Introduction of Physiology

• Physiological psychology


  The study of the biological foundations of behaviour and mental processes
• Explanations of behaviour


  • Physiological
  • Ontogenetic
  • Evolutionary
  • Functional
• Physiological explanation


  Explanations of a person's physiology functions and how those functions affect a person's behaviour
• Ontogenetic explanation


  Describes how behaviour develops over a lifetime, including genes, nutrition and experiences
• Evolutionary explanation


  Focuses on the genetic history of a behaviour and how it evolved to aid survival and reproduction
• Functional explanation


  Describes why a structure or behaviour evolved as it did, and what function it serves or served
• Mendelian genetics


  • Gregor Mendel demonstrated that inheritance occurs through genes
  • Genes come in pairs aligned along chromosomes
• DNA


  A double-stranded chemical that contains genetic information

  
• RNA


  A single-stranded chemical that can serve as a model for the synthesis of proteins
• Homozygous


  A person has an identical pair of genes on two chromosomes

  
• Heterozygous


  A person has an unmatched pair of genes on two chromosomes

  
• Dominant genes


  Show a strong effect in either the homozygous or heterozygous condition
• Recessive genes


  Show their effects only in the homozygous condition
• Types of genes


  • Autosomal
  • Sex-limited
  • Sex-linked
• Mutation


  A change in a single gene that is rare, random and independent of the needs of the organism
• Recombination


  New combination of genes in offspring that yield characteristics not found in parents
• Epigenetics


  The study of how behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect gene expression
• Histones


  A family of basic proteins that associate with DNA in the nucleus and help condense it into chromatin
• Heredity


  The mechanism used to pass the message of inheritance from one generation to the next
• Heritability


  A measure of how well differences in people's genes account for differences in their traits
• Monozygotic (identical) twins


  Conceived when a single egg fertilized by a single sperm splits into two after fertilization

  
• Dizygotic (fraternal) twins


  Conceived when two eggs are fertilized by two different sperms

  
• Phenylketonuria (PKU)


  An inherited disorder that increases the levels of phenylalanine in the blood
• Phenylalanine


  A building block of proteins obtained through the diet (amino acids)
• Genes influence behaviour even without being expressed in the brain
• Both genes and environment influence behaviour, and their interaction is the focus of study
• Genes create a framework within which the environment acts to shape behaviour
• Genes create the scaffold for learning, memory, and cognition
• The environment can affect morphological and physiological development, which then affects behaviour
• Biological purpose of life

  To procreate
• Survival of the fittest

  Survival of the best adapted to procreate
• To give an evolutionary explanation of behaviour, you must explain how that behaviour helps us to survive and/or procreate
• Parts of the nervous system

  • Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
  • Peripheral nervous system (cranial and spinal nerves)

  
• Somatic nervous system


  Conveys messages from sense organs to CNS and from CNS to muscles
• Autonomic nervous system


  Consists of neurons that receive information from and send commands to internal organs
• Sympathetic nervous system


  Prepares organs for vigorous activity, responsible for "fight or flight" response
• Parasympathetic nervous system


  Facilitates vegetative, non-emergency responses, sometimes called "rest and digest" system
• Parts of the brain

  • Hindbrain (medulla, pons, cerebellum)
  • Midbrain
  • Forebrain (telencephalon and diencephalon)

  
• Medulla


  Regulates autonomic activities like heartbeat, breathing, and coughing; connects brain to body
• Pons


  Involved in sleep cycle, connects cortex and cerebellum, breathing, and arousal