Anatomical & Physiological Anatomical & Physiological Basis Basis

in Psychologyin Psychology

Dr: Amir El-Fiky

This lecture explores behavior from

the biological point of view. Of

particular interest are the brain and

nervous system.

THE NEURON: THE BUILDING BLOCK OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

NucleusSynaptic cleft

Dendrites Cell wall Axon End foot

THREE BASIC KINDS OF NEURONS ARE (1) SENSORY, (2) ASSOCIATION, AND (3) MOTOR.

When a neuron releases neurotransmitters it is called

”Depolarization”.

When a neuron depolarizes, it alternates from

(1) a resting negative electrical potential to

(2) a positive electrical potential, and (3) returns to a

negative electrical potential again.

A nerve is a bundle of axons. Think of the axons as

thin rope fibers and the nerve as the thick rope itself.

Nerves are identified as afferent or efferent.

Afferent nerves move toward an objective.

Efferent nerves move away from a source.

The Nervous System: The Body’s The Nervous System: The Body’s Communication NetworkCommunication Network

The Nervous System

Central Peripheral

Autonomic Somatic

Sympathetic Parasympathetic

The Brain: The Chief Executive Officer The Brain: The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Organization:(CEO) of the Organization:

Spinal cord.

Brain stem.

Cerebellum.

Hypothalamus.

Thalamus.

Cerebral cortex.

- Does the Right Side Know What the Left Side is

Doing?

- The right hemisphere mediates nonverbal

patterning (sometimes called the “romantic”

hemisphere).

- The left hemisphere mediates verbal and

mathematical thinking (sometimes called the

“logical” hemisphere)

Sensation refers to the raw data of experience.

Psychology considers it important to study the

process of sensation, the basic process by

which we obtain information about external

reality.

THANK YOU