Lecture 1 the biological approach to behavior What is biological psychology AKA physiological psychology psychobiology behavioral neuroscience The study of the physiological evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior Approaches the mind body question in terms of brain activity that was selected for across evolutionary time Biological explanations of behavior Functional advantage of the behavior Physiological activity of brain and other organs Otogenetic processes relating to development Evolutionary historical influences of natural selection Career opportunities Research Clinical Education Medical Why use animals in research Similarities to humans Differences from humans for the animals benefit Evolutionary perspective Ethics and limitations on people Ensuring animal welfare Reduction Replacement Refinement Lecture 2 Genetics and Behavior Institutional animal care and use committees What is behavior Observable and measurable Occurs in response to an internal or external stimulus Heritable passed down through generations via genes For behavior to persist across generations it must have some adaptive significance e g help the species survive and reproduce Genes Units of heredity Maintain unique identity across generations e g don t blend Composed of deoxyribonucleic acid DNA Found on comprise chromosomes Usually come in pairs How do genes become behavior DNA instruction template isolated in cell nucleus Transcription occurs Ribonucleic acid RNA takes info out of cell nucleus and serves as a template for amino acid sequencing Translation occurs Proteins become body tissues and functional components Genes and traits Homozygous genes on each chromosome are identical i e bb BB Heterozygous genes on each chromosome are different i e Bb Dominant expressed trait will show through in either homozygous or heterozygous condition Recessive expressed trait will only show through in homozygous condition Genotype actually Phenotype Actually expression of those genes what you see i e color Alleles the outcome i e the pea pod is white or purple linked found only on sex chromosomes i e X or Y Sex determined genetics Sex genes More often expressed in males Because they only have one chance of receiving the trait only carried on the x chromosome Ex Sex Expression based on sex hormones They are not going to be expressed until a sex chromosome comes into play basically testosterone estrogen needs to be present found on autosomes limited genes Not this straight forward Variations of outcomes Genetic Changes Mutation change in gene expression due to a change to DNA i e chemicals or radiation Something that gets into the nucleus and change the DNA Results in altered amino acid sequencing and thus protein construction Changed genes are heritable Epigenetics change in gene expression without a change to the DNA sequence i e if something is too tightly bound and cant be expressed Typically due to environmental factors or experience Can be heritable Has a lot to do with behavior Example of epigenetic regulation Some rat moms are good at licking and grooming their young and some are bad If you take the pup of a low grooming mother and give it to a high grooming mother she ll grow up to be high grooming But if you block epigenetic regulation using a drug via blockade of histone acetyltransferases then the pup will still grow up to be low grooming How to dissociate the role of heredity from that of the environment nature vs nurture Studies with genetically modified animals Knockout mice and genetically modify Twin studies Monozygotic Dizygotic identical genetic code siblings same prenatal environment fraternal as genetically similar as typical Adoption studies see how closely they resemble birth parents vs adoptive parents Gene association studies i e in isolated groups Evolution and evolutionary psychology Evolution change in frequency of gene expression across generations Selection any gene associated with greater reproductive success will be more prevalent in subsequent generations Natural or artificial selection Lecture 3 Nerve and Glial Cells Nerves are cells specialized to receive and transmit information Individual entities but work as a group with the help of glial support cells to make up the nervous system Like other cells Neurons contain the following structures Membrane Nucleus Mitochondria Ribosomes Endoplasmic reticulum HeLa Cells Yellow nucleus Pink mitochondria Blue membrane and cytoskeleton Anatomy of a cell Nucleus a structure that contains the chromosomes Mitochondrion structure that performs metabolic activities and provides energy that the cell requires power houses convert into ATP Ribosomes sites at which the cell synthesizes new protein molecules where MRNA is taken to be converted Membrane a structure that separates the inside of the cell from the outside environment double layer of phospholipid molecules Selectively permeability What makes a nerve cell special Structure and function allow them to do things in a certain Have cell body soma just like any other cell Branching extensions specialized to receive and transmit way signals o Dendrites receive information from environment or neighboring cells May be equipped with spines to increase surface area bigger surface area the more information that can be received o Axon sends information May be coated in a myelin sheath so information can be conduced faster Spaces between myelin called nodes of Ranvier o Presynaptic terminals end of axon where electrical action turns chemical What happens if the functional parts of nerve cells no longer work The neuron will die and in alzheimer s the brain will start to shrink and lose function Types of neurons Sensory o Receive info from environment o Sends info to the rest of the nervous system o Specialized on one end to be highly sensitive to a particular type of stimulation touch light sound etc and then sends the signal on Interneurons intrinsic neuron o Connects sensory to motor neurons within a single structure Motor cord o Receives info from other neurons soma is in spinal o Sends info to the muscles o Has its soma in the spinal cord and receives excitation from other neurons and conducts impulses along its axon to a muscle How these work together to produce behavior Afferent projecting to Efferent projecting from Ex the receptor i e in skin is an afferent neuron Glia regulating getting rid of waste myelin sheaths role in placement of neurons support cells but may have even more
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