PRELIM (1st sem)

1. CHAPTER THREE:
NEUROSCIENCE AND
BEHAVIOR

2. MODULE 7: Neurons: The Basic
Elements of Behavior
 Why do psychologists study the brain and
nervous system?
 What are the basic elements of the
nervous system?
 How does the nervous system
communicate electrical and chemical
messages from one part to another?

3. The Structure of the Neuron
 Neurons (Nerve
cells)
› Basic elements of the
nervous system
› As many as 1 trillion

4.  Nerve cells
 The building blocks of the nervous
system
 A specialized cell that transmit
neural impulses to other neurons,
glands and muscles
4

5. The Structure of the Neuron
 Dendrites
› Clusters of fibers that receive messages from
other neurons
 Axon
› Carries messages received by the dendrites
to other neurons

6.  Dendrites - a cluster of
fibers at one end of a
neuron
› receive information from
other neurons and transmit
towards the cell body.
 Cell body
› keeps the neuron alive
and determines whether it
will fire.
6

7. The Structure of the Neuron
 Terminal buttons
› Sends messages to other neurons
 Myelin sheath
› Protective coating of fat and protein that
wraps around the axon like links of sausage

8.  Myelin Sheath
 Fatty insulation that may surround the axon of a neuron.
8

9.  Myelin sheath
› A protective coat of fat and protein that
wraps around the axon
› Serves to increase the velocity with which
electrical impulses travel through axons
› “if your hand touches a painfully hot stove,
the information regarding the pain is
passed through axons in the hand and
arm that have a relatively thick coating of
myelin sheath, speeding the message of
pain so that you can react instantly.
9

11.  Nerve
› Bundle of axons
belonging to many
neurons
Nucleus
› a group of cell
bodies in the brain
and spine
 Ganglion
› A group of cell
bodies outside the
brain and spine
› Glial cells
› Nonneuronal cells
that hold the
neurons in place
and remove
dead neurons
and waste
products 11

12. Identify parts of the neuron and synapse and
describe how they communicate information.

13. Identify parts of the neuron and synapse and
describe how they communicate information.

14. How Neurons Fire
 Transmit an electrical
impulse along the
axon
› All-or-none law
› Resting state
› Action potential
› Mirror neurons

15. Where Neurons Meet: Bridging
the Gap
 Synapse
› Space between two
neurons where the
axon of a sending
neuron communicates
with the dendrites of a
receiving neuron by
using chemical
messages

16. Where Neurons Meet: Bridging
the Gap
 Neurotransmitters
› Chemicals that carry messages across the
synapse to a dendrite of a receiving neuron
 Excitatory messages
 Increase likelihood that neuron will fire
 Inhibitory messages
 Decrease likelihood that neuron will fire
 Reuptake
 Reabsorption by the terminal button
 SSRIs

17. Neurotransmitters: Multitalented
Chemical Couriers
 Acetylcholine (ACh)
 Glutamate
 Gamma-amino
butyric acid (GABA)
 Dopamine (DA)
 Serotonin
 Endorphins

18.  i. Found at many synapses and is usually
excitatory
 ii. Prevalent in the hippocampus where
memories are formed
› Has a role in Alzheimer’s disease
iii. Released at every synapse where a neuron
terminates at a skeletal muscle fiber
 Directed onto end plates located on the
muscle cells which cause them to contract
18

19.  Part of the monoamines and is
produced mainly in the brain stem
› Cocaine and amphetamines prolong the
action of norepinephrine leading to
elevated mood states
› Lithium speeds up norepinephrine
reuptake leading to depressed mood
19

20. Similar to norepinephrine and
related to feelings of pleasure
Too much dopamine may
cause schizophrenia and too
little is associated with
Parkinson’s disease
20

21. Plays an important role in the
regulation of mood, sleep and
appetite
Antidepressant drugs, called
serotonin reuptake inhibitors,
increase serotonin levels
21

22. An excitatory neurotransmitter is
present in neurons of the central
nervous system
› Believed to play a role in
learning and memory
22

23. A major inhibitory transmitter
used in the majority of synapses
in the brain
› Used as anxiety reducing
drugs
23

25. MODULE 8: The Nervous System and
the Endocrine System:
Communicating Within the Body
 How are the structures of the nervous
system linked together?
 How does the endocrine system affect
behavior?

26. The Nervous System: Linking
Neurons
 Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
› Central nervous system
 Spinal cord
 Reflex
 Sensory (afferent) neurons
 Motor (efferent) neurons
 Interneurons

27. The Nervous System: Linking
Neurons
 Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
› Peripheral Nervous System
 Somatic division
 Voluntary movements
 Autonomic division
 Controls organs that function automatically

28. Activating the Divisions of the
Autonomic Nervous System
 Sympathetic Division
› Acts to prepare the body for action in
stressful situations by engaging all of the
organism’s resources to run away or confront
the threat
 “Fight or flight”
 Parasympathetic Division
› Calms the body after emergency ends

30. The Evolutionary Foundations
of the Nervous System
 Evolutionary Psychology
› Branch of psychology that seeks to identify
how behavior is influenced and produced by
our genetic inheritance from our ancestors

31. The Evolutionary Foundations
of the Nervous System
 Behavioral Genetics
› Studies the effects of heredity on behavior
 Molecular genetics and psychological
disorders
 Genetic markers
 Behavioral genetics, gene therapy, and
genetic counseling

32. The Endocrine System: of
Chemicals and Glands
 Chemical
communication
network that sends
messages throughout
the body via the
bloodstream
› Hormones
› Pituitary gland
 “Master gland”

33. MODULE 9: The Brain
 How do researchers identify the major
parts and functions of the brain?
 What are the major parts of the brain,
and for what behaviors is each part
responsible?

34. MODULE 9: The Brain
 How do the two halves of the brain
operate interdependently?
 How can an understanding of the
nervous system help us find ways to
alleviate disease and pain?

35. Studying the Brain’s Structure and
Functions: Spying on the Brain
 Electroencephalogram (EEG)
 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(fMRI)
 Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

37. The Central Core: Our “Old
Brain”
 Central Core
› Hindbrain
 Medulla
 Breathing and
heartbeat
 Pons
 Transmitter of motor
information
 Cerebellum
 Balance

38. The Central Core: Our “Old
Brain”
 Central Core
› Reticular formation
 Passes through the midbrain and into the
forebrain
 Activates other parts of the brain to produce
bodily arousal

39. The Central Core: Our “Old
Brain”
 Central Core
› Thalamus
 Relay station for information about the senses
› Hypothalamus
 Homeostasis

40. The Central Core: Our “Old
Brain”
 The Limbic System:
Beyond the Central
Core
› Amygdala
› Hippocampus

41. The Cerebral Cortex: Our “New
Brain”
 Cerebral Cortex
› Gives the ability to
think, evaluate, and
make complex
judgments
 Lobes
 Frontal
 Parietal
 Temporal
 Occipital

42. The Cerebral Cortex: Our “New
Brain”
 The Motor Area of the Cortex
› Largely responsible for the body’s voluntary
movement
 The Sensory Area of the Cortex
› Corresponds to body sensations
 Somatosensory area
 Touch
 Pressure

43. Somatosensory Area

44. The Cerebral Cortex: Our “New
Brain”
 The Association Areas of the Cortex
› Executive functions
 Higher mental processes such as thinking,
language, memory, and speech
 Broca’s aphasia
 Wernicke’s aphasia

45. Neuroplasticity and the Brain
 Neuroplasticity
› The brain continually reorganizing itself
 Neurogenesis
› New neurons created in certain areas of the
brain during adulthood

46. The Specialization of the
Hemispheres: Two Brains or One?
 Left and right symmetrical halves
› Lateralized
 Left
 Verbal competence
 Processes information sequentially
 Right
 Spatial relationships
 Recognition of patterns and drawings
 Music
 Emotional expression
 Processes information globally

47. The Split Brain: Exploring the
Two Hemispheres
 Split-brain patients
› Corpus callosum
surgically cut