Intro to The Brain & Behavior

Flashcards covering key historical figures and concepts in biopsychology.

Aristotle's belief about thoughts

Believed thoughts occurred in the heart; the brain cooled the heart and blood.

Hippocrates

Ascribed mental function to the brain and is known for the Hippocratic oath.

Rene Descartes

Introduced a mechanical explanation of reflex behavior and proposed dualism, separating the material nervous system from the nonmaterial mind.

Luigi Galvani's discovery

Found that a dissected frog's leg twitches when connected by metal wire, providing evidence that nervous signals are electrical.

Hermann von Helmholtz's contribution

Measured the rate of nerve conduction, finding it much slower than electrical wire.

Johannes Müller

Formulated the Doctrine of Specific Nerve Energies, stating that while similar cells carry the same signal, their impact depends on how they are connected.

Crustav Fritsch & Eduard Hitzig

Applied electrical currents to a dog's brain and discovered the motor cortex.

Paul Broca's area

Identified that injuries in a specific area of the brain resulted in speech issues.

Camillo Golgi

Invented an anatomical staining technique revealing neuron structure and proposed the Reticular Theory, which stated neurons are fused together.

Santiago Ramon y Cajal

Proposed the Neuron Doctrine that neurons are separate, opposing Golgi's theory.

Somatic Intervention

Refers to variables concerning the body, particularly the brain.

Behavioral Intervention

Consists of variables concerning actions and behavior.

Optogenetics

A method used to control neurons with light.