
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