Biological area

• What are the defining principles of the biological area ?

  1. All that is psychological is first physiological, all thoughts and feelings and behaviours have a biological cause such hormones, genetics, neurochemicals and the functioning of the brain.
  2. Psychology should be seen as a science and to be studied in a scientific manner (experiments) measuring variables objectively.
  3. Supports individual side of the individual vs situational debate.
• Function of the left side of the brain

  • Speech
  • analysis
  • time
  • sequence
• What does the left side of the brain recognise

  • Words
  • letters
  • numbers
• What side of the body does the left side of the brain control

  Right
• Where is the hippocampus found ?

  In the temporal lobe
• What is the function of the hippocampus?

  Long term memory and learning, and spacial awareness
• Function of the right side of the brain

  • Creativity
  • Patterns
  • Spatial
  • Context
• What does the right side of brain recognise

  • Faces
  • Objects
  • Places
• What side of the body does the right side of the brain control

  Left
• Corpus callosum


  Passes information between the left and right hemisphere
• Amygdala


  Regulates emotion, processes fear (fight or flight), reward processing
• Neuron


  A specialized cell that processes and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals.
• Neurotransmitter


  A chemical messenger that transmits signals from one neuron to another or to other tissues.
• Serotonin


  Wellbeing and happiness levels, regulation of mood.
• Dopamine


  Pleasure levels, need a balance of it to be healthy and to avoid aggression and depression
• Endocrine system


  Controls the release of hormones into the blood stream
• Testosterone


  Strength, sexual libido, mood
• Oestrogen


  Important in the egg/menstrual cycle
• Adrenaline


  Fight of flight response
• Application of the biological area:

  Psychosurgery- surgical procedures which treat mentally disordered behaviour by removal or destroying parts of the brain, used in disorders like OCD, bipolar, depression and schizophrenia and include procedures like lobotomies.

  Drug therapies- treating mental disorders like anti depressants and anti anxiety drugs
• Strengths of the biological area:

  • favours scientific methods like lab experiments and scientific equipment like PET scans in casey et al