Transcript PS111 Brain & Behaviour Module 1: Psychobiology Session 1 - Introduction Dr Friederike Schlaghecken Room H2.48 email: [email protected].

PS111
Brain & Behaviour
Module 1: Psychobiology
Session 1 - Introduction
Dr Friederike Schlaghecken
Room H2.48
email: [email protected]
General Info
1. Registration
•
Non-psychology students who want to take this course as an
outside option, please register with the Department!
• 24-CATS version: unlimited
• 30-CATS version: capped at 25 places
2. Tests & Exam
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Assessed work: online MC test at the end of each 5-week section
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Exam: 3-hour MC paper (see module webpage)
3. Work Load & Help
•
~2 hours for each lecture (preparation & subsequent learning)
•
For specific questions, just get in touch!
4. Further info
•
For reading advice etc., see handout (module webpage)
General Info
General Info
General Info
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
Psycho
logy
“Soul”, “Mind” “Knowledge of”
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
•
Dualist approach: Mind is different & separate from matter
?
matter
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
•
Dualist approach: Mind is different & separate from matter
•
Materialist approach:
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
•
Dualist approach: Mind is different & separate from matter
•
Materialist approach: “Mind” is what brains do
(like “Walk” is what legs do or “Grasp” is what hands do)
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
•
Dualist approach: Mind is different & separate from matter
•
Materialist approach: “Mind” is what brains do
For anyone with a further interest in this:
•Reading: http://consc.net/online.html
 “Materialism & Dualism”
 Marvin Minsky, Minds are simply what brains do
What is Psychobiology
•
What is PSYCHOLOGY?
•
•
•
Literally: “The study of the soul / mind”
What is the mind??
•
Dualist approach: Mind is different & separate from matter
•
Materialist approach: “Mind” is what brains do
What is Psychology?
•
Pragmatically: “The study of (human) behaviour”
PsychoBIOLOGY
10 years later…
... aims to understand the
biological basis of human behaviour
Why??
But I don’t
CARE about
anatomy –
I want to HEAL
people!!
PsychoBIOLOGY
... aims to understand the
biological basis of human behaviour
Why??
Some examples:
1. The Psychotherapist – Sleep disorder
2. The Educational Psychologist – AD/HD
3. The Consultant – False Memory
4. The Myth Buster – Confirmation Bias
Psychobiology – Objectives
Present-day study of ‘mind’ and ‘behaviour’ is informed by our
understanding of (neuro-)biology:
•
•
No psychological theory or concept can
violate biological (physical) principles:
•
theories about reincarnation are not
psychological theories,
•
theories about belief in reincarnation are
psychological theories!
No psychological research question can
be outside a biological framework:
•
•
•
research into life after death is not psychological research,
research into ‘near death experience’ is
psychological research!
OBJECTIVE:
• Gain a basic understanding of neuro-biology to appreciate
what this means
• (i.e., become equipped to do some myth-busting!)
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
•
give an overview of the
• anatomical organisation of the nervous system;
• electro-chemical activity of the neuron;
•
describe in general terms how neuro-chemical processes provide
the basis of nervous system function;
•
describe in general terms the brain as a continually adapting
system:
• give a basic account of brain development;
• give a basic account of the psychobiological mechanisms of
learning and memory;
• give a basic account of the psychobiological mechanisms of
rehabilitation and their limits;
•
apply a biologically informed perspective on further study of
psychology.
Course Outline
1. Introduction
I. Neuroanatomy
2. The Nervous System: Overall Structure
3. The Nervous System: The Forebrain
II. Neurophysiology
4. The Neuron: Structure & Intracellular Signal Transmission
5. The Chemical Synapse: Signal Transmission Between Neurons
III. The Brain in Action
6. Neurotransmitter Pathways and Neuro-Plasticity
7. Brain Development
8. Learning & Memory
9. Injury & Rehabilitation
10. Synopsis & Outlook
Course Structure
•
•
The module aims to cover two topics per week:
•
Tuesday: Topic 1
•
Friday 1st hour: Topic 2
•
Friday 2nd hour: Q & A, exam practice, etc.
If you still have questions after the Friday Q&A session, feel free
to contact me!
What is Psychobiology
Psychobiology aims to understand the
biological basis of human behaviour
• What is “behaviour”?
1. An astronaut enters a spacecraft.
2. An astronaut, flying in a spacecraft, orbits the sun.
3. An astronaut, lying in bed, orbits the sun (as does the whole
planet).
4. A student, stressed before the exams, eats 500g of chocolate
every day.
5. A student, stressed before the exams, does not get enough
sleep.
6. A student, eating 500g of chocolate every day, gains weight
rapidly.
What is Psychobiology
Psychobiology aims to understand the
biological basis of human behaviour
• What is “behaviour”?
• Even the experts don’t agree!(1)
• “The (internally coordinated) responses of organisms to their (internal
or external) environment.”
• (except when it’s developmental change)
• To produce responses, 3 systems interact with the environment:
• Immune system
(protects the body from infection by fighting bacteria, viruses, etc.)
• Endocrine system
(maintains & regulates the body’s internal state; controls growth,
development, and reproduction)
• Nervous system
(controls ongoing activity by coordinating rapid and precise responses
to stimuli; biological basis of all ‘cognitive’ functions)
1 Levitis,
D. A., Lidicker, W. Z., & Freund, G. (2009). Behavioural biologists do not agree on what constitutes
behaviour. Animal Behaviour, 78, 103–110.
Psychobiology
Psychobiology aims to understand the
biological basis of human behaviour
• What is a nervous system good for?
• How is behaviour generated?
• Information from the environment must be registered
• This information must be transformed or “processed”
• An appropriate response must be generated
• The more complex the structure of an organism, the more
complex the processes involved in generating behaviour:
Single Cell Organism:
Complex Organism:
Registration
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane
Transformation
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of chemical changes inside the cell
Response
Generation
This results directly in a particular
behaviour (e.g., change of membrane proteins causing a change
of movement direction)
Single Cell Organism:
Complex Organism:
Registration
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane of a specific
receptor cell (i.e., chemical senses)
Transformation
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of chemical changes inside the cell
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of
chemical changes inside the cell
which results in chemical changes
in other (nerve) cells, generating
a nerve impulse which is transmitted along specific neural pathways
Response Generation
This results directly in a particular
behaviour (e.g., change of membrane proteins causing a change
of movement direction)
Single Cell Organism:
Complex Organism:
Registration
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane of a specific
receptor cell (i.e., chemical senses)
Transformation
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of chemical changes inside the cell
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of
chemical changes inside the cell
which results in chemical changes
in other (nerve) cells, generating
a nerve impulse which is transmitted along specific neural pathways
Response Generation
This results directly in a particular
behaviour (e.g., change of membrane proteins causing a change
of movement direction)
This eventually results in the
activation of output systems (e.g.,
motor areas of the brain, causing
the execution of a particular
movement)
Single Cell Organism:
Complex Organism:
Registration
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane
A molecule attaches itself to the
cell membrane of a specific
receptor cell (i.e., chemical senses)
Transformation
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of chemical changes inside the cell
The chemical change at the membrane leads to a cascade of
chemical changes inside the cell
which results in chemical changes
in other (nerve) cells, generating
“Communication”
a nerve
impulse which is transmitted along specific neural pathways
Response Generation
This results directly in a particular
behaviour (e.g., change of membrane proteins causing a change
of movement direction)
This eventually results in the
activation of output systems (e.g.,
motor areas of the brain, causing
the execution of a particular
movement)
Outlook...
so ...
Basics I – The Nervous System
• Overall Structure
• The Forebrain
Basics II – The Neuron
• Structure & Intracellular Signal Transmission
• The Chemical Synapse: Signal Transmission Between
Neurons
Reading
General neuroscience / psychobiology:
• Bear, M. F., Connors, B. W., and Paradiso, M. A. (2006). Neuroscience:
Exploring the Brain
• Gazzaniga, M.S., Ivry, R.B., & Mangun, G.R. (2008). Cognitive Neuroscience
• Carlson, N. R. (2010). Physiology of Behavior
Neuroscience of action:
• Tresilian, J.R. (2012). Sensorimotor Control and Learning: An Introduction to
the Behavioral Neuroscience of Action.
Psychopathology:
• Kring, A.M., Johnson, S.L., Davison, G.C., & Neale, J.M. (2010). Abnormal
Psychology
Revision:
• Wagner & Silber, Physiological Psychology
Further reading: (to see Psychobiology “in action” – useful next year as well!):
• LeVay, S., The Sexual Brain
• Sacks, O., A Leg to Stand on and The Man who mistook his Wife for a Hat
• Ramachandran & Blakeslee, Phantoms in the Brain
• Blaffer Hrdy, S., Mothers and Others
• Miller, The Mating Mind
• Cartwright, Evolution and Human Behaviour
Questions?