biopsychology4

• Topics

  • Learning Memory
  • Hormones and Sex
  • Hunger Eating and Health
  • Digestion, energy storage and energy utilization
  • Theories of hunger and eating
  • What, when and how much we eat
  • Physiological Research on Hunger and Satiety
• Drug Addiction


  • Basic Principles of drug addiction
  • Dug administration and consumption
  • Mechanism of drug use
  • Drug metabolism and elimination
  • Drug tolerance
  • Drug withdrawal and physical dependence
• Commonly abused drugs


  • Tobacco
  • Alcohol
  • Marijuana
  • Cocaine and other stimulants
  • Opiates
• Biopsychology of Emotion

  • Introduction
  • The mind-blowing case of Phineas Gage
  • Darwin's theory of the evolution of emotion
  • James-Lange and Cannon-Bard Theories
  • Sham Rage
  • Limbic system and emotion
  • Kluver-bucy syndrome
  • Emotions and the ANS
  • Emotions and facial expression
  • Fear, defense and aggression
  • Aggression and Testosterone
  • Neural mechanism of fear mechanisms
  • Amygdala and fear conditioning
  • Contextual Fear Conditioning and the Hippocampus
  • Brain Mechanisms of Human Emotion
  • Amygdala and Human Emotion
  • Medial Prefrontal Lobe and Human Emotion
  • Lateralization of Emotion
  • Neural Mechanisms of Human Emotions: Current Perspectives
• Stress and health


  • stress response
  • animal models of stress
  • Psychosomatic Disorders: The Case of Gastric Ulcers
  • Psychoneuroimmunology: Stress, The Immune System, and The Brain
• Methods of Visualizing the Human Brain

  • Contrast X-rays – ex. cerebral angiography
  • Computed Tomography (CT)
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
  • Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
  • Functional MRI (fMRI)

  
• Contrast X-rays


  It involves injecting something that absorbs X-rays
• Cerebral angiography


  It uses the infusion of a radio-opaque dye into a cerebral artery to visualize the cerebral circulatory system during X-ray photography

  
• Cerebral angiography


  • Useful for localizing vascular damage
  • Can also indicate the location of a tumor
  • Used to visualize the blood vessels in the brain, particularly the arteries
  • To obtain detailed and high-resolution images of the blood vessels to evaluate their structure, size, and blood flow

  
• CT Scans


  • It is a computer-assisted X-ray procedure (computer reconstruction)
  • The X-ray tube and detector automatically rotate around the head of the patient at one level of the brain, taking many individual X-ray photographs as they rotate
  • Horizontal sections reveal structural abnormalities, such as cortical atrophy or lesions caused by a stroke or trauma

  
• CT Scans

  • Used to find the cause of symptoms (confusion, vision problems, headaches, paralysis)
  • Used for trauma
  • Can detect bleeding in the brain, clot, enlarged cavities, fractures, disease, tumors

  
• MRI Scans


  • It produces 3-D images with high spatial resolution
  • It can provide clear images of parts of the brain that can't be seen by X-rays, CT scans, or ultrasound

  
• MRI vs CT Scans

  • CT scan uses X-rays; more common and less expensive
  • MRI uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves; expensive but can produce more detailed images

  
• PET Scans


  • It provides images of brain activity rather than images of brain structure
  • It highlights active brain areas rather than equally showing all brain structures
  • One standard version: a positron-emitting radionuclide is injected (e.g., 2-deoxyglucose)
  • Each PET scan is an image of the levels of radioactivity (indicated by color coding) in various parts of one horizontal level of the brain
• PET vs CT Scans

  • CT scans show brain structures; involves absorption of X-rays
  • PET scans reveal brain activity and involve radiation emission by an injected or inhaled element
• Functional MRI

  • Images brain hemodynamics (blood pressure in veins, arteries)
  • Advantages over PET: No injections need to be given, Structure and function, Shorter imaging time, Better spatial resolution, 3-D images
• Functional MRI

  Visualizing oxygen flow in the brain
• Other MRI Variations

  • Diffusion tensor imaging - a method to identify pathways along which water molecules rapidly diffuse
  • Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) - a technique that can turn off an area of the cortex by creating a magnetic field under a coil positioned next to the skull
• Recording Psychophysiological Signals

  • Electroencephalography (EEG)
  • Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
  • Electromyography (EMG)
  • Electroculography (EOG)
  • Cardiovascular activity – Heart rate (EKG/ ECG)
• Electroencephalography (EEG)


  • EEG waves reflect the sum total of all of the electrical events in the head
  • Waves during sleep or awake states
• Electroencephalogram (EEG)


  • Measure overall brain activity
  • Used for epilepsy or another seizure disorder
  • Used for sleep disorders (Narcolepsy – sudden attacks of sleep)
  • Used to monitor brain activity during anesthesia
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

  • It measures changes in magnetic fields on the surface of the scalp that are produced by changes in underlying patterns of neural activity
  • It provides a direct measurement of the ongoing function of normal neurons and malfunctioning neurons
• Electromyography (EMG)

  • It is the usual procedure for measuring muscle tension
  • Results can reveal nerve dysfunction, muscle dysfunction, or problems with nerve-to-muscle signal transmission
  • The amplitude of EMG signals indicates the combined level of tension in the underlying muscle
• Electrooculography (EOG)


  • Eye movements are recorded by placing four electrodes around the eye
  • It is used in the ophthalmological diagnosis and in recording eye movements
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)


  • Checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart
  • Shows changes in cardiac function, including heart rate, which reflects changes in emotion
  • Helps in diagnosing many common heart problems in people of all ages
  • Used to measure Blood Pressure
• Invasive Physiological Methods in Nonhumans

  • Stereotaxic Surgery
  • Lesion Methods
• Stereotaxic Surgery


  • Used to position experimental devices within the brain
  • Stereotaxic atlas – provides coordinates for locating structures within the brain
  • Bregma – a point on the top of the skull often used as a reference point
  • Stereotaxic instrument – used to hold the head steady and guide the device to be inserted
• Lesion Methods


  • Remove, damage, or destroy a part of the brain to observe an impact on behavior
  • Types of lesions: Aspiration lesions, Radio-frequency lesions, Knife cuts
• Aspiration Lesions

  • In an area of cortical tissue that is accessible to the eyes and instruments of the surgeon
  • Used when removing tissue by suction
• Radio-frequency Lesions

  • High-frequency current of needles (80°c) to heat the nerve
  • Heat destroys the tissue
• Knife Cuts


  • Used to eliminate conduction in a nerve or tract
  • May damage the surrounding area
• Reversible Lesions


  Methods for temporarily eliminating the activity in an area of the brain while tests are being conducted
• Electrical Stimulations

  Stimulating a functional neural structure electrically
• Importance of Neuropsychological Testing

  • Assist in the diagnosis of neural disorders, particularly in cases in which brain imaging
  • Serve as a basis for counseling and caring for the patients
  • Provide basis for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment and the seriousness of its side effects
• Neuropsychological Testing Approaches

  • Single-test approach
  • Standardized-test-battery approach
  • Modern customized-test-battery approach