Biological Approaches

Behavior is the product of physiology

behavior is linked to the structure and function of the nervous and endocrine systems"

Behaviour can be genetically inherited

patterns of behaviour have genetic ties

Animal Research may inform our understanding of human behaviour

Justified by similarities between human and animal physiology

Localisation of function

Behaviour has a specific area of the brain

Nervous System

system of neurons that perform the function of communication in the body

central nervous system(components)

Spinal cord and the bran

Cortex

Layer of neurons with folded surface covering the brain on the outside. Largest part of brain, associated with higher order functions.(cortex divided into four lobes)

Frontal Lobes

Associated with reasoning, planning, thinking, decision-making, voluntary action, and complex decision making

Parietal Lobe

Associated with movement, orientation, perception, and recognition

Occipital Lobe

Associated with visual processing

Temporal Lobes

Associated with processing auditory information, memory, and speech

Cortex(Divisions)

Divided into the left and right hemisphere(by the corpus callosum)

Cerebellum

Associated with coordinated movements and balance

Limbic System(components)

Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Hippocampus

Thalamus

Connects nerves from sensory organs to cortex

Hypothalamus

Involved in elements such as hunger, thirst, and emotion

Amygdala

Involved in memory, emotion, and fear

Hippocampus

Important for functions such as learning, memory, and transferring short-term memory to a permanent store

Paul Broca(1861)

Speech articulation is controlled in the left frontal lobe(what is now known as Broca’s area).

Broca’s Aphasia

The loss of articulated speech

Wernicke’s Area

is involved in language comprehension, located in the dominant temporal lobe(mostly left temporal lobe). It plays a key role in understanding spoken and written language.

Wernicke’s Aphasia

Unable to comprehend speech or written language. 

Wilder Penfield

Responsible for mapping brain functions. Neural Stimulation was a process by which he destroyed the nerve cells that causes seizures in his patients.

Corticol homonculus

Map of which parts of the brain are responsible for what parts of the body

Memory(In brain)

Distributed rather than localized

Principle of Mass Action

Percentage of Missing cortex compared to learning disabilities

Equipotentiality

Ability of Cortex to take part of other parts of the cortex

Karl Lashley

Controlled induced brain damage. Tested on rats to conclude principle of mass action and equipotentiality.

Relative Localizations

Localization for some functions but not a complete explanation.

Lateralization

The division of functions between the two hemispheres

Roger Sperry

Pioneered Research regarding localization

Sharot et al(2007)

selective activation of the left amygdala is responsible for the formation of flashbulb memories

Saxe and Kanwisher(2003)

Temp-parietal function allows for identification when another person’s belief is false

Maguire et al(2000)

Spatial memory is stored in the hippocampus. Shown in london taxi drivers.

localized weakly

when a function is dispersed across multiple areas, but some areas are more dominant

widely distributed

ex. Sperry and Gazinga