1/13/15 – Lecture 1 – Intro to Bio-Psych- What is Biological Psychology?o Psychology: the scientific study of the human mind and its functions especially of thoughts, feelings, and behaviorso Biological Psychology: the application of the principles of biology to the study of thoughts, feelings, and behavior in humans and animals Bio Psych focuses on the roles genes, molecules, cells, tissues, and organs play incognitive, affective, and behavioral processes- The Principles of Biologyo Anatomy: the study of the different organs and their structureso Cellular Anatomy: the study of the cell organelles and their structureso Physiology: the study of how living systems functiono Genetics: the study of how genes and evolution affect biological processeso Developmental Biology: the study of how an organism and its tissues are created during developmento Biochemistry: the study of how molecules of life and how they influence living systems- The Study of Biological Psychologyo Scientific Research: systematic, controlled, and critical examination of the world, often uses experiments to explore therelationship between 2+ variableso Experiments: subjects are placed in one of two conditions whereone variable is manipulated so that the manipulated effect can be measuredo 5 Types of Biopsychological Variables that can be Manipulated 1. Genetic Manipulations: selective breeding, transgenic(selective of genes, single subject) manipulation- Animals only 2. Neuropharmacology: giving agonists or antagonists (drugs) to alter brain chemistry- Humans and Animals 3. Electrical Stimulation: increase the activity of a brain region by stimulating it with electricity- Humans and Animals 4. Trauma Studies: damage to a brain region due to accidental injury- Humans only 5. Lesion Studies: intentional damage to brain regions and can be temporary or permanent- Animals onlyo 4 Types of Biopsychological Outcome Variables that can be Measured 1. Neuroimaging: noninvasive ways to image brain structures or their activity- MRI, fMRI, PET scans 2. Electrophysiology: measuring the electrical activity of the brain- EEG, EMG, Patch Clamping 3. Neurochemistry: measuring neuro transmitters, metabolites, and signaling molecules 4. Neurocytology: staining cells in the brain to explore anatomy or the activity of connectionso Human vs Non-Human Subjects (animals are most commonly used) PROS: you don’t need the non-human subject’s consent,fewer ethical issues, reproduce and recover faster, largerand more similar subject pool, better variable and environmental control, simpler nervous system CONS: cant self-report their feelings and reactions, could accidentally kill a lot of subjects, not all processes are the same as humans, can’t always follow instructions, simpler nervous