© Kip Smith, 2003 Psychology 110 B Introduction to Neurons and the Brain
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© Kip Smith, 2003
Psychology 110 B
Introduction to Neurons and the Brain
© Kip Smith, 2003
Where we are at Psychology, the science of mind and behavior The scientific method Nature, Part 1: environment & evolution
The shapers of mind and behavior
Nature, Part 2: the thing that supports mind and behavior
The brain and the rest of the nervous system
Nurture - learning Minds
© Kip Smith, 2003
The Nervous System
Psychology is the science of mind and behavior
=The science of
information processing by the nervous system
© Kip Smith, 2003
The nervous system has 4 information processing tasks
Receiving input Sight, sound, touch, pain, smell, taste, proprioception,
etc.
Organizing and integrating information so they can be used to direct goal-directed activity
Controlling the body Motor, emotional, etc.
The big C: Consciousness
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 1: Receiving sensory input
Perception Picking up the
information made available by the environment
Performed by the sensory portion of the peripheral nervous system
The ‘incoming’ portion of the peripheral nervous system
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 1: Receiving sensory input
Perception Picking up the
information made available by the environment
Performed by the sensory portion of the peripheral nervous system
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 2: Organizing and integrating information
Storing information Turning information into knowledge One of the two functions of memory
Retrieving stored information The other function of memory
Making the information useful Reflex action Emotion Thought
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 3: Controlling the body Maintaining homeostasis
Thermoregulation, etc.
Sustaining life Heart rate Breathing
Performed by the autonomic nervous system
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Task 3: Controlling the body
Generating action Movement
Performed by the ‘outgoing’ portion of the peripheral nervous system
© Kip Smith, 2003
Brainstem, Limbic System, & Cortex
© Kip Smith, 2003
Medulla & Pons:breathing and heart rate;relay between visceral stimuli and thalamus
The BrainstemThalamus: relay between sensory receptorsand the cortex
Midbrain:Sleep (dreams) & arousal
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Cerebellum:coordinates rapid movement and balance
Moving on up ...Basal ganglia:coordinates deliberate movements
© Kip Smith, 2003
Hippocampus:involved in the storage of memory
Amygdala:controls fear & aggression
The structures in the limbic system mediate memory, homeostasis, and emotion
The Limbic SystemHypothalamus:directs homeostasisand basic drivese.g., the 4 F’s:feeding, fleeing, fighting, f*
© Kip Smith, 2003
Homeostasis, Emotion, Memory Homeostasis
Maintaining a constant internal state, e.g., 98.6°
Regulating body chemistry, e.g., blood sugar
Emotion A bodily state, a response to information in the
environment A ‘feeling’ is consciousness of an emotion
Memory
© Kip Smith, 2003
Cortex
FrontalJudgment,decision making,integration of information
TemporalMemoryCategories
ParietalWhereHow
OccipitalVision
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Topographic Organization & Localization of Function
Primary motor cortex Tells the body what to do, how to move
Primary somatosensory cortex The map of what’s going on with the body
Primary visual/auditory cortex The first cortical stop in the stream of vision/hearing
Wernike’s/Broca’s areas Speech comprehension/production
Primary somatosensory cortexPrimary motor cortex
© Kip Smith, 2003
Hemispheric specialization Association areas in the left and right
hemispheres of the brain tend to specialize to serve different functions
They are connected by the corpus collosum, a massive bundle of axons
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Left Right Language Comprehension Speech
Visuospatial Map reading Face recognition Drawing geometric
shapes
This differentiation becomes obvious only in special cases
© Kip Smith, 2003
The big unsolved problem Task 4: Consciousness
How do neurons (nerve cells) provide the basis for the phenomenon of consciousness?
An exercise for the student
© Kip Smith, 2003
For next time Read
Chapter 5 Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). The split brain in
man.= the third article in the Scientific American
reader Do PsychInquiry
Both activities for chapter 5
Questions?
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