CHAPTER 5: BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY  LECTURE NOTESChapter 5- Biological Psychologyo Nervous System Cells Neurons- Cells that the brain uses to process informationo These types of cells are also present in the rest of the nervous system- Brain and spinal cordo Glia cells Cells that support the neurons- Neurono Has three parts Cell Body(Soma) Dendrites Axon_- Neurono Cell Body (Soma) Contains the __nucleus___o Dendrites _RECIEVE__ transmissions from other cellso Axon _SENDS__ information to other cellso Myelin  Insulating sheath layer that speeds up transmissions_- Axon: 2 ways of responding- Excitatory Impulses: Respond; excited or action responses;- Inhibitory Impulses: _______________________________________________________- The Action Potentialo _Electro-Chemical Processo Efficient and does not diminish in strength- All or None Lawo It either happens or it doesn’t happen- How it workso Resting Potential: At rest- Role of Sodium (NA+) and Potassium (K+) ionso Both are positive ionso Sodium-Potassium Pumpo At resting potential, this pump pushes Sodium out of the axon, and pums Potassium in.- How it works: action potential travels down the axon like a wave of energyo Action Potentials start in one of two ways Spontaneous activity_ They are excited by other neuronso Sodium enters into the cell, Axon becomes more positive Threshold Action Potentialo Sodium gates closeo Potassium gates open, Potassium leaves Resting Potential- Why Should You Care?o Helps you interpret paino Helps block pain- Synapseo Gap between Neuronso Chemical communication- Terminal buttonso Triggers neurotransmitter release- Post-synapseo Post-synaptic neuron The neuron on the _the receiving end of the synapse- Neurotransmitter fate after it has done its jobo Reuptakeo Metabolizedo Reattach- Neurotransmitterso Psychiatry any drug that increases or decreases the activity of a particular type of receptor produces specific effects on behavioro Parkinson’s disease Too little Dopamine L-Dopa-drug- Increases Dopamine levelso Depression Dopamine and Serotonino Drugs Drugs also affect your behavior by way of the neurotransmitters. Each drug acts on specific neurotransmitters to create a particular type of “high”- Major Divisions of the Nervous Systemo Central nervous system _Brain and spinal cordo Peripheral nervous system Bundles of axons between the _spinal cord_ and the __rest of the body_o Somatic nervous system _Skin and muscles_o Autonomic nervous system: involuntary, or automatic, we have little control over it Heart, stomach, other organs- Sympathetic: fight and flight- Feed and sleep- The Braino Forebrain Most dominant part Consists of two hemispheres- Cerebral Cortexo Gray matter: o White matter:- Cerebral Cortexo 4 lobes Occipital Lobe- At the rear of the braino Vision Blindsight Parietal Lobe- In front of the occipital lobeo Specialized for body senses Touch, pain, temperature, awareness of location of body parts- Primary somato-sensory (body-sensory) cortexo Part of the parietal lobe Responsible for touch perception- Damage to these areas leads to loss of sensation, difficulty estimating how far away objects are Temporal Lobe- Located on the left and right sides of the head close to the earso Responsible for hearing on the left and right sides of the head close to the ears. Responsible for hearing and more complex aspects of vision. Damage to certain areas may lead to very specific deficits- Inability to recognize faces, difficulty perceiving motion, difficulty recognizing melodies- Amygdalao Responds to _emotional situations and facial expressions that convey emotions_ Damage leads to _delay in processing information4. Frontal Lobe- Front of the braino Primary motor cortex Planned control of __fine movements__o Prefrontal cortex Contributes to the _organization and planning of movement and certain aspects of memory.o Communication Smell: (ol factory) comes straight in to the cerebral cortex Touch:- ThalamusRelay station to the cerebral cortex_______ Cerebellum:  Movement Behaviors that require aim or timing- Autonomic Nervous Systemo Controls the internal organs such as the hearto Autonomic: _______________________________________________________- Sympathetic: __Fight or flight response________________________________________- Parasympathetic: ___at rest____________________________________- Measuring Brain Activityo Electoencephalograph (EEG) Uses electrodes on the scalp to record changes in brain electrical activity Used to measure _people’s reactions to certain stimuli__o Positron-emission tomography (PET) Record radioactivity of various brain areas emitted from injected chemicals First the brain is injected with a radioactivity labeled compound such as glucose Computers measure the amount of radioactivity emitted by the brain and create a computer image Functional Mganetic resonance image (fMRI) - Uses magnetic detectors to compares the amounts of hemoglobin with and without oxygen in different brain areas- Indicate which brain areas- Experienceo The nervous system is generally the same across people around the worldo Changes do occur “Exercising” the brain Stem cells: any type of neuron that they need to- The Binding Problemo How do we experience a unified self?o The question of how Binding problem: separate brian areas combine forces to produce a unified perception of a single object._o There _______is no_______ central processor Role of the Parietal lobe: helps locate things in space and time. Gathering information_- Split Braino Corpus callosum Set of axons connecting the _right and left hemispheres. Epilepsy: Seizure disorder sometimes treated by severing the corpus callosum.o Speech: Split brain