Week 1 bbb

Biological Bases of Behavior

  • Study of brain and body's influence on behavior and experiences

  • Interdisciplinary field: neuroscience, psychology, mathematics, computer science

  • Importance:

    • Key to understanding human identity and other organisms

    • Aids in grasping brain-behavior disorders and treatments

Approaches to Brain-Behavior Relationships

  • Somatic Intervention: Brain manipulation to modify behavior (e.g., stimulation to move limbs)

  • Behavioral Intervention: Behavior alteration impacting the brain’s activity (e.g., experiences affecting brain activation)

  • Correlation: Examines simultaneous changes in brain and behavior (e.g., size of brain change related to disorder severity)

Levels of Analysis

  • Social Level: Interactions among individuals

  • Organ Level: Involves brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves

  • Neural Systems Level: Includes sensory systems like vision

  • Brain Region Level: Focus on specific areas like the visual cortex

  • Circuit Level: Local neural circuits

  • Cellular Level: Focus on single neurons

  • Molecular Level: Membrane receptors affecting function and behavior

Historical Perspectives on Brain-Behavior Understanding

  • Ancient Egypt (14th century BCE): Brain discarded during mummification

  • Ancient Greece: Aristotle and Galen debated brain's role

  • 17th Century: Descartes proposed dualism (mind-body connection in the pineal gland)

  • 19th Century: Emergence of phrenology

  • William James (1890): Consciousness linked to the nervous system

  • Donald O. Hebb (1949): Proposed direct correlation between behavior and neural function

Theories on Causes of Behavior

  • Mentalism: Behavior results from a nonmaterial soul

  • Dualism (Descartes): Mind and body interact to produce behavior

  • Materialistic Monism: Contemporary view that behavior arises from the nervous system, influenced by:

    • Darwin’s natural selection

    • Mendel’s genetic inheritance

    • Luigi Galvani's nerve stimulation experiments

    • Hermann von Helmholtz's nerve conductance studies

    • Localization theory supporting specific brain functions (e.g., Phineas Gage, Broca's area)

Recommended Readings

  • Key Texts: Garret & Hough; Breedlove & Watson (Chapters 1)

  • Further Reading: Kolb & Whishaw (Selected Chapters)

Upcoming Topics

  • Biological Bases of Behavior

  • The Nervous System

  • The Brain

  • Development of the Nervous System

  • Sensory Experiences (Touch, Pain, Hearing, Taste, Smell)

  • Cognitive Functions (Language, Learning, Memory, Decision Making, Emotions)