Chapter 1

• human brain


  is a squishy, wrinkled, walnut-shaped
• neuroscience


  (the scientific study of the nervous system), comprises several related disciplines like

  biopsychology.
• neurons


  (cells that receive and transmit
• Case of Jimmie G.


  He

  forgot everything that was said or shown to him

  within a few seconds. Jimmie could not remember

  anything that had happened to him since his early

  20s, and he was not going to remember anything that

  happened to him for the rest of his life.
• Four Major Themes of chapter 1

  1. THINKING CREATIVELY ABOUT

  BIOPSYCHOLOGY.

  2. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS.

  3. THE EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE.

  4. NEUROPLASTICITY.
• THINKING CREATIVELY ABOUT

  BIOPSYCHOLOGY.

  Some of the most important advances in

  biopsychological science have been

  made by researchers who have managed

  to overcome the restrictive effects of

  conventional thinking and have taken

  creative new approaches.
• thinking creatively


  (thinking in productive,

  unconventional ways) the cornerstone of any science.
• Clinical


  (pertaining to illness or

  treatment), considerations are woven

  through the fabric of biopsychology.
• Two aspects to the clinical implications

  theme:

  1. much of what biopsychologists

  learn about the functioning of a

  healthy brain comes from

  studying dysfunctional brains.

  2. many of the discoveries of

  biopsychologists have relevance

  for the treatment of brain

  dysfunction.
• evolutionary perspective


  (The approach that focuses on the

  environmental pressures that likely led

  to the evolution of the characteristics

  (e.g., of brain and behavior) of current

  species.)

  thinking of the environmental pressures

  that likely led to the evolution of our

  brains and behavior often leads to

  important biopsychological insights.
• comparative approach


  (trying to understand biological

  phenomena by comparing them in

  different species) an important component of the

  evolutionary perspective
• neuroplasticity


  (The notion that the brain is a

  "plastic" (changeable) organ

  that continuously grows and

  changes in response to an

  individual's environment and

  experiences.) it is a major component of many

  areas of biopsychological

  research.
• Emerging Themes of This Text

  1. THINKING ABOUT EPIGENETICS.

  2. CONSCIOUSNESS
• Epigenetics


  (The study of all mechanisms of

  inheritance other than the

  genetic code and its expression).
• consciousness


  (the perception or awareness of some

  aspect of one's self or the world)
• Biopsychology


  is the scientific study of the biology of behavior. denotes a biological approach to the study of

  psychology rather than a psychological approach

  to the study of biology
• Psychology


  the scientific study of behavior, the scientific study of all overt activities of the

  organism as well as all the internal processes

  that are presumed to underlie them (e.g.,

  learning, memory, motivation, perception,

  emotion).
• The publication of The Organization of

  Behavior in 1949 by Donald Hebb


  developed the first comprehensive

  theory of how complex psychological

  phenomena, such as perceptions,

  emotions, thoughts, and memories,

  might be produced by brain activity. discredit the view that psychological

  functioning is too complex to have its

  roots in the physiology and chemistry of

  the brain.
• Disciplines of neuroscience that are particularly relevant

  to biopsychology:

  Neuroanatomy, Neurochemistry, Neuroendocrinology, Neuropathology, Neuropharmacology, and Neurophysiology.
• Neuroanatomy.


  The study of the structure of

  the nervous system.
• Neurochemistry.


  The study of the chemical

  bases of neural activity.
• Neuroendocrinology.


  The study of interactions

  between the nervous system and the endocrine

  system.
• Neuropathology.


  The study of nervous system

  dysfunction.
• Neuropharmacology.


  The study of the effects

  of drugs on neural activity.
• Neurophysiology.


  The study of the functions

  and activities of the nervous system.
• Three major dimensions along which biopsychological

  research may vary:

  1. It can involve either human or nonhuman

  subjects.

  2. It can take the form of either formal experiments

  or nonexperimental studies.

  3. It can be either pure or applied.
• Humans have several advantages over other animals as

  experimental subjects of biopsychological research:

  ●They can follow instructions.

  ● They can report their subjective experiences.

  ● Their cages are easier to clean.

  ● Humans are often cheaper.

  ● Greatest advantage of humans: they have

  human brains.
• "three

  R's":

  Reduction, Refinement, Replacement
• EXPERIMENTS.


  The method used by scientists to study

  causation-to find out what causes what.
• between-subjects design


  a different group of subjects is tested

  under each condition
• within-subjects design


  tests the same group of subjects under

  each condition.
• independent variable


  the difference between the conditions
• dependent variable


  variable measured by the experimenter

  to assess the effect of the independent

  variable.
• Coolidge effect


  the fact that a copulating male who becomes

  incapable of continuing to copulate with one sex

  partner can often recommence copulating with a new

  sex partner
• QUASIEXPERIMENTAL STUDIES.

  Conducted because biopsychologists can't bring

  the experimental method to bear on all problems

  of interest to them. studies conducted in prohibitive situations of

  groups of subjects who have been exposed to the

  conditions of interest in the real world. not true experiments because potential

  confounded variables have not been controlled.
• case studies


  studies that focus on a single subject, or very

  small number of subjects. focus on providing a more in-depth picture than

  that provided by an experiment or a

  quasiexperimental study, and are an excellent

  source of testable hypotheses.
• generalizability


  a major problem of case studies because

  each individual is different. the degree to which their results can be

  applied to other cases.
• Pure research


  motivated primarily by the curiosity of the

  researcher—it is done solely for the purpose of

  acquiring knowledge.
• Applied research


  intended to bring about some direct benefit to

  humankind.
• translational research


  research that aims to translate the findings of

  pure research into useful applications for

  humankind