Psychology 1010 Tuesday 9 9 First Exam next Tuesday Methods of understanding the brain Phrenology Bumps on the brain correspond to certain personality traits Divided the brain into personality traits Simplistic view of understanding the brain Brain Damage We can know about the functions of certain systems by determining what is lacking when they are damaged Electrical Stimulation Electroencephalograph EEG monitors brain activity during waking and sleeping Brain Scans and Imaging Computed Tomography CT allows us to visualize internal structures by creating a 3D representation with X rays Magnetic Resonant imaging MRI measure the release of energy from water in biological tissues while functional MRI fMRI uses oxygenated blood to measure activity Positron Emission Tomography PET measures the use of radioactive glucose like molecules Trans Magnetic Stimulation TMS can enhance or interrupt brain function Challenges with Brain Scans The colors are arbitrary and imposed by researchers The pictures you see is one image subtracted from another Likelihood of chance findings is large Do we only use 10 of our brain No We use much more than this Localization of Function Activation of brain areas that are active during a specific task above baseline Lateralization Cognitive function that relies more on one side of the brain than the other There is not necessarily right brained or right brained correlation between being artsy or liking math Look at split brained patients Who Are we we are a product of genetics Nature and our environment nuture Biological Material Chromosomes Threads inside a cell s nucleus that carry genetic information humans have 46 chromosomes 23 pairs two of which are sex linked Genes Genetic material transmitted from our parents made up of deoxyribonucleic acid DNA DNA stores all of the information necessary to build and individual Genotype The set of genes transmitted from our parents to us the gene paris themselves Phenotype set of observable traits brown hair green eyes Gene Expression via phenotypes depends on the combinations of dominant and recessive genes due to genes Heritability percentage or the variability in a trait across individuals that is Everyday life Height has between 70 80 heritability meaning that between 70 and 80 of the differences among individual s height is due to genetics Reaction Range The extent to which genes set limits on how much a trait can change in response to environments How we study behavioral genetic Family Studies Examines the extent to which a characteristic runs in the family fraternal dizygotic twins biological relatives Twin Studies Examines differences between identical monozygotic and Adoption Studies Examines how traits vary in individuals raised away from Correction from previous lecture Axon and Soma Synapse Action potential goes through dendrites
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