Biological Bases and Behaviour

Preconscious

anything that could potentially be brought into the conscious mind.

Nonconscious

any mental process that goes on in which the individual is unaware and which he/she cannot become aware of, even with introspection

Unconscious

• feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness.

• contents that are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict.

Dual Proccessing

process info on conscious and unconscious level at same time

Hypothalamus

• regulate body temp, blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels, hormone levels

Circadian Rhythm

• regulate sleep wake cycle

• influences when wake up/fall asleep

• responds to light and darkness

Sleep

Complex combo of states of consciousness

Hypnagogic state

• relaxed, fail to respond to outside stimuli

• first stage of sleep: Non-Rem-1

REM sleep

90 mins after falling asleep

NIghtmares

• frightning dreams occuring during REM sleep

Lucid dreaming

• aware of and directs one dreams 

Insomnia

inability to fall asleep/stay asleep

Narcolepsy

• awake person suddenly and uncontrollably falls asleep

• directly into REM

Sleep apnea

temporary cessations of breathing that wake the sufferer up

Nigh Terrors

• frequent childhood sleep distruptions

• deepest part of NREM-3

Sleepwalking

• aka somnambulism

• NREM-3

• Trips out of bed completing complex activities

Hypnosis

• altered state of reality

• Focused attention

• Heightened suggestibility

• Used for stress, pain, habits

Dissociation theory

a mental process where a person disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity

Meditation

• focus concentration away from thoughts/feelings to create calmness

Pyschoactive drugs

chemicals that pass thru blood brain barrier to alter perception, thinking, behaviour, mood 

Freud analysis of dreams

uncover the unconscious desire and fears

Manifest content

story line of dream

Latent content

underlying meaning

Activation synthesis theory

Dreams are the brain’s way of making sense of random neural activity during sleep

Behavioural geneticists

• Study the role of genes and environment

• Look at the causes of individual differences

Identical twins

• 2 individual who share the same gene/heredity

• develop from same fertilized egg/zygote

• monozygotic

Fraternal twins

• siblings sharing half of same genes

• develop from 2 fertilized eggs/zygote

• dizygotic 

Heritability

proportion of variation among individuals in a population due to genetics

Gene

DNA segment of chromosome determining a trait

Chromosome

• Carry info stored in genes to new cells

• humans have 46

• egg and sperm have 23

Turner Syndrome

chromosomal disorder in females where one X chromosome is missing or incomplete (XO)

Klinefelters syndrome

chromosomal disorder in males where they have an extra X chromosome (XXY)

Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21)

Caused by three copies of chromosome 21

Genotype

An individual’s genetic makeup for a trait.

Phenotype

The physical expression of genes.

Dominant vs. Recessive Genes

When genes differ, the dominant gene is expressed, and the recessive gene is hidden.

Tay-Sachs Syndrome

genetic disorder where the body can’t break down fat in the brain, causing nerve damage.

Albinism

• Caused by failure to produce pigment (melanin)

• abnormal nerve pathways to brain

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

• genetic disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine

• leading to brain damage unless treated with a special low-phenylalanine diet early in life

Huntingtons disease

• dominant gene disorder causing nervous system degeneration in adulthood.

Endocrine system

• secrete chemical messengers (hormones) into blood

• travel to target organs to bind to specific receptors

Endocrine glands

• H – Hypothalamus

• P – Pituitary

• T – Thyroid

• P – Parathyroid

• A – Adrenal

• P – Pancreas

• G – Gonads (testes/ovaries)

Pineal Gland

• Releases melatonin → regulates sleep and circadian rhythm

• associated w/ seasonal affective disorder

Hypothalamus 

• Controls the endocrine system by signaling the pituitary gland to release hormones.

Thyroid gland

produces thyroxine which maintains and stimulates metabolic activities

Adrenal glands

atop kidneys

Pancreas

secrets the hormones insulin and glucagon, regulating. blood sugar

Ovaries/Testes

produce hormones necessary for reproduction

Pituitary gland

• Known as the “master gland”

• Releases hormones that regulate growth, metabolism, and reproduction, under the direction of the hypothalamus.

Endocrine system

• secrete chemical messengers (hormones) into blood

• travel to target organs to bind to specific receptors

Endocrine glands

• H – Hypothalamus

• P – Pituitary

• T – Thyroid

• P – Parathyroid

• A – Adrenal

• P – Pancreas

• G – Gonads (testes/ovaries)

Pineal Gland

• produce melatonin that helps regulate circadian rhythm 

• associated w/ seasonal affective disorder

Hypothalamus 

• Controls the endocrine system by signaling the pituitary gland to release hormones.

Thyroid gland

produces thyroxine which maintains and stimulates metabolic activities

Adrenal glands

atop kidneys

Pancreas

secrets the hormones insulin and glucagon, regulating. blood sugar

Ovaries/Testes

produce hormones necessary for reproduction

Pituitary gland

• Known as the “master gland”

• Releases hormones that regulate growth, metabolism, and reproduction, under the direction of the hypothalamus.

Glial Cells

• Guide growth of neurons

• provide nutrition and get rid of waste

• form insulation

Cell Body/Soma/Cyton

• contains cytoplasm and nucleus

• Processes information

Dendrites

receives info

neurogenesis

growth of new neurons

Glutamate

• major excitatory neurotransmitter

• information processing, especially memory formation in hippocampus

Endorphins

• brains painkillers

• GABA inhibits the firing of these neurons

Norepinephinre

attentiveness, sleeping, dreaming, and learnin

Agonists

bind to receptor site to produce the effect of neurotransmitter

antagonists

block receptor site inhibiting the effect of neurotransmitter

Cerebrum

• Largest part of the brain,

• responsible for higher-order thinking, reasoning, perception, and voluntary movements.

Cerebral Cortex

• Outer layer of the cerebrum

• divided into lobes

• controls thinking, planning, sensory processing, and voluntary movement.

Frontal Lobe

Controls decision-making, problem-solving, planning, personality, and voluntary movement (contains motor cortex)

Parietal Lobe

Processes sensory information like touch, temperature, and pain (contains somatosensory cortex).

Occipital Lobe

Responsible for visual processing.

Temporal Lobe

Processes auditory information and is involved in memory and language.

Cerebellum

controls posture, equilibrium, and movement

Thalamus

directs incoming sensory signals to the correct brain areas (except smell).

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, and hormones; links nervous and endocrine systems.

Pituitary Gland

• “Master gland” of the endocrine system

• controls hormone release.

Amygdala

Controls emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Hippocampus

Enables formation of new long term memories

Corpus Callosum

Connects the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing communication between them.

Medulla

Part of brainstem controlling heartbeat, breathing, and reflexes

Pons

Definition: Part of brainstem that helps coordinate movement and sleep/wake cycles

EEG (Electroencepgalogram)

• Measures waves of electrical activity (brain waves) produced by neurons firing on the scalp

• Where and when brain activity occurs

PET (Positron Emission Tomography)

• Shows brain activity by detecting where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a task.

• Colored

fMRI (Functional MRI)

• Measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow and oxygen levels.

• Shows both structure and function

Magnetic Source Image (MSI)

EEG and MRI data to pinpoint the exact location of brain activity

Central Nervous System

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

• Somatic nervous system

• Autonomic Nervous System

Somatic Nervous system

stimulate skeletal (voluntary muscle)

Autonomic Nervous system

Stimulate smooth (involuntary) and heart muscle

• antagonistic sympathetic nervous system

• Parasympathetic nervous system

Sympathetic stimulation

• response that help body deal w/ stressful events

• eg dilated pupils, high heart rate, secretion of adrenaline

Parasympathetic stimulation

• Calms body following sympathetic stimulation

• Eg restore digestive function, returning pupil size

Spinal Cord

• protected by membranes (meninges) and spinal column of bony vertebrae

• start at base of back → base of skull → brain