History, Brain Localization, and Neuroanatomy in Biopsychology

Biopsychology/ behavioral neuroscience

The scientific study of the biology of behavior. Research intensive.

Phrenology

Pseudoscience that attempted to link the shape of the skull to their personality. Measured bumps and protrusions in the skull. No evidence for functional localization.

Karl Spenser Lashley

1870-1958. Inventor of the 'engram'.

Donald Olding Hebb

1904-1985.

Law of Equipotentiality

Neurons have equal potential to represent and store engrams.

Engram

Memory trace (name was made up by Lashley).

Law of mass action

The brain functions as a whole, no small part is more important than others for storage.

Synaptic plasticity

Neurons that fire together, wire together.

Multiple memory systems

Different types of learning.

Behaviorism

(s-r).

Cognitivism

(s-s).

Hippocampus

Impair cognitive (s-s) associative memory.

Basil ganglia

Can you localize intelligence.

Somatic marker hypothesis

Descartes, 'I am therefore I think', emotions influence decision making.

Thomas Harvey

Stole Einstein's brain.

Mirian Diamond

Early studies on enriched environments.

Astrocytes

Glial cells/ support cells.

Einstein's glial cells

Concluded 0.05 significance that Einstein had more glial cells per neuron.

New research on Einstein

Einstein did not have more glial cells per neuron but his neurons were closer together.

Diamond area 39

Language development area: more glia per neuron provides greater support.

Anderson & Henry area 9

Greater neuronal density: less glia per neuron; thinner cortex.

Widleson

Pictures of Einstein's brain compared it to other brains.

Falk

Einstein's parietal lobes are bigger; rare patterns in grooves and ridges.

Biopsychology

denotes a biological approach to the study of behavior

Hebbs learning postulate

describes the activity change in neurons when we learn something

cells that fire together, wire together

a principle describing how neurons that are activated simultaneously strengthen their connections

KS Lashley

a neuropsychologist known for his work on memory and engrams

principal of mass action

the idea that the efficiency of learning is related to the amount of brain tissue involved

principal of equipotentiality

the concept that different parts of the brain can take over the functions of damaged areas

emergent engram

a neural network of connections between neurons, now referred to as Memory systems

Physiopsychology

the study of neural mechanisms of behavior, involving direct manipulation of the brain

Psychopharmacology

the study of how drugs affect the brain

Neuropsychology

the study of brain damage in humans, utilizing neuropsychological testing for impairment

Psychophysiology

the study of relations between physiological activity and psychological processes

Cognitive neuroscience

the study of neural bases of cognition, involving neurons and glial cells

Comparative/evolutionary psychology

the study of different species to understand evolution, genetics, and adaptability of behavior

Neuroanatomy

the study of the structure of the nervous system

Neurophysiology

the study of the function and activity of the nervous system

Neuroendocrinology

the study of interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system

Neurochemistry

the study of the chemical basis of neural activity

Neuropathology

the study of nervous system disorders

Neuropharmacology

the study of effects of drugs on neural activity

Behavioral Neuroscience

the study of behavior and biology

human vs non-human research

a dimension of biopsychology comparing the use of human and non-human subjects

advantages of human subjects

include following instructions, detailed verbal communication, reporting subjective experience, cost-effectiveness, and having human brains for accurate testing

Evolutionary continuity

the concept that the brains of a species share significant structural and functional similarities

advantages of non-human subjects

include offering simple system approaches, comparative approaches, ethical reasons, and pre-clinical research

True Experiments

Establishes cause and effect, uses random assignment, manipulates independent variables within/between subject design, and quantifies dependent variable.

Quasi-experiments

Subjects exposed to real-life conditions and experiences, independent variable cannot be manipulated, more in-depth than case studies, and involves generalizability and internal validity.

Case studies

Focus on the individual, very in-depth, not generalizable.

Broca's area

Region of the brain responsible for speech production.

Wernicke's area

Region of the brain responsible for speech comprehension.

Arcuate Fasciculus

Connects Broca's area to Wernicke's area.

Fox P2 gene

Language gene that is evolutionarily conserved and performs different functions in different species.

Human Connectome Project

An attempt to discover all connections in the brain.

The Coolidge effect

Hypothesis that males experience more vigor when with a new female partner, tested with hamsters.

Dependent measure: Lordosis

The display of sexual reciprocity in females.

Converging operations

Using multiple approaches to address a single question.

Korsakoff's syndrome

Result of toxic effects of alcohol on the brain, characterized by deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1).

Scientific inference

Empirical method to study the unobservable by measuring what can be observed and logically inferring the nature of unobservable events.

Delgato's charging bull

Implanted electrodes in a bull's brain to stimulate neurons and alter behavior (aggression).

Law of Parsimony

When faced with two options, it is more reasonable to assume the simpler solution unless other evidence supports the alternative.

Egas Moniz

Won a Nobel Prize for performing the first prefrontal lobotomy on a chimp named Becky.

Prefrontal lobotomy

Disconnects the neurons in the prefrontal cortex and is the first kind of psychosurgery.

Transorbital lobotomy (Walter Freeman)

Using an ice pick through the eye socket into the brain to cut axons in the brain and connections in the prefrontal cortex.

Brain implant for severely depressed (Helen Mayberg)

Electrode inserted in the brain to stimulate neuron activity, used for those whose quality of life is severely impacted by depression.

rTMS

A non-invasive current approach used to treat depression and also has a placebo effect on patients.

Central nervous system

The part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord, encased in the skull and vertebrae.

Peripheral nervous system

The part of the nervous system that interacts with the external world and includes the somatic and autonomic nervous systems.

Somatic nervous system

The component of the peripheral nervous system that interacts with the external world and is under voluntary control.

Afferent nerves

Nerves that carry information into the brain, including sensory and motor information from skeletal muscle.

Efferent nerves

Nerves that carry information out of the brain in response to afferent information.

Autonomic nervous system

The part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates internal systems that are not under conscious control.

Sympathetic nervous system

A division of the autonomic nervous system responsible for psychological arousal and the fight-or-flight response.

Parasympathetic nervous system

A division of the autonomic nervous system responsible for psychological relaxation and replenishment.

Schwann cells

Cells that provide myelin in the peripheral nervous system.

Oligodendrites

Cells that release chemicals to guide axonal regrowth in the central nervous system.

Nuclei

Clusters of cell bodies in the central nervous system.

Ganglia

Clusters of cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system.

Tracts

Bundles of axons in the central nervous system.

Nerves

Bundles of axons in the peripheral nervous system.

Cranial Nerves

Nerves that emerge directly from the brain, including the Olfactory and Optic nerves.

Olfactory nerve

Cranial nerve 1, responsible for bringing in smell, classified as afferent.

Optic nerve

Cranial nerve 2, responsible for bringing in vision, classified as afferent.

Vagus nerve

Cranial nerve 10, one of the longest nerves, responsible for functions in the ear, torso, abdominal organs, and throat muscles, classified as both afferent and efferent.

Proprioception

The sixth sense that provides awareness of body position in space.

Anatomical Directions

Terms used to describe the locations of structures in the body, including dorsal, ventral, rostral, caudal, medial, and lateral.

Dorsal

Referring to the top of the body.

Ventral

Referring to the bottom of the body.

Rostral

Referring to the anterior or front part of the body.

Caudal

Referring to the posterior or back part of the body.

Medial

Referring to a position toward the midline of the body.

Lateral

Referring to a position away from the midline of the body.

Coronal section

A section that divides the body into front and back (rostral and caudal) parts.

sagittal plane

(left/right)

midsaggital

is directly in the middle

horizontal plane

(top and bottom)

cross section

cutting horizontally across the axis

forebrain

one of the 5 major divisions of the brain

telencephalon

top of the brain, includes all of the lobes, over 70% of the brain