Physiological Psychology

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Physiological Psychology

• Introductions Areas of biopsychology / Mind/body
  relations

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Fig. 1-1, p. 2
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• 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.

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• 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

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• 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

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• Donald Hebb The Organization of Behavior
  (1949)
• Wilder Penfield

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Todays Biopsychology

• 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

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Many areas within Biopsychology

• 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

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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
• Use neuroscience results to understand philosophy
  E.g., Dennett
• Use philosophy as a basis for the understanding
  of neuroscience

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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
• Illness and stress
• wound healing is much slower in psychologically
  stressed adults
• Placebo effects

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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

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Fig. 1-2, p. 3
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Levels of explanation

• All of the sciences strive to uncover reality
• Many different ways of doing that on many
  different levels.
• Understanding behavior
• Psychology
• Brain
• Neural chemistry
• Physics
• Important all levels are needed

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The Mind-Brain Relationship

• 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.

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The Mind-Brain Relationship

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

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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.

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The Mind-Brain Relationship

• Dualism is 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.

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The Mind-Brain Relationship

• Monism is 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.

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The Mind-Brain Relationship

• 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?

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

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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.

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The Use of Animals in Research

• 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.

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Fig. 1-12, p. 23
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The Use of Animals in Research

• 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.

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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.
• 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.