Psych 2210 Behavioral Neuroscience

behavioral neuroscience

the branch of psychology that studies the relationships between behavior and the body, particularly the brain (also known as biopsychology, psychobiology, physiological psychology)

mind-brain problem

deals with what the mind is and what its relationship is to the brain: does the mind control the brain, or is it the other way around? are the mind and brain the same thing?

monism

the idea that the mind and body consist of the same substance

dualism

the idea that the mind and body are separate

• body is material, mind is nonmaterial

• mind influences behavior by interacting with the brain

mind

1. the conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism

2. the organized conscious and unconscious adaptive mental activity of an organism

awareness and consciousness

model

a proposed mechanism for how something works

Descartes

physical model of behavior

• behavior is controlled by animal spirits flowing through the nerves

• relied on a small amount of anatomical knowledge and a lot of speculation

empiricism

gathering information through observation

Hermann von Helmholtz

the electrical brain - demonstrated nerves do not behave like conducting wires

Luigi Galvani

used electricity to stimulate nerves in the late 1700s

Gustav Fritsch/Eduard Hitzig

produced movement on dogs

localization

the idea that specific areas of the brain carry out specific functions

phrenology

each of 35 different “faculties” of emotion and intellect located in precise areas of the brain

equipotentiality

the idea that the brain can function as an undifferentiated whole