BIOLOGICAL BASICS OF BEHAVIOUR


BIOLOGICAL BASICS OF BEHAVIOUR
NEURONS
- Neurons are basic working unit of the brain as it transmits information to the nerve cells, muscle, gland cells.
- Neurons are specialized to transmit information throughout the body in two ways which is chemical and electrical.
Structure Of Neurons
·         Axon
-       Carries nerve impulses  away from a cell body of a neurone.
·         Dendrite
-          Carries nerve impulses from adjacent neurons into the cell body.
·         Cell body (Soma)
-          Responsible for maintaining life of the cell as it contains the nucleus.
·         Myelin Sheath
-           Insulates the axon and speeds up the neural impulse.
Types Of Neurons
·         Sensory Neuron
-          Carry signals from the outer parts of your body into the central nervous system.
·         Motor Neuron
-          Carry signals from the central nervous system to the outer parts of your body.
·         Interneuron
-          Connect various neurons within the brain and   spinal cord.



GLIAL CELLS
·         Glial cells are the most abundant cell types in the central nervous system.
·         The functions of the glial cells are:
-          They surround neurons and hold them in place.
-          They supply nutrients and oxygen to the neurons.
-          Insulates one neuron from another.
-          They destroy and remove dead neurons.



THE NEURAL IMPULSE
·         An electrical signal that travels along an axon. There is an electrical difference between the inside of the axon and its surroundings, like a tiny battery



The Synapse
·         Synapses are functional connections between neurons and other types of cells.


Transmission Between Neurons
  • Synaptic vesicles
-          Sacs in terminal button that release chemical into synaptic space.
·         Neurotransmitters
-          Communication between neurons as accomplished by the movement of chemical or electrical signals across synapse.
·         Receptor sites
    - Location on receptor neuron for specific neurotransmitter.



Neural Plasticity
·         The brain can be changed, both structurally and chemically by experience.



NERVOUS SYSTEM
·         Nervous system is the network of nervous cells and fibers that transmits nerve impulse between the parts of the body.





NERVOUS SYSTEM ORGANISATION





CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

THE BRAIN- THE CENTRAL CORE
·         Medulla
-          Controls breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.
·         Cerebellum
-          Coordinates body’s movements.
·         Pons
-          Maintains the sleep wake cycle.
·         Thalamus
-          Involved in sensory and motor signal relay and the regulations of consciousness and sleep.
·         Hypothalamus
-          It plays an important role in hormone production and helps to stimulate many important processes in the body.
-          Involved in emotional behaviour.
·         Reticular formation
-          Monitors the state of the body and functions inn such processes s arousal, sleep, attention and muscle tone.


THE BRAIN- THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
·         The limbic system is a grouping of structures in the brain that sits between in the most primitive part of the forebrain called the rhinecephalon. This is a doughnut-shaped network of neurons that inlfuences many deep-rooted drives and emotions including pain, anger, hunger, sex, thirst, and pleasure.
·         The thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, fornix, mammiliary bodies, and septal areas are all parts of the limbic system.

                 

THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
·         Is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action.
·         The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe.

   




HEMISPHERIC SPECIALISATION
·         The brain has two halves or hemispheres which right and left hemispheres.
·          Each hemisphere appears to specialise in certain functions.



        TOOLS FOR STUDYING THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
·         Microelectrode Technique
-          Very small electrodes inserted into individual neurons.
-          Used to study activity of a single neuron.
·         Macroelectrode Technique
-          Used to get a picture of overall activity in the brain.
-          For example, an EEG which uses electrodes placed on a persons’s scalp to measure brain activity.
·         Structural Imaging
1)   Computerized Axial Tomography (CT- SCAN)
-          Uses X-rays to create a 3-dimensional image of the brain.
2)   Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
-          Uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images.
·         Functional Imaging
1)   EEG Imaging
-          Electrical activity on the scalp from millions neurons is to   produce a continuous picture of activity in the brain.
2)   Magentoencephalography (MEG) and Magnetic Source Imaging (MSI)
-             Can localize activity more precisely than EEG.
3)   Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography ( SPECT)
-          Use radioactive glucose to determine location of greatest brain activity.
·         Functional Mangnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
-          Shows functions and structure by measuring movement of blood molecules within the brain.



THE SPINAL CORD
·         The cord of nerve tissue extending through the spinal canal of the spinal column.
·         The spinal cord carries information from extremities and internal organs to the brain.



REFLEX ACTIONS CONTROLLED BY SPINAL CORD






    THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

                  

 THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
·         Is made up of glands that produce and secrete hormones, chemical substances produced in the body that regulate the activity of cells or organs.
·         Hormones produced by the endocrine system regulates the body’s growth, metabolism, and sexual development.

              
GENES, EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOR
Genetics
·         The heredity and the variation of inherited characteristics.

1)  Chromosomes
-          Pairs of thread like bodies that contain genes.


2)  Deoxyribonucleic Acid
-          Ideal molecules to transfer genetic messages to every cell of our body.
-          Contains the ‘ code of life’.


      
         BEHAVIOR GENETICS
·         Study of behaviour from a genetic perspective.

HUMAN BEHAVIOR GENETICS

·         Family studies
-          Assume that close family members share more of a trait than non-relatives.
-          Used to assess the heritability of psychological disorders or traits than non-relatives.
·          Twin studies
-          Used to determine how heritable a trait or disorder may be.
-          Identical twins would have highest heritability.
·          Adoption studies
-          Used to assess the influence of environment.
·          Molecular genetics
-          Direct study of the genetic code.








EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

·         Evolutionary psychology looks at the adaptive or survival of behaviors.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS


·         Study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.
videos for further referrences:


                          






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

Image
Introduction to Psychology We’ll go straight to the point. What does ‘Psychology’ really mean? -Definition: A scientific study of human behavior and mental process. -A science based on observation and experience (Empirical Science). It relies on the evidence we gather from observation and experience to know how humans think, feel and behave. This is the symbol for Psychology: In Psychology, we’ll encounter, and use, many theories. But what are theories, exactly? Well, it’s a set of ideas used to explain something, like phenomena . Theories allows us to: -offer reasons for relationships -obtain information from explanations -make predictions Of course, what can psychology possibly do? The goals of psychology are to: -Describe. To describe what had/has happened. -Explain. To explain why had it happened. -Predict. To predict when it will happen again. -Control. To know how to control. So, what exactly do Psychologists do? Well. Psychologists pra...
Read more

MEMORY

Image
Chapter 5. Our Memory. Since We Obviously Know How It Works. Truthfully though, we never give it much thought, but what is our memory anyway? The inner workings of our memory, is what we’ll talk about today. So, first things first. We all know what memory is for: Memorizing. Or else, why would it be called our ‘memory’? However, how do we ‘memorize’ and ‘remember’? Well, in memory, there are three key processes. The first is  Encoding , which involves forming a memory code . It's like the process of recording a video, where you take a video of the event that's happening. Next is  Storage , which involves maintaining encoded information in memory over time . So, it means taking that video you recorded and save it in the, well, storage! The final process is  Retrieval , which involves recovering information from memory stores . Again, it's just viewing the video from the storage. There is another way to memorize the three key processes in memory. Think of our me...
Read more
Image
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Social Thinking   Social Psychology - Psychology is the logical investigation of how individuals act, think, and feel. Social psychology research considers how individuals act, think, and feel with regards to society. That is, the means by which individuals' practices, considerations, and emotions change as a result of other individuals. Attribution Theory - Attributions are deductions that individuals make about the reasons for occasions and conduct. Individuals influence attributions keeping in mind the end goal to comprehend their encounters. Attributions firmly impact the way individuals associate with others.       EXAMPLE : Solamon's motorbike breakdown in the interstate road. In the event that he trusts the breakdown happened in context of his carelessness about motorbikes, he is making an inner attribution. In the event that he expect that the breakdown happened in light of the way that his motorbike is old, he is making an o...
Read more