Behavioral Neuroscience: PSYC 106 - Lecture 1

A collection of vocabulary flashcards based on key concepts from the Behavioral Neuroscience PSYC 106 lecture notes.

Behavioral Neuroscience

A field that investigates the neurobiological basis of behaviors such as perception, motivation, movement, and learning.

Dualism

The belief proposed by Rene Descartes that separates the mind/soul from the brain/body, treating them as fundamentally different substances.

Perception

Our conscious experience and interpretation of environmental information, constructed from both bottom-up and top-down processing.

Sensation

The process of obtaining information about the world through sensory receptors, serving as input information into our perceptual systems.

The 'easy problem'

Refers to mapping brain mechanisms to cognitive functions like perception, attention, and memory.

The 'hard problem'

The challenge of explaining how physical processes in the brain produce subjective experiences, such as consciousness.

Neural mechanisms

Processes and structures in the brain that govern cognitive functions and behaviors.

Observable behavior

Any measurable or recorded actions that occur in response to internal or external stimuli.

Cognitive Neuroscience

A branch of neuroscience that focuses on understanding the biological basis of cognition.

Nervous system

The complex network that controls body and behavior in response to stimuli, including both the central and peripheral nervous systems.