PSYCHOLOGY 2010 H 2 BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Kowalski 1 Nervous System a Two components Provides the biological basis for psychological experience i Central Nervous System Directs psychological and basic life processes responds to stimuli 1 Two components a Spinal Cord motor output i Responsible for the Reflex Arch Receives sensory input sends info to the brain responds with 1 Reflex Arch involuntary responses a Ex Pulling your hand away from fire before you even feel pain b Brain is not involved until after the response then you feel pain b Brain Directs psychological activity processes info maintains life supports Carries info to and from the central nervous system ii Peripheral Nervous System 1 Two components Conveys sensory info to the central nervous a Somatic Nervous System b Autonomic Nervous System system and sends motor messages to muscles response to stress i Sympathetic Nervous System Serves basic life functions beating heart and Readies the body in response to threat ii Parasympathetic Nervous System Calms the body down maintains activates the organism energy b Neurons make up the nervous system support the nervous system protect and speed up the transition of the send out information 1 Dendrites 2 Axon 3 Myelin receive information from the other neurons i Parts neural impulse a Also keeps nerve messages from getting messed up or crossed b Made up of glial cells 4 Presynaptic Terminal 5 Synapse house the neural transmitters gap between the neurons transmit information from external stimuli to the brain transmit info between neurons c Types of neurons i Sensory ii Interneurons iii Motor transmit info to muscles d Transmission of Nerve Impulses i Picture axon as a tube filled with chemicals 1 The tube floats in a sea of more chemicals a Resting Potential b Action Potential c All or None Law threshold i Have to reach a threshold to fire stable negative charge when a cell is inactive 70mV brief change in the neuron s electrical charge strength of original stimulus irrelevant just above the 1 Reach the threshold by the exchange of ions a Axon as a tube of chemicals taking in ions from the sea of chemicals in order to reach the threshold and fire e Neurotransmitters i Acetylcholine Ach 1 affects muscle action cognitive functioning memory REM sleep emotion a Inadequate supply implicated in Alzheimers ii Dopamine DA 1 affects movement attention memory learning and emotion a Too much associated with schizophrenia too little with Parkinson s disease b People with Parkinson s often treated with L dopa to increase dopamine levels i As they are adjusting they often experience symptoms of schizophrenia c Also plays a role in addiction and the reward system iii Endorphins iv Serotonin 1 elevate mood reduce pain affect memory learning a can be brought into action by neurostimulation therapy 1 affects mood sleep appetite sensory perception temperature regulation pain suppression impulsivity and aggression a An undersupply leads to depression SSRIs f Effects of drugs on neural transmission i Any substance that affects moods thoughts and behavior is affecting your neurons 1 Effect depends on the part being stimulated a Drugs usually have the effects at the synapses where they replace decrease enhance the amount of particular neurotransmitters ii Types of effects 1 Mimic Neurotransmitters a Cause the neuron to fire i Ex Caffeine or nicotine 2 Cause neurotransmitters to leak or be release easier from the axon terminals a Causes a lot of stimulation that wouldn t normally occur i Ex Amphetamines 3 Slow the release of neurotransmitters a Lowers the activity and arousal in the brain i Ex Barbiturates tranquilizers depressants sedatives Valium 4 Block the re uptake of neurotransmitters a Neurotransmitters stay in the synapse too long and continue to fire 5 Block receptor sites on dendrites without stimulation neuron i Ex Cocaine a Ex Antagonists LSD 2 The Brain a Handout made by Dr Kowalski Clemson University spring 2015 PSYCH2010H i Additional parts of the brain not mentioned on handout 1 Broca s Area specialized for the production of speech a Left hemisphere of the brain 2 Wernicke s Area specialized for the comprehension of speech a Left hemisphere behind Broca s Area