NEUROBIOLOGICAL BASIS OF PSYCHOLOGY
RIGHT BRAIN OR LEFT BRAIN?
Responds to verbal instructions
Logical and sequential thinking
Planned and structured
Thinks first before they act
Prefers talking and writing
Controls feelings
Good with sports and art
Dreamer, philosophical
Sees the big picture Fluid and
spontaneous Free with feelings Responds with
demonstrations and hunches
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Neuron Nerve cell =
cell body(soma) + axons + dendrites
Neurons receive, conduct, & transmit electrochemical signals.
TYPES OF NEURONS
Sensory or Afferent Neuron Impulses > Brain Touch, pain, pressure, thermal senses
Motor or Efferent Neuron Brain neural impulses > Peripheral Organs
(muscles, glands, etc.) Writing, walking, playing an instrument,
picking an object
NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Acetylcholine Norepinephrine Dopamine Serotonin GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid)
SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION
DIVISONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Spinal Cord Main pathway of
sensory or afferent impulses to the brain and motor or efferent impulses from the brain
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Brain
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
Cerebellum Somatic and motor
activity speech
Thalamus Relay station of
sensory impulses Sleep and wakefulness
Hypothalamus Stress, fight or flight
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
The Limbic System Hippocampus
memory Amygdala
Appetite, sex, aggression
Hypothalamus Example
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
Cerebrum Cerebral Cortex Gyrus Corpus
Callosum 4 lobes
Temporal Parietal Occipital Frontal
FUNCTIONS OF CORTICAL AREAS
Motor area Somatosensory
area Somesthetic
Area Primary Visual
Area Primary Auditory
Area Association Area
THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Pituitary gland Thyroid gland Adrenal Glands Pancrease (Islets of Langerhans) Testes Ovaries Connected to the hypothalamus
GENES AND BEHAVIOR
46 chromosomes 23 pairs from father 23 pairs from mother XX female XY male
Turner’s Syndrome Klinefelter’s Syndrome