Psychology 261 Physiological Psychology

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Psychology 261Physiological Psychology

• Welcome to the course!

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How does PSYCH 261 fit into the psychology
curriculum?

• We expect some basic knowledge from PSYCH 101
• We DO NOT expect any particular background in the
  life sciences, but inevitably such background
  will help you if you have it.
• This course serves as prerequisite for PSYCH 306
  (perception), PSYCH 307 (human neuropsychology),
  PSYCH 399 (Research in behavioural neuroscience),
  PSYCH 461 (Honours seminar in behavioural
  neuroscience).

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Who is teaching the course?

• Colin Ellard (phone ext. 6852, email
  cellard_at_watarts.uwaterloo.ca).
• More about me than you care to know.
• What I can do for you
• Lectures, questions, evaluation
• What I cant do for you
• Read the textbook or make this really easy

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Who else is teaching the course?

• The teaching assistants
• Gillian Munro (gesmunro_at_watarts.uwaterloo.ca, PAS
  4219)
• Chris Striemer (clstreim_at_watarts.uwaterloo.ca,
  PAS 4227)
• What the teaching assistants can do for you
• Tutorials and office hours
• What the teaching assistants cannot do for you
• Tell you what questions are on the tests (they
  wont know) or give you extra marks.

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What is the textbook?

• Biological psychology (Rosenzweig, Breedlove
  Leiman) 3rd edition.
• Used copies MAY be available but check edition
• One copy will be on reserve in Porter
• The bookstore doesnt have enough copies for all
  of you (but they will get more if they sell out).
• Dont ignore the CD its got some good stuff on
  it.
• Check out the website (www.biopsychology.com) for
  great summaries of breaking neuroscience news

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How do I get an A?

• All evaluation is by multiple-choice (I dont
  like it, but thats life).
• The midterm is on October 16th and is worth 40.
• The exam is in the exam period and is worth 60
• Official documentation is required for a rewrite
• I will bring example questions to class as often
  as I can.
• In the past, few people who have failed to attend
  class regularly and kept up with the reading have
  succeeded in the course.
• Try not to get behind.
• Ask for help when a problem arises and NOT on the
  day before the midterm.

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The organization of the course

• My lectures will follow the syllabus, which is
  organized in terms of textbook chapters. But my
  lectures will not necessarily cover everything in
  the textbook.
• I will publish coursenotes on the course website
  in time for you to print off and bring to class
  if you wish http//watarts.uwaterloo.ca/cellard/
  teaching/ PSYC261/p261index.html
• Its a huge class but try not to be intimidated
  about asking questions. Ask on email and I will
  answer in class.

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Three simple requests regarding etiquette

• Please do your best to arrive on time (and Ill
  do the same).
• Please dont carry out loud, distracting
  conversations in class.
• I will always finish class on or before the
  stroke of 220 pm. Please dont start packing up
  until Ive finished speaking.

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What a great bunch of topics we have to cover!

• Basic neuroscience stuff brain cells,
  neuroanatomy, how brain cells communicate
• How we know the external world (the senses)
• How we engage that world (movement)
• Sex, sleep and feeling.

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Questions?
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Psychology 261

• Biological psychology Scope and Outlook

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Lecture synopsis

• What is biopsychology?
• The three main experimental approaches
• Examples of modern biopsychological research

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Whats in a name?

• Biological psychology or biopsychology
• Physiological psychology
• Psychobiology
• Behavioural Neuroscience

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What are we?

• As neuroscientists, were the behaviour people.
• As psychologists, were the brain people.

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What is physiological psychology?

• The study of the relationship between brain and
  behaviour
• study of behaviour
• comparative/evolutionary approaches
• developmental approaches
• mechanism
• application

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The study of behaviour

• structural descriptions of behaviour
• heres where we say exactly what is happening
  (the gentleman put his left leg over the
  melon.)
• functional descriptions of behaviour
• this goes beyond direct observation -- makes some
  inferences about what is being done (foraging
  behaviour)
• need to be careful with these-- know where your
  inferences come from

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Comparative and Evolutionary approaches

• continuity of behaviour
• nature is conservative -- expect to see the same
  things re-used
• eg. The nerve impulse
• species-specificity of behaviour
• nature can be adventurous -- new things can
  appear to suit the needs of a species
• eg. The evolution of language

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We are all alike and we are all different
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Developmental approaches

• individuals change over the lifespan (ontogeny)
• Teenagers

RT to identify emotion in pictures like these
begins to increase after age 11 and until about
age 20. Also, emotion is more often
mis-identified
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Developmental Approaches (cont)

• Teens show more activation in amygdala
• Adults show more activation on frontal cortex.

This is your brain on fear (if youre a teenager)
This is your brain on fear (if youre an adult
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Mechanism

• the real engine of biopsychology
• how does the organization and activity of neurons
  explain behaviour?
• Its surprisingly rare to be able to give a very
  complete explanation of anything in neuroscience

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Brain-behaviour relations

• Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus (1700 BC)
• Describes a number of cases of head injuries
• First mention of crossed relationship between
  brain and body
• First mention of aphasia (loss of speech due to
  damage to left temporal lobe).

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Gall and phrenology

• Early origins of localization of function

Basic idea was that the brain is divided into
different areas for different functions (not so
silly) and that one could read individual brain
differences from bumps on the head (somewhat
sillier).
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fMRI and localization
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The underlying assumptions

• That the brain has something to do with our
  behaviour
• A stronger form of this statement that most
  physiological psychologists would agree with is
  to say that the mind is the workings of the brain
  (This is identity theory, a form of monism).
• That different parts of the brain do different
  things
• Often, this is as far as our analysis has taken
  us.

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Response specificity in the visual system

• Gaze direction cells in neocortex

Cells in the brain of a monkey respond to the
direction in which another monkey is looking
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Application

• research can be applied to human problems
• There are many great examples (recovery of
  function, addiction, early diagnosis of diseases
  such as Alzheimers disease).

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Transplants and implants, recovery
There is some evidence that procedures like this
can help with Parkinsons disease and perhaps
other afflictions
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Birdsong and brain growth
Fernando Nottebohm
Cross section of zebra finch brain showing song
production (blue) and song learning (red)
pathways.
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The three main experimental approaches

• somatic intervention
• behavioural intervention
• correlation

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Somatic intervention

• we mess with the brain to affect behaviour
• introduce a chemical
• make a lesion
• stimulate a pathway

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Behavioural intervention

• we mess with behaviour to affect the brain
• enriched environments
• imaging, EEG

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Correlation

• we mess with mathematics to look at the
  relationship between two variables
• these methods rely on individual differences
• are bigger brains better?
• Is schizophrenia correlated with any interesting
  structural variation in brains?

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Three main approaches to studying the physiology
of behaviour
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Summary

• Physiological psychology is at the interface of
  psychology and neuroscience
• Physiological psychology is multifaceted, and
  includes evolutionary, developmental, applied and
  mechanistic elements
• The three main experimental approaches involve
  somatic or behavioural intervention, or
  correlation.
• Were really just getting started theres much
  to be done.

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For next time.

• You should read through Chapter 1 (Ill bring
  some questions for you!).
• Start reading Chapter 2 (neuroanatomy). You will
  want to read this chapter several times before
  the midterm. Theres much to learn here.