5 research perspectives on biopsychology Theoretical perspectives 1 Systematic description of behavior A description must be precise and reveal the essential features of the behavior using accurately defined terms and units 2 The evolution of brain and behavior by evaluating similarities among species due to shared ancestry and by looking for species specific differences in behavior and biology that have evolved as adaptations to different environments 3 Life span development of the brain and behavior Ontogeny is the process by which an individual changes in the course of its lifetime grows up and grows old Observing the way a particular behavior changes during ontogeny may give us clues to its functions and mechanisms 4 The biological mechanisms of behavior regard organism as a machine made up of billions of nerve cells or neurons 5 studying applications of biopsych Reductionism The scientific strategy of breaking a system down into increasingly smaller parts in order to understand it we can understand complex systems by dissecting their simpler constituent parts Neural plasticity neuroplasticity The ability of the nervous system to change in response to experience or the environment Animal research 93 of mammals used in research are lab reared rodents Early humans had to study animal behaviors and physiology in order to escape some species and hunt others Researchers have an obligation to minimize the discomfort of their animal subjects bound by animal protection legislation also adhere to nationally mandated animal care policies As few animals as possible without jeopardizing research integrity and the use o the simplest species that can answer the questions under study Epigenetics The study of factors that affect gene expression turning on or off of specific genes without making any changes in the nucleotide sequence of the gene themselves Causality The relation of cause and effect such that we can conclude that an experimental manipulation has specifically caused n observed result Correlation the co occurance of a behavior or somatic change re covariation of two measures we can t conclude just associated Evolutionary psychology A field of study devoted to asking how natural selection has shaped behavior including specific cognitive abilities in humans and other animals Neurophysiology is the study of life processes within neurons which are specialized to use electrical signals for communication The study of the functions and activities of the nervous system Sagittal plane any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the face also termed coronal sections Nervous system structure Neuraxis line drawn through the central nervous system from nose to tail Anterior in front of toward the nose end of a vertebrate Posterior toward the tail end of a vertebrate or toward the back of the head Rostral Caudal anterior toward nose posterior toward tail Dorsal towards the surface of the back of a vertebrate or toward the top of the head Ventral towards the belly or toward the bottom of the head Superior toward the top of the primate head above Inferior toward the bottom of the head or brain below Lateral away from the midline of the body toward the body s lateral surfaces Madial toward the midline of the body Ipsilateral same side Contrallateral the opposite of the body Transverse plane plane that divides the body into a front and back part Horizontal plane any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the top of the brain Meninges The three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord protective layers surrounding the CNS can be inflamed by infections and because the inflammations ends up squeezing the brain the resultant meningitis is a medical emergency dura matter thickest and toughest outer sheet provide certain level of physical protection pia matter adheres to the surface of the CNS close to brain and spinal cord the innermost of the three meninges Arachnoid spiderweblike membrane webby substance suspend the brain in a bath of CSF Subarachnoid space contains many large blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid The ventricle system filled with CSF Ventricles Remnants of the central canal The openings of the brain that produce and contain CSF supports weight of brain each hemisphere of the brain contains a lateral ventricles extending to all four lobes The CSF flows from lateral ventricles third ventricle cerebral aqueduct forth ventricle enters the subarachnoid space surrounding the CNS The third ventricle connects with the fourth by the cerebral aqueduct CSF is absorbed back into the circulatory system through large veins beneath the top of the skull problem solving the anterior pat of the fetal forebrain which will become the cerebral hemispheres in the adult brain Cerebrospinal fluid CSF physical support from inside protects CNS supports and cushions the brain The fluid that fills the cerebral ventricles subarachnoid space Acts as a shock absorber Produced at the choroid plexus in the ventricles Blockade of the flow of the CSF produces hydrocephalus water head E g The flow of CSF is blocked by a tumor the resulting buildup of fluid in the ventricles cause the walls of the ventricles and thus the entire brain to expand cause hydrocephalus water head Choroid plexus The lateral ventricles are lined with a specialized membrane called Choroid plexus produces CSF with filtering blood Stroke Damage to a region of brain tissue that results from the blockage or rupture of vessels that supply blood to that region Brain imaging techniques Divisions of the central nervous system Forebrain Telencephalon Consists of the cortex limbic system and basal ganglia Telencephalon largest division initiates voluntary movement interprets sensory input and mediates complex cognitive processes such as learning speaking and Cerebral cortex the outer covering of the cerebral hemisphere which consists largely of nerve cell bodies densely packed grey matter deeply convoluted furrowed convolutions can increase the amount of cerebral cortex without increasing the volume most mammals are lissencephallic smooth brained appear to related more to body size instead of intellectual capacity 90 of the cerebral cortex is neocortex sixlayered Gyrus ridges of tissue of convoluted brain surface separate from each other by Sulcus Precentral gyrus in frontal lobe postcentral gyrus in pariental lobe superior temporal gyrus in temporal lobe and cingulate gyrus Sulcus small furrows