Introduction to Physiological Psychology

Neuroscience

The study of the structures and functions of the nervous system

What are some common neurological disorders related to the nervous system?

Stroke, Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s

What are some common psychiatric disorders related to the nervous system?

Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, impulse control disorders, drug/alcohol abuse disorders.

Franz Joseph Gaul

• Phrenology - believed that functions of the mind have a biological basis

• Believed that different parts of the brain get bigger the more they’re used, this is seen as bumps on the skull

• Localization of function - different parts of the brain are associated with a specific function

• Ideas were used as evidence to support racism

Phineas Gage

• Railroad worker who had a pipe go through his frontal lobe

• Drastic personality change: went from likeable and charming → mean

• Case Study: learned that there’s a localized area of the brain that’s associated with personality

Donald Hebb

• The father of behavioral neuroscience

• Believed in a neural basis of learning, that is, psychological constructs should be studied at the biological level

Egaz Moniz

• Learned about a case study named Becky, a monkey who had a lobotomy

• Developed the lobotomy for humans in which the frontal lobe is severed from the rest of the brain

• 50,000 lobotomies to treat menopause, depression, migraines, psychotic behavior

• Won a nobel prize for lobotomies

Andrew Wakefield

• Made the link between the measles vaccine and autism - no scientific evidence to back this up

• Propelled the anti-vax movement

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