Biological Psychology: Biopsychology as a Neuroscience

Biopsychology

  • focuses on ^^brain/behavior relationships^^
  • denotes a ^^biological approach to the study of psychology^^ rather than a psychological approach to the study of biology
  • scientific study of the biology of behavior

Origins of Biopsychology

  • emerged end of 19th century
  • Hebb’s ^^The Organization of Behavior (1949)^^ was a key factor in the development into a major neuroscientific discipline   * Hebb developed the first comprehensive theory of how complex psychological phenomena (e.g., perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories) might be produced by brain activity
  • Biopsychologists study how the brain and the rest of the nervous system determine what we perceive, feel, think, say, and do
  • Ultimate challenge for the human brain: ^^Does our brain have the capacity to understand something as complex as itself?^^

Relation to Other Disciplines of Neuroscience

  • Neuroscience: scientific study of the nervous system
  • Biopsychology: discipline/subfield of neuroscience   * bridge between psychology and neuroscience
  • Different Approaches in Neuroscience   * Neuroanatomy: study of the structure of the nervous system   * Neurophysiology: study of the functions and activities of the nervous system   * Neurochemistry: study of the chemical bases of neural activity   * Neuroendocrinology: study of interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system     * trends; transmitters (e.g., adrenaline, dopamine, serotonin); identities, structures, and functions of compounds (neurochemicals) that are generated and that modulate the nervous system [^^NEUROCHEMISTRY^^]   * Neuropharmacology: study of the effects of drugs on neural activity     * exogenous chemicals; prescription drugs   * Neuropathology: study of nervous system disorders     * neurological illnesses (e.g., infection, trauma, cancers)
  • These 6 fields of neuroscience are particularly relevant to biopsychological inquiry

Human and Nonhuman Objects

  • Advantages of Human Objects   * can follow directions   * can report subjective experiences   * often less expensive   * have a human brain
  • Advantages of Nonhuman Subjects   * simpler nervous systems   * studying various species makes it possible to use comparative approach   * fewer ethical constraints

Experiments and Non-Experiments

  • Experiments   * used to determine cause-and-effect relationships   * Between-Subjects Design: different subjects under each condition   * Within-Subjects Design: same group of subjects under each condition   * Independent Variable: difference between conditions   * Dependent Variable: variable measured by the experimenter to assess the effect of the IV   * Confounding Variable: unintended difference
  • Quasi-Experiments   * used when controlled experiments are impossible   * examine subjects in real-world situations who have self-selected into specific conditions (e.g., excessive alcohol intake), subjects assigned themselves to treatment conditions   * Key Problem: cannot control confounds therefore, cannot establish direct cause-and-effect relationships
  • Case Studies   * focused on single subject   * used when conditions are rare   * questionable generalizability     * cannot generalize based on a single person

Pure and Applied Research

  • Pure Research   * primarily motivated by the curiosity of the researcher to find out how things work   * focuses on establishing building blocks/basic concepts that may provide information salient to many problems
  • Applied Research   * use basic research to answer specific problems   * human and animal problems are directly addressed   * more common in medical field, applications in psychology

6 Divisions of Biopsychology

  • Physiological Psychology   * direct manipulation of nervous system in controlled laboratory settings (e.g., lesions, invasive recording)   * subjects are usually lab animals   * strong focus on pure research   * emphasis is usually on research that contributes to the development of theories of the neural control of behavior
  • Psychopharmacology   * focuses on the manipulation of neural activity and behavior with drugs   * manipulation of nervous system pharmacologically   * focuses on drug effects on behavior   * drug effects change neural activity   * pure research → use drugs to reveal the nature of brain-behavior interactions   * applied questions → e.g., drug abuse, therapeutic drugs
  • Neuropsychology   * focuses on behavioral effects of brain damage in humans, typically cortical damage   * uses case studies and quasi-experimental designs   * most applied of the 6 divisions of biopsychology   * applied research   * abnormal and illnesses
  • Psychophysiology   * focuses on physiological and psychological processes   * uses noninvasive recordings from humans     * muscle tension     * eye movement     * pupil dilation     * electrical conductance of the skin   * Scalp Electroencephalogram (EEG): usual measure of brain activity   * noninvasive → no operation done; external sensors used; no pain involved
  • Cognitive Neuroscience   * newest divisions   * Focus: Neural basis of cognitive processes     * learning or memory     * attention     * perceptual processes   * often employs human subjects     * Key Methods: noninvasive, functional brain imaging techniques   * often collaborative between varied scientists
  • Comparative Psychology   * focuses on the biology of behavior   * features comparative and functional approaches   * features lab research, as well as studies of animals in their natural environments (ethology)   * includes disciplines of evolutionary psychology (understanding behavior through its evolutionary origins) and behavioral genetics (understanding the genetic influences on behavior)   * compare the behavior of different species in order to understand the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior

Converging Operations: How do biopsychologists work together?

  • each area has a weakness
  • must collaborate to ask good questions
  • converging operations   * progress made using different approaches   * each compensate for the shortcomings of others

Scientific Interference: How do biopsychologists study the unobservable workings of the brain?

  • science is empirical   * method of answering questions by direct observation
  • brain activity is not directly observable (e.g., one cannot see a neuron firing/neurochemicals being released from neurons)
  • scientists look at the effects of processes   * the effects of the processes are observable, but not the processes themselves   * Scientific Inference: scientists observe the consequences of unobservable processes and from these they infer the nature of unobservable processes

Taming a Charging Bull with Caudate Stimulation

  • implanted electrode into caudate nucleus
  • delivered an electrical stimulation when bull charged   * this stopped the charge
  • Delgado claimed he found caudate taming center   * suggested it might cure psychopaths   * bulls and humans have inherently different neurosystems   * the bull could have stopped because of the pain

Prefrontal Lobotomy

  • Prefrontal Lobotomy   * a procedure that separates the prefrontal lobes from the rest of the brain
  • Moniz wins Nobel Prize based on research with chimpanzees (Becky)
  • following reports of success, lobotomy freely used
  • the case of Howard Dully   * lobotomized at 12 years old at the insistence of stepmother   * procedure done in 10 minutes

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