Chapter 1: Biology and Behavior Flashcards
(45 cards)
Franz Gall
Earliest theories that behavior, intellect, and personality are linked to brain anatomy. Developed phrenology.
Pierre Flourens
Studied parts of the brain by extirpation on animals showing that specific parts had specific functions.
William James
Father of American psychology. One of the first to start functionalism, a system of thought in psychology that studied how mental processes help individuals adapt to their environment.
John Dewey
Functionalist, Believed psychology should focus on organisms as a whole as it functioned to adapt
Paul Broca
first to like behavioral deficits with specific brains lesions. Brocas area relating to speech production
Hermann von Helmholtz
measure the speed of a nerve impulses. Combining psychology into natural sciences
Sir Charles Sherrington
inferred the existence of synapses
Three types of nerve cells in the nervous system
sensory, motor, interneurons
Sensory neurons
(aka afferent neurons) transmit sensory information from receptors to the spinal cord and brain
Motor neurons
(aka efferent neurons) transmit motor information between the brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands
Interneurons
most common neuron, located in the brain and spinal cord linked to reflexive behavior
Reflex arcs
use the ability of interneurons in the spinal cord to relay information to the source of stimuli while also rooting it to the brain
Central nervous system (CNS)
composed of brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
composed of nerve tissue and fibers outside the brain and spinal cord. Divided into somatic and autonomic divisions
Somatic nervous system
consists of sensory and motor neurons distributed throughout the skin, joints, and muscles.
Autonomic nervous system
involves involuntary muscles associated with many internal organs and glands. e.g. heartbeat, respiration, digestion, and glandular secretions. Independent of conscious control. Divided into parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions
Parasympathetic nervous system
goal is to conserve energy. “rest and digest” . Acetylcholine is the neurotransmitter responsible for parasympathetic responses.
Roles of parasympathetic nervous system
constrict pupils, stimulates flow of saliva, constricts bronchi, slows heartbeat, stimulates peristalsis and secretion, stimulates bile release, contracts bladder.
Sympathetic nervous system
acted by stress. “fight or flight” Roles include increased heart rate, dilated pupil, salivation inhibition, increased blood glucose concentration, redistribution of blood to muscles of locomotion, relaxes bronchi, releases of epinephrine, decrease digestion
Layers of meninges
connective tissue layers from superficial to deep:
dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater.
basic subdivisions of the brain
1) hindbrain - controls balance, motor coordination, breathing, digestion, and sleeping/waking
2) midbrain - receives sensory and motor information from the rest of the body. Associated with involuntary reflexes
3) forebrain - is associated with complex perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral processes
subdivisions of the brain during embryonic development
hindbrain (rhombencephalon): myelencephalon (medulla oblongata) and metencephalon (pons and cerebellum)
midbrain (mesencephalon)
forebrain (prosencephalon): telencephalon (cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system) and diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus, posterior pituitary, and pineal gland)
Thalamus
forebrain structure that serves as an important relay station for incoming sensory information (not smell) transmits the information to appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex
Hypothalamus
Feeding, Fighting, Flighting, (sexual) Functioning. divided into
lateral hypothalamus, referred to as the hunger center thought to detect when the body needs more food or fluids
ventromedial hypothalamus, signal to stop eating
anterior hypothalamus, controls sexual behavior