The Biological Bases of Behavior

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The Biological Bases of Behavior

• Dr. Shana Pack
• Department of Psychology
• Western Kentucky University

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Lecture Outline

• Why is brain function important to psychology?
• Whats inside your head?
• The divisions of the human nervous system
• Parts of the neuron
• Neurochemistry and behavior
• The cerebral cortex
• A few other brain structures

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Why is brain function important to psychology?

• Simple behaviors
• Complex behaviors
• Emotions
• Personality
• Thinking (Cognition)
• Mental disorders

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Whats inside your head?

• Blood
• Meninges
• Cerebrospinal fluid
• Glia
• Neurons (nerve cells)

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The divisions of the human nervous system
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The Autonomic Nervous System
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Parts of the neuron

• Dendrites
• Axon
• myelin sheath
• action potential
• Terminal button

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Neurochemistry and behavior

• Neurotransmitters the synapse

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Neurochemistry and behavior, contd.

• Agonist mimics a neurotransmitter
• Antagonist blocks the effects of a
  neurotransmitter

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Acetylcholine

• Always used by a motor neuron onto muscle
• Also used by the autonomic nervous system
• Deficient in Alzheimers disease
• Agonist nicotine
• Antagonist curare

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The endorphins

• A group of several neurotransmitters
• Primary use in central nervous system is in pain
  regulation
• Agonists morphine, heroine, codeine

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Dopamine

• Found throughout the nervous system, including
  the brain and autonomic nervous system
• In the brain, regulates such things as motor
  abilities, reinforcement
• All drugs of abuse facilitate dopamine
• Dopamine releaser amphetamine
• Dopamine facilitator cocaine

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Dopamine, continued

• Deficient in Parkinsons disease
• Dopamine facilitator DOPA
• (Theoretically) excessive in schizophrenia
• Dopamine antagonist haloperidol (Haldol)

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The cerebral cortex

• Cerebral hemispheres
• Four lobes of the
  cerebrum
• frontal
• parietal
• temporal
• occipital

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Frontal lobe

• Location forehead
• Functions
• motor (primary motor cortex)
• some memory processes
• monitors, organizes, directs thoughts
• personality
• language production (Brocas area)
• Associated Disorder
• Alzheimers Disease

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Temporal Lobe

• Location ears
• Functions
• hearing (primary auditory cortex)
• some emotions (part of the limbic system)
• language reception (Wernikes area)

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Parietal Lobe

• Location top, middle of head
• Functions
• somatosensation (primary somatosensory cortex)
• spatial abilities

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Occipital lobe

• Location Back of head
• Function vision

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A few other brain structures

• Pons medulla
• vital functions
• circadian rhythm
• Cerebellum
• motor coordination
• Corpus callosum
• connects the hemispheres