Physiological Psychology Introductions: Areas of ...
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Physiological Psychology Introductions: Areas of biopsychology / Mind/body relations
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- 1. Physiological Psychology Introductions: Areas of biopsychology / Mind/body relations
2. Fig. 1-1, p. 2 3.
- 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
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- Many different areas with many different names.
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- Different names
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- Biological Psychology
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- Physiological Psychology
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- Behavioral Neuroscience
- The biological basis of behavior
- Biology heavily influence early psychologists
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- Ex. Luigi Galvani Late 1700s
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- Ex. Pierre Flourens Early 1800s
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- Heavy influence of Psychophysics
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- Weber Webers law
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- Fechner
- Psychology begins in 1879
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- Wilhelm Wundt
- William James championed the role of evolution and biology in understanding psychological processes
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- Donald Hebb The Organization of Behavior (1949)
- Wilder Penfield
7. Todays Biopsychology
- Very eclectic, multidisciplinary field
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- Should not be rigidly defined
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- Key: brain, behavior relations
- A part of Neuroscience: the study of the nervous system
- Many parts to neuroscience
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- Neuroanatomy
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- Neurophysiology
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- Neurochemistry
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- Neuropharmacology
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- Behavioral Neuroscience
8. Many areas within Biopsychology
- Mix of pure and applied research
- Physiological psychology
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- Scientific study of brain/behavior in controlled experimental settings
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- Generally uses animal subjects
- Psychopharmacology study of the effect of drugs on the brain, behavior, and well as interactions
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- Neuropsychology Generally studies the effects of brain damage in humans
- Deals with clinical populations
- Gathers information via case-studies
- Works towards treatment
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- 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
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- Neurophilosophy - the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and philosophy
- Works both ways:
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- Use neuroscience results to understand philosophy E.g., Dennett
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- Use philosophy as a basis for the understanding of neuroscience
12. Comparative Psychology
- 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)
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- Psychoneuroimmunology study of the interactions between the brain and the immune system / endocrine system in regulating behavior
- Examples
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- Illness and stress
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- wound healing is much slower in psychologically stressed adults
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- Placebo effects
14. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- 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
15. Fig. 1-2, p. 3 16. Levels of explanation
- All of the sciences strive to uncover reality
- Many different ways of doing that on many different levels.
- Understanding behavior
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- Psychology
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- Brain
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- Neural chemistry
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- Physics
- **Important: all levels are needed
17. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Biological explanations of behavior fall into four categories:
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- Physiological- emphasis on brain and other vital organs.
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- Ontogenetic- describes the development of a structure or behavior.
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- Evolutionary- focuses upon the evolutionary history of a behavior.
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- Functional- describes why a structure or behavior evolved as it did.
18. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Deep understanding of a particular behavior is tied to being able to explain the behavior fromeachof these perspectives.
19. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- 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.
20. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Dualismis the belief that there are different kinds of substances and the mind and the body are separate entities.
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- Defended by French philosopher Rene Descartes.
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- Most common belief among nonscientists.
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- Rejected by most neuroscientists.
21. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Monismis the belief that the universe is only comprised of one type of substance.
- Forms of monism include:
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- Materialism - everything that exists is physical by nature.
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- Mentalism - only the mind truly exists.
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- Identity position - mental processes are the same as brain processes but simply described in different ways.
22. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Explanations of the mind-body relationship do not answer some fundamental questions:
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- Why is consciousness a property of brain activity?
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- What kind of brain activity produces consciousness?
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- How does brain activity produce consciousness?
23. The Mind-Brain Relationship
- Because consciousness is not observable, its function is often difficult to define and/ or explain.
- Solipsism - suggests that I alone am conscious
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- Difficulty of knowing if others have conscious experiences is known as the problem of other minds.
24. The Use of Animals in Research
- 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.
25. The Use of Animals in Research
- Reasons for studying animals include:
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- The underlying mechanisms of behavior are similar across species and often easier to study in nonhuman species.
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- We are interested in animals for their own sake.
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- What we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution.
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- Some experiments cannot use humans because of legal or ethical reasons.
26. Fig. 1-12, p. 23 27. The Use of Animals in Research
- Opposition to animal research varies:
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- Minimalists favor firm regulation on research and place consideration upon the type of animal used and the amount of stress induced.
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- Abolitionists maintain that all animals have the same rights as humans and any use of animals is unethical.
28. The Use of Animals in Research
- Justification for research considers the amount of benefit gained compared to the amount of distress caused to the animal.
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- 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).
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- Oversees and determine acceptable procedures.