Physiological Psychology

Unit 2: Physiological Psychology,

Development of Human
behaviour
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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Lecture Overview

• Neural Bases of Behavior

• Nervous System Organization

• A Tour Through the Brain

• Our Genetic Inheritance

©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007

Huffman: Psychology in
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 Neural Bases of Psychology
• Neuroscience:
interdisciplinary
field studying how
biological processes
relate to behavioral
and mental
processes

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Neural Bases of Psychology

• The nervous system

consists of neurons
(cells responsible
for receiving and
transmitting
electrochemical
information).

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
The Structure of a Neuron

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Neural Bases of Psychology: Neural
Communication

• Within a neuron, communication occurs

through an action potential (neural impulse
that carries information along the axon of a
neuron).

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)
• Between neurons,
communication occurs
through transmission of
neural information across
a synapse by
neurotransmitters
(chemicals released by
neurons that alter
activity in other neurons).
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Neural Bases of Psychology:
Neural Communication (Continued)
• Receiving neurons
receive multiple
messages from
other neurons, and
these messages
determine if an
action potential
occurs or not.
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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Neural Bases of Psychology:
Applying Psychology to Everyday Life
• Major Neurotransmitters:
• Serotonin
• Acetylcholine (ACh)
• Dopamine (DA)
• Norepinephrine (NE)
• Epinephrine (adrenaline)
• GABA (gamma aminobutyric
acid)
• Endorphins
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Neural Bases of Psychology: Receptor
Sites

• normal message

• blocked message (wrong shape)

• agonistic drugs mimic shape and

enhance neurotransmitter

• antagonistic drugs fill the site

and block neurotransmitter
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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Neural Bases of Psychology:
How Hormones Affect Us
• Endocrine System: collection of glands that
manufacture and secrete hormones –
(a) Pineal gland
(b) Pituitary gland
(c) Parathyroid glands
(d) Thyroid glands
(e) Thymus gland
(f) Adrenal gland

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Nervous System Organization

• Central Nervous System (CNS):

includes the brain and spinal cord
• Peripheral Nervous System
(PNS): includes all nerves and
neurons connecting CNS to the
rest of the body (subdivided into
the somatic and autonomic
nervous systems)

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Nervous
System
Organization
Nervous System Organization: Central
Nervous System (CNS)
• Brain
• Spinal Cord
(transmits
information into
and out of the brain
)

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Nervous System Organization: Central
Nervous System (CNS)

• The spinal cord is

also responsible for
involuntary,
automatic
behaviors called
reflexes.

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Nervous System Organization:
Subdivisions of the Peripheral Nervous System

• Somatic Nervous System (SNS): connects to sensory

receptors and controls skeletal muscles.
• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): controls
involuntary bodily functions
• ANS is subdivided into: Sympathetic Nervous
System (arouses) and the Parasympathetic
Nervous System (calms)
 Nervous System Organization:

 Parasympathetic and

Sympathetic Nervous
Systems

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Huffman: Psychology in
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A Tour Through the Brain
A Tour Through The Brain: Hindbrain
• Three key structures of the hindbrain:
– Medulla: life survival functions
– Pons: respiration, movement, waking,
sleeping, and dreaming
– Cerebellum: coordination of fine
muscular movements, balance, and
some aspects of perception and
cognition

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Huffman: Psychology in
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Midbrain: collection of brain structures in
the middle of the brain that coordinates
movement patterns, sleep, and arousal

• (Reticular formation: runs through the

hindbrain, midbrain, and brainstem and
screens incoming information and
controls arousal

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Huffman: Psychology in
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Forebrain: collection of upper-level brain
structures, including the thalamus,
hypothalamus, and limbic system
– Thalamus: relays sensory messages to
the cerebral cortex
– Hypothalamus: responsible for
emotions, drives, and regulating the
body’s internal environment

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Huffman: Psychology in
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A Tour Through The Brain (Continued)
• Limbic System:
interconnected
group of forebrain
structures involved
with emotions,
drives, and
memory

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through The Brain:
Cerebral Cortex
• Cerebral Cortex: thin
surface layer on the
left and right cerebral
hemispheres regulating
most complex behavior,
including sensations,
motor control, and
higher mental processes
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Huffman: Psychology in
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A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of the Cerebral
Cortex (Cont.)
 A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of
the Cerebral Cortex
• The frontal Lobes-
receive and coordinate
messages from other lobes
and are responsible for
motor control, speech
production, and higher
functions, such as thinking,
personality, emotion, and
memory.

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through the Brain:
The Importance of the Frontal Lobes
• Phineas Gage’s mining
accident sent a 13-
pound tamping iron
through his frontal
lobes. How did this
affect his short- and
long-term behavior and
mental processes?
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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through The Brain: Lobes of
the Cerebral Cortex (Cont.)
• Parietal Lobes: located at the top of the brain
directly behind the frontal lobes and responsible for
interpreting bodily sensations
• Temporal Lobes: located on each side of the
brain above the ears and responsible for audition,
language comprehension, memory, and some
emotional control
• Occipital Lobes: located at the back of the brain
responsible for vision and visual perception

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through The Brain: Split-
Brain Research
• Severing the
corpus
callosum
provides data
regarding the
functions of the
brain’s two
hemispheres.

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through The Brain:
Split-Brain Research (Continued)

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 A Tour Through The Brain:
Lateralization

• The left and right

hemispheres of the
brain each specialize
in particular operations.

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 Our Genetic Inheritance
• To answer questions about the influence of
nature versus nurture, psychologists use
behavioral genetics research.
• Behavioral Genetics: studies the relative
effects of nature (heredity, genes, and
chromosomes) and nurture
(environment) on
behavior and mental
processes.
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Our Genetic Inheritance: Genes & DNA

• The nucleus of every cell

in our body contains
genes, which carry the
code for hereditary
transmission. These
genes are arranged along
chromosomes (strands of
paired DNA).

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Our Genetic Inheritance: Genes & DNA

• Tongue-curling is one of the only traits that

depends on a specific dominant gene.
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Huffman: Psychology in
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Our Genetic Inheritance: Twin
Research

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Our Genetic Inheritance
 Evolutionary Psychology:
studies how natural
selection and adaptation help
explain behavior and mental
processes

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Huffman: Psychology in
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Our Genetic Inheritance
• Sex differences in
lateralization. Note how
activation is confined to
only one hemisphere in the
male brain on the left, and
how it occurs on both
hemispheres in the female
brain on the right.

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Huffman: Psychology in
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 Our Genetic Inheritance:
Better Living Through
Neuroscience
• Neuroplasticity: brain’s lifelong ability to
reorganize and change its structure and
function
• Neurogenesis: the division and
differentiation of non-neuronal cells to
produce neurons
• Stem cells: Precursor (immature) cells that
give birth to new specialized cells
©John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007
Huffman: Psychology in
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