physiological psychology introductions: areas of

1. Physiological Psychology Introductions: Areas of biopsychology / Mind/body relations

Biological Psychology is the study of the physiological and genetic basis of behavior.

Emphasis is placed upon physiological, evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of behavior.

Strong emphasis on brain function.

Components of biological psychology

Many different areas with many different names.

Different names

Biological Psychology

Physiological Psychology

Behavioral Neuroscience

The biological basis of behavior

Biology heavily influence early psychologists

Ex. Luigi Galvani Late 1700s

Ex. Pierre Flourens Early 1800s

Heavy influence of Psychophysics

Weber Webers law

Fechner

Psychology begins in 1879

Wilhelm Wundt

William James championed the role of evolution and biology in understanding psychological processes

Donald Hebb The Organization of Behavior (1949)

Wilder Penfield

Very eclectic, multidisciplinary field

Should not be rigidly defined

Key: brain, behavior relations

A part of Neuroscience: the study of the nervous system

Many parts to neuroscience

Neuroanatomy

Neurophysiology

Neurochemistry

Neuropharmacology

Behavioral Neuroscience

Mix of pure and applied research

Physiological psychology

Scientific study of brain/behavior in controlled experimental settings

Generally uses animal subjects

Psychopharmacology study of the effect of drugs on the brain, behavior, and well as interactions

Neuropsychology Generally studies the effects of brain damage in humans

Deals with clinical populations

Gathers information via case-studies

Works towards treatment

Cognitive Neuroscience cross between cognitive psychology and physiological psychology

Experimental exploration of human cognition and the physiological processes involved

E.g., fMRI analysis of attention

E.g., Event-related potentials and dreaming

Neurophilosophy - the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and philosophy

Works both ways:

Use neuroscience results to understand philosophy E.g., Dennett

Use philosophy as a basis for the understanding of neuroscience

Study of the role of evolution in brain and behavior

Comparison of behaviors of different species of animals with attention to the phylogenetic and ecological context

Includes laboratory research as well as the study of animals in their natural environments (ethology)

Psychoneuroimmunology study of the interactions between the brain and the immune system / endocrine system in regulating behavior

Examples

Illness and stress

wound healing is much slower in psychologically stressed adults

Placebo effects

Brain functioning can be explained at a more microscopic level in terms of neuron and glia activity.

Understanding the mind and consciousness is key to biopsychology

All of the sciences strive to uncover reality

Many different ways of doing that on many different levels.

Understanding behavior

Psychology

Neural chemistry

Physics

**Important: all levels are needed

Biological explanations of behavior fall into four categories:

Physiological- emphasis on brain and other vital organs.

Ontogenetic- describes the development of a structure or behavior.

Evolutionary- focuses upon the evolutionary history of a behavior.

Functional- describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.

Deep understanding of a particular behavior is tied to being able to explain the behavior fromeachof these perspectives.

Biological explanations of behavior raise the issue of the relationship between the mind and the brain also know as the mind-body or mind-brain problem.

The mind-brain problem has a variety of explanations.

Dualismis the belief that there are different kinds of substances and the mind and the body are separate entities.

Defended by French philosopher Rene Descartes.

Most common belief among nonscientists.

Rejected by most neuroscientists.

Monismis the belief that the universe is only comprised of one type of substance.

Forms of monism include:

Materialism - everything that exists is physical by nature.

Mentalism - only the mind truly exists.

Identity position - mental processes are the same as brain processes but simply described in different ways.

Explanations of the mind-body relationship do not answer some fundamental questions:

Why is consciousness a property of brain activity?

What kind of brain activity produces consciousness?

How does brain activity produce consciousness?

Because consciousness is not observable, its function is often difficult to define and/ or explain.

Solipsism - suggests that I alone am conscious

Difficulty of knowing if others have conscious experiences is known as the problem of other minds.

Animal research is an important source of information for biological psychology but remains a highly controversial topic.

Animal research varies on the amount of stress and/ or pain that is caused to the animal itself.

Reasons for studying animals include:

The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and often easier to study in nonhuman species.

We are interested in animals for their own sake.

What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution.

Some experiments cannot use humans because of legal or ethical reasons.

Opposition to animal research varies:

Minimalists favor firm regulation on research and place consideration upon the type of animal used and the amount of stress induced.

Abolitionists maintain that all animals have the same rights as humans and any use of animals is unethical.

Justification for research considers the amount of benefit gained compared to the amount of distress caused to the animal.

No clear dividing line exists.

Colleges and research institutions in the United States are required to have an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

Oversees and determine acceptable procedures.

physiological psychology introductions: areas of

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