Biopsychology Study Guide Exam One Biology as a Neuroscience Be able to define biopsychology and know how it relates to psychology and neuroscience o Biopsychology Scientific study of the biology of behavior Considered to be intersection of neuroscience and psychology Integrative discipline o Neuroscience Study of the nervous system has it s own divisions neuroanatomy neurochemistry neuropathology etc Know the main divisions of neuroscience and what aspect of the nervous system they study o Neuroanatomy the study of the structure of the nervous system o Neurochemistry the study of the chemical bases of neural activity o Neuroendocrinology the study of interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system o Neuropathology the study of nervous system disorders o Neuropharmacology the study of the effects of drugs on neural activity o Neurophysiology the study of the functions and activities of the nervous system Know the 3 main dimensions along which research approaches in biopsychology differ subjects methods and types of research o Subjects Human Can follow instructions Can report on their subjective experiences Have a human brain trying to understand human brain ultimately Sometimes not possible to use unethical Nonhuman Mechanisms are similar across species often easier to study in other species Sheds light on evolution of the brain differences are more quantitative than qualitative ETHICAL ISSUES Minimalists favor firm regulation and place ethical consideration on type of animal and amount of stress Abolitionists Maintain all animals have same or equal rights as humans and ANY animal use is unethical Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee Oversees and determines acceptable procedures Manipulation of variables Between subjects design different groups of subjects tested under different conditions Within subjects design same group of subjects tested under all conditions Both establish CAUSE and EFFECT relationships Confounded variables affect the dependent variable Non Experiments Does not control variables of interest o Methods Experiments Do NOT establish cause and effect relationships Quasiexperimental studies studies of groups of subjects exposed to conditions in the real world o Confounding variables are not controlled for Case studies Focus on a single individual o Not generalizable generally o Most involve people with some sort of rare brain damage o Types of Research Pure Defined by the motivation of the researcher CURIOSITY More vulnerable to political regulation Applied Intended to bring about some direct benefit to humans Lots of research has aspects of both types Know the six main divisions of biopsychology and be able to identify the characteristics ofresearch in each division o Physiological psychology Studies the neural mechanisms of behavior Direct manipulation of brain in controlled experiments Lab animals Pure research o Psychopharmacology Focuses on the manipulation of neural activity and behavior with drugs Applied research Lab animals AND humans o Neuropsychology Studies effects of brain damage in humans Case studies quasiexperimental studies Most applied research of all divisions o Psychophysiology Studies the relationship between physiological activity and psychological processes in humans Noninvasive procedures EEG eye movement cardiovascular movement o Cognitive neuroscience Focuses on the neural bases of cognition Newest division of biopsychology Human subjects Functional brain imaging techniques noninvasive Deals with the biology of behavior Lab or ethical field research o Comparative psychology Study of evolution genetics and adaptiveness of behavior Know what convergent evidence means and understand its importance o Convergent evidence operations Different approaches focus on a single problem where the strengths of one approach compensate for the weakness of the others Gross Anatomy Parts 1 2 Know the main divisions and subdivisions of the nervous system o Nervous System A communication network consisting of nerve cells both inside and outside of the brain and spinal cord o Peripheral nervous system nerves enable the brain and spinal cord to communicate with body o Somatic nervous system nerves receive sensory info and send info to control movements of skeletal muscles Interacts with EXTERNAL environment Afferent nerves sensory information to brain Efferent nerves motor commands to the skeletal muscles under voluntary control o Autonomic Nervous System nerves regulate INTERNAL environment by controlling smooth muscles of internal organs blood vessel and glands Afferent nerves messages from internal organs to brain Efferent nerves motor signals from CNS to internal organs Be able to identify directional terms and anatomical planes o Directional Terms Neuraxis imaginary line through the center of the CNS Rostral Anterior toward the front head end Caudal Posterior toward the rear tail end Ventral Inferior towards the belly underneath Dorsal Superior towards to the back above Lateral Toward the side Medial Toward the middle Ipsilateral On the same side Contralateral On opposite sides HUMANS WALK UPRIGHT NEURAXIS BENDS AT RIGHT ANGLE o Anatomical Planes Sagittal Plane parallel to neuroaxis and perpendicular to ground Coronal frontal Plane parallel to forehead Horizontal axial Plane parallel to ground Be able to describe the structure of the spinal cord and the locations of its sensory inputsand motor outputs Second part of the CNS found in spinal column Long conical structure o Spinal cord Distributes nerves to glands organs and skeletal muscles Collects sensory information to be passed on to the brain Four divisions o Dorsal and Ventral horns Cervical Thoracic Lumbar Sacral 31 pairs of spinal nerves are attached one on left and one on right Dorsal root goes to the dorsal horn Nerves entering dorsal roots sensory afferent neurons Ventral root goes to the ventral horn Nerves exiting ventral roots motor efferent neurons Cell bodies are in the gray matter of the spinal cord H part Cell bodies of sensory cells are located in clusters outside the spinal cord called dorsal root ganglia H shape interior is different in color because cell bodies and dendrites of neurons are inside dorsal ventral horns and axon projections are myelinated giving a white color Know the functions and overall organization of the two main branches of the autonomic nervous system o Manage vital function of the body WITHOUT conscious effort or awareness o Sympathetic