Psychology
Biopsychology
Biopsychology, also known as behavioral neuroscience, is the study of how biological processes influence behavior and mental processes. It explores the relationship between the brain, nervous system, and behavior, examining topics such as genetics, hormones, and brain structure and function. By understanding the biological underpinnings of behavior, biopsychologists contribute to our understanding of psychological phenomena.
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12 Key excerpts on "Biopsychology"
eBook - ePub- G Neil Martin(Author)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Table 1.1 suggests, biological psychologists specialise in the topics that are of interest to them. There are some terms used to describe specific types of biological psychology (and, therefore, biological psychologist) and there are other terms that are synonymous with it. Some of the terms that are interchangeable with biological psychology include psychobiology and physiological psychology – to all intents and purposes, all of these terms refer to the same discipline. Other terms that refer to specific areas of biological psychology include neuroscience, neuropsychology, histology and psychoneuroimmunology.Neuroscience
Neuroscience is an area of study where psychology, physics, chemistry and biology converge. It refers to the study of the neural basis of behaviour, and much of the work in the area is cellular in nature. Neuroscientists are interested in how specific brain cells, types of brain cell or groups of brain cells contribute to brain function and to behaviour. For example, neuroscientists may be interested in discovering whether specific types of cell are involved in specific behaviours (such as object or face recognition); they might be interested in discovering which chemical systems in the brain become active or inactive during certain psychological states such as sleep, mental impairment, depression, schizophrenia, and so on. It is sometimes prefaced by 'cognitive' to indicate that the study involves the neural basis of aspects of cognition such as using language, recognising objects, places and faces, recognising and experiencing emotion, performing mental arithmetic tasks, engaging in visual imagery, and so on (Posner and DiGirolamo, 2000).Some psychologists combine what seem on the surface to be entirely different branches of the discipline, such as neuroscience and social psychology. Social cognitive neuroscience, for example, involves the study of the social processes that influence behaviour, the information processing that gives rise to social behaviour and the neural basis of the cognitive behaviour that involves information processing (Ochsner and Lieberman, 2001). Some of the topics that interest social cognitive psychologists include the role of specific brain regions in socio-emotional behaviour, and the role of neural mechanisms in regulating aggression, dominance and bonding.
eBook - ePub- Nancy Fenton, Jessica Flitter, Jessica Flitter(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Research & Education Association(Publisher)
Chapter 5 Biological Bases of BehaviorBiological psychology can be traced to the beginnings of psychology because it has its roots in physiology. The field of biological psychology , also called neuroscience , focuses on how genes, the nervous system, and the endocrine system influence behaviors and mental processes. Technological advances have allowed biological psychologists to provide a more complete understanding of what occurs on a physiological level during a psychological experience such as thinking or memory.Heredity, Environment, and EvolutionAn important aspect of the study of psychology is the interplay among genetic, environmental, and evolutionary influences. Complex human traits, such as intelligence, aggression, altruism, and personality, are influenced by all of these factors. For instance, psychologists attempt to determine how an individual’s level of aggression is impacted by inheritance and exposure to violence, as well as why aggressive tendencies were naturally selected.Biologists and psychologists are both interested in the various influences of nature and nurture on human traits. Biologists study physical traits, such as height and eye color, or susceptibility to diseases, such as cancer. In contrast, psychologists are interested in behavioral traits and psychological illnesses. Behavioral traits include aggression, intelligence, personality, etc.; psychological illnesses include anxiety, schizophrenia, depression, etc. The scientific discipline of behavioral genetics attempts to integrate the influences of heredity, environment, and evolution in terms of their effect on human behavior.HeredityBiological psychologists are interested in the study of heredity, or how the traits of parents are transmitted biologically to offspring. The nucleus of each human cell contains forty-six chromosomes , twenty-three donated by each parent. Chromosomes that determine gender are known as the X and Y chromosomes . One X chromosome is donated by the mother, and either an X or Y chromosome is donated by the father. An XX individual is female; an XY person is male. Each chromosome contains genes , which are made up of a chainlike molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) . Each individual gene can be either dominant or recessive. A dominant gene takes precedence over a recessive gene for that particular trait. For the gene that determines eye color in humans, brown is the dominant gene and blue is the recessive gene. If either parent donates a dominant gene for eye color, the child will have brown eyes. If both parents donate recessive genes for eye color, the child will have blue eyes. A Punnett square can be used to predict the outcome of various traits. The genotype is the genetic makeup for a trait in an individual, which may or may not be expressed, while the observable characteristics of genes are referred to as the phenotype
eBook - PDFDiscovering Psychology
The Science of Mind
- John Cacioppo, Laura Freberg(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
Human brains like this one, carefully held by one of your authors, weigh about 3 pounds and contain approximately 100 billion neurons. That’s about the same number as the stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Not only does biology influence behavior, but behavior (thinking about winning in this case) affects biology. Players and even fans of a winning team experience a temporary increase in testosterone, while players and fans of a losing team experience a temporary decrease in testosterone. Courtesy of Dr. Skirmantas Janusonis/University of California, Santa Barbara; photo by Roger Freberg What Is Biological Psychology? Many of us find the concept that our “minds” are somehow a result of the activity of nerve cells a bit unsettling. How could our feelings, thoughts, and memories be caused by a bunch of cells? Shouldn’t there be more to who we are than something so physical? Such ideas led thinkers like Renaissance philosopher René Descartes to propose a philosophy of dualism, which suggests that our mind is somehow different and separate from our physical being. If you are more comfortable with thinking about mind this way, go ahead, as long as you rec-ognize that the field of biological psychology, and the neurosciences in general, embraces the competing philosophy of monism. According to the monistic approach, the mind is what the brain does. Biological psychology, also known as behavioral neuroscience, is a rich, interdisciplin-ary field of study that combines the methods and theories of psychology with those of biol-ogy, physiology, biochemistry, the neurosciences, and related fields. While investigating a particular behavior, the biological psychologist focuses on links between observed behavior and genetic factors, biochemical factors, and the activity level and structural characteristics of the nervous system. These links do not travel in one direction only, such as from biologi-cal factors to behavior, but are more accurately viewed as reciprocal.
eBook - PDFPsychology
Six Perspectives
- Dodge Fernald(Author)
- 2007(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
3 Biological Psychology Origins of Biological Psychology Wundt and Physiology Changing Views of the Brain Basic Research Methods The Nervous System Interlocking Systems Structure of Neurons Neurotransmitters and Drugs Organization of the Brain Maintaining Internal Conditions Responding to External Events The Limbic Connection The Cerebral Cortex Primary and Association Areas Concept of Localization Modern Biomedical Therapy Assessment and Diagnosis Guidelines for Treatment Commentary and Critique 49 B iological psychology is a useful starting point in the study of behavior. All human and animal activities emerge from underlying biological mechanisms. Focusing on the nervous system, especially the brain, biologi-cal psychology examines the ways the organs of the body influence behavior and experience. In the 17th century, René Descartes greatly advanced the dawn of bio-logical psychology through his inquiry into natural philosophy, meaning a systematic study of nature, especially animal physiology, which was pursued chiefly through dissections. In this way he studied animals and human beings in terms of a machine metaphor. In animals, the mechanical parts were simpler and were activated by a special fluid, which Descartes called animal spirits. In human beings, some mysterious, immaterial substance played a loftier role, for human mental life seemed to be separate from bodily activ-ity. In one way or another, the machine metaphor of the body endured until the contemporary focus on the brain prevailed. After further comments on the origins of biological psychology, this chapter turns to modern views of the nervous system, organization of the brain, and details of the cerebral cortex. It closes with a discussion of men-tal disorders and biomedical therapy, followed by a commentary and cri-tique of the biological perspective.
- Claude E. Buxton(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
12 Biological Contributions to the Development of Psychology KARL H. PRIBRAM AND DANIEL N. ROBINSON INTRODUCTION This chapter concerns several important influences that biology has had on the development of psychology as a science. Specifically, we attempt to account for an apparent paradox: In the nineteenth century, rapid advances were made in relating biology in general and brain func-tion in particular to the phenomena of mind. Throughout much of the first half of the twentieth century, however, these same relationships were all but ignored and the foundations for a scientific psychology were sought in the environment. The biological aspects of psychology, perhaps more than other special branches of the discipline, resist historical compression. Psychobiology, as we shall call the subject, 1 is deeply rooted in both philosophy and 1 There is still no universally accepted criterion for distinguishing among the terms physiological psychology, psychobiology, neuropsychology, and Biopsychology. A grow-ing convention would reserve the term neuropsychology to theory about the human nervous system based on research involving complex cognitive processes, often in settings in which clinical findings are directly relevant. Physiological psychology strikes many as too restricted, for much current work falls under headings such as biophysics, computer science, or microanatomy that are synonymous with physiology. Thus, psychobiology is used here to refer to the broadest range of correlative studies in which biobehavioral investigations are undertaken and referenced to phenomenal experience. POINTS OF VIEW IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY 345 Copyright © 1985 by Academic Press, Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISBN 0-12-148510-2 346 Karl H. Pribram and Daniel N. Robinson biological science and was the subject of speculative and experimental psychology 2 centuries before Wundt christened the Leipzig laboratory (1874).
eBook - ePub- (Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
Chapter 3 Biological Psychology Robert E. Clark, Jena B. Hales, Stuart M. Zola, and Richard F. Thompson The Mind The Brain Sensory Processes Learning and Memory Motivation and Emotion Cognitive Neuroscience Conclusion ReferencesThe great questions of philosophy, the mind–body problem and the nature of knowledge, were also the questions that drove early developments in the pathways to modern psychology. This is especially true of biological or physiological psychology. Wilhelm Wundt, who founded experimental psychology, titled his major work Foundations of Physiological Psychology (1874/1908). William James, the other major figure in the development of modern psychology, devoted a third of his influential text Principles of Psychology (1890) to the brain and nervous system. Both Wundt and James studied medicine and philosophy, and both considered themselves physiologists. Their goal was not to reduce psychology to physiology but rather to apply the scientific methods of physiology to the study of the mind. The other driving force in early biological psychology was the study of the brain and nervous system.The major topics in modern biological psychology are sensory processes, learning and memory, motivation and emotion, and, most recently, cognition—in short, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience. A number of other areas began as part of physiological psychology and have spun off to become fields in their own right. We treat the major topics in biological psychology separately in the text that follows. But first we sketch very briefly the recent philosophical and physiological roots.The Mind
The history of such issues as the mind–body problem and epistemology is properly the domain of philosophy, treated extensively in many volumes and well beyond the scope of this chapter and the expertise of these authors. Our focus in this brief section is on the history of the scientific study of the mind, which really began in the 19th century.
eBook - PDF- Sara Palermo, Rosalba Morese, Sara Palermo, Rosalba Morese(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
1 Section 1 Definition and Operational Framework of the 21st Century 3 Chapter 1 Introductory Chapter: Neuroscience Wants Behavior Sara Palermo and Rosalba Morese 1. Introduction What do we mean by “behavioral neuroscience”? This is the branch of neurosci-ence developed from Wilhelm Wundt’s and William James’s physiological psychol-ogy and addressed to the study of the “the neural and biological bases of behavior, including effects of lesions and electrical stimulation, recording of electrical activity, genetic factors, hormonal influences, neurotransmitter and chemical factors, neuroanatomical substrates, effects of drugs, developmental processes, and environmental factors” [1]. Historically, neuroscience is born with the identification of the neuron as an autonomous and functionally independent cellular unit of the nervous system. The studies carried out to define the properties of the neuron have benefited from the progress made in various disciplines, in particular using methods to measure ionic and molecular displacements at the subcellular level and—thanks to the original psychopharmacology, psychophysiological, and neuroimaging approaches—the progress made in the knowledge of integrated systems at the base of the behavioral variations of the individual [2]. In the beginning, neurotransmitters such as acetyl-choline, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and GABA have been discovered, and the structural aspects of membrane receptors for different molecules with neurotransmitter functions have been analyzed. Subsequently and of particular interest was the identification of endorphins and their receptors on nerve cells [2]. With the identi-fication and study of endorphins, a new approach to the analysis of substances that perform a modulating function on the genesis and transmission of nerve impulses has been developed.
eBook - ePubThe Handbook of Life-Span Development, Volume 1
Cognition, Biology, and Methods
- Richard M. Lerner, Willis F. Overton, Richard M. Lerner, Willis F. Overton(Authors)
- 2010(Publication Date)
- Wiley(Publisher)
It is something we do. Having just completed two major research efforts, the Decade of the Brain and the Human Genome Project, one goal of which was to elucidate the neural and genetic underpinnings of behavior, it may be understandable why biology, why brains and genes, is seen to control behavior, and why psychology is understood to be a biological science in the reductionist sense of the term. No one would deny the significance of the biological in our understanding of behavior; however, evolution, genetics, hormones, and neurophysiology are not, even together, foundational or bedrock explanations of behavior and development. They are all necessary, although not necessary and sufficient, participating factors in the development of behavior. The Decade of the Brain and the Human Genome Project purported to put to rest the search for the bedrock origins of behavior. The former endeavor sought to place the entire burden of behavior on the brain, the latter on the human genome. Each effort yielded much significant and important information about the brain and the genome, but their impact on our understanding of neural and genetic influences on behavior were minimal (Lewontin, 2000; Strohman, 1997)
eBook - PDFWhat is Psychology?
Foundations, Applications, and Integration
- Ellen Pastorino, Susann Doyle-Portillo, Ellen Pastorino(Authors)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Cengage Learning EMEA(Publisher)
41 Foundations in Biological Psychology C hapter 1 focused on the scientific method that forms the foundation of all areas of psychology. In this next part, we will discuss the biological foundations of psychology—the nervous and endocrine system functions (Chapter 2), sensation and perceptual processes (Chapter 3), states of consciousness (Chapter 4), and motivational and emotional functions (Chapter 5) that influence our mental processes and behavior. The fields of psychology and biology are intimately intertwined. Biology focuses on the body, its structures, and physiological functions. Our knowledge about the body helps inform psychology’s study of mental processes and behavior. Without biological functioning, there would be no mental processes or behavior for psychologists to study. And changes in biological functioning, through taking drugs, injury, or illness, have the potential to affect our thoughts and behavior. Despite its importance in our lives, we often pay little attention to our biological functioning. For example, when did you last stop to wonder how your brain works? For most of us, the answer to that question is probably never! Most of us lead our lives without giving our brain much thought. Every day we go about our business, taking for granted our ability to move, speak, feel, and breathe. We seldom, if ever, stop to think about the amazing internal systems that allow us to accomplish these tasks. Sometimes the best way to gain an appreciation for things we take for granted is to see what life would be like without them. In the case study for this part, we see what life was like for Jean-Dominique Bauby when he suddenly lost certain aspects of his brain function. After reading his story, you might just find yourself with increased respect for your own brain and the abilities that it provides you. When Jean-Dominique Bauby began his day on December 8, 1995, his life was the essence of success.
eBook - PDF- Albert R. Gilgen(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Academic Press(Publisher)
To give them objective as well as subjective substance takes a great deal of careful observation, experi-mentation, and scientific analysis, both at the environmental-behavioral and at the neurobehavioral level. Neither level by itself has the explanatory power nor serves as well the generation of meaningful experiments. Thus the challenge to psychologists today, it seems to me, stems from the very fact that the study of brain added to the study of behavior appears to make psychology whole again. The fascinating problems which behaviorism had to exclude not only can, but must, be tackled when neurobehavioral techniques are brought into play. V . O F INTERDISCIPLINARY ENDEAVORS Laboratory experiences such as these have led me to try to formulate the process by which my brand of scientific inquiry procedes. This is difficult to do thoroughly without altering the process and thus chancing damage to a 60 KARL Η. PRIBRAM successful operation. Some formulation has been possible, however. First, my experiments are conducted as interdisciplinary efforts. Any single discipline centers on a technique such as the use of microelectrodes, of operant behavior, of mathematics, or of paper chromatography. As long as only one technique is used, the results can be codified only in descriptive terms. When several techniques are brought to bear on a problem, the resultant interdisciplinary data allow the structure of the problem to be explored more fully: the processes and mechanisms involved can be approached. Further, the data obtained in wfradisciplinary programs tend to generate technique-oriented variations on those data. What was found on the mouse is looked for in the rat; the description of the visual receptive field of a unit in the optic nerve leads to an experiment detailing the visual receptive field at the lateral geniculate level of the visual system.
- Gregory J. Feist(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Yale University Press(Publisher)
The more we understand of genetics and neuroscience, the more we come to see the power of the environment in molding and shaping our biological systems, most promi-nent of which are genes, neurons, and brain structures. The flexibility of hu-mans to learn virtually whatever our environment throws at us may be related to such genetic and neural malleability and may be, when all is said and done, the signature trait of the human species. 1 The study of scientists per se is not required for a biological psychology of science, for much of scientific thinking is in fact implicit and stems from basic neuroscientific processes. The “implicit biological psychology of science” is in-deed a rich and exploding domain of investigation due mostly to its connection with two major revolutions in science over the last ten to fifteen years, namely, genetics and neuroscience. To be clear: the genetic and neuroscientific founda-tions of human thought are not specific to scientific thought. But specific do-mains of mind (especially the social, physical, natural-historical-biological, and mathematical domains) are the origins of the systematic and formal physical, biological, and social sciences that exist today (see part ). To the extent that current genetic and neuroscientific research sheds light on these cognitive facil-ities, they shed light on foundations of higher human cognitive functioning, including scientific reasoning, problem solving, and creativity. BEHAVIORAL GENETICS AND INTELLIGENCE Behavioral genetics is the best method for acquiring knowledge of the genetic basis of intelligence and behavior.
eBook - PDF- William O′Donohue, Richard F Kitchener, Richard F Kitchener, William O′Donohue(Authors)
- 1996(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
CHAPTER 1 5 N EU ROBEHAVIORAL SC I ENCE, N EU ROPSYCHOLOGY, AN D TH E PH I LOSOPHY OF MI N D Karl H. Pribram INTRODUCTION The advent of the cognitive revolution in psychol-ogy ushered in a resurgent interest in the mind! brain connection. In this essay I discuss three forms this interest has taken. Neurobehavioral sci-ence, based to a large extent on animal brain-behavioral research, has made strides in determin-ing the nature of memory storage, and the brain systems involved in attention and in different sorts of learning. Currently the neurochemical basis of emotion and motivation is being clarif ied. Clinical neuropsychology has added to the neurobehav-ioral base, and has been supplemented by it: An examination of memory retrieval processes and the exploration of brain function in the organiza-tion of human consciousness needs a human popu-lation to study. The yield has been rewarding and has given rise to a reexamination by philosophers and others of the nature of mind and spirit as these relate to the material world. 207 NEUROBEHAVIORAL SCIENCE Parts and Wholes Three closely related issues concerning the organi-zation of brain function have been the subj ect of controversy for two centuries. The first of these concerns localization versus distribution of func-tions within the brain. The second issue stems from the first: Does processing proceed among different localizable systems or modules in a hierarchical fashion, or is processing global and heterarchical? Finally, is processing within and between systems serial or parallel? Toward the end of the eighteenth century, Gal l brought these issues to the fore by correlating dif-ferent local brain pathologies to the histories of the cadavers he autopsied. Though often wrong in detail, Gall was correct in the methods he carefully detailed (see Gall & Spurtzheim, 1 809/1969). He was naive in delineating the faculties of mind for
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