© Kip Smith, 2003 Psychology 110 B Introduction to Neurons and the Brain

© Kip Smith, 2003 Where we are at Psychology, the science of mind and behavior The scientific method Nature, Part 1: environment & evolution The shapers of mind and behavior Nature, Part 2: the thing that supports mind and behavior The brain and the rest of the nervous system Nurture - learning Minds

© Kip Smith, 2003 The Nervous System Psychology is the science of mind and behavior = The science of information processing by the nervous system

© Kip Smith, 2003 The nervous system has 4 information processing tasks Receiving input Sight, sound, touch, pain, smell, taste, proprioception, etc. Organizing and integrating information so they can be used to direct goal-directed activity Controlling the body Motor, emotional, etc. The big C: Consciousness

© Kip Smith, 2003 Task 1: Receiving sensory input Perception Picking up the information made available by the environment Performed by the sensory portion of the peripheral nervous system The ‘incoming’ portion of the peripheral nervous system

© Kip Smith, 2003 Task 1: Receiving sensory input Perception Picking up the information made available by the environment Performed by the sensory portion of the peripheral nervous system

© Kip Smith, 2003 Task 2: Organizing and integrating information Storing information Turning information into knowledge One of the two functions of memory Retrieving stored information The other function of memory Making the information useful Reflex action Emotion Thought

© Kip Smith, 2003 Task 3: Controlling the body Maintaining homeostasis Thermoregulation, etc. Sustaining life Heart rate Breathing Performed by the autonomic nervous system

© Kip Smith, 2003 Task 3: Controlling the body Generating action Movement Performed by the ‘outgoing’ portion of the peripheral nervous system

© Kip Smith, 2003 Brainstem, Limbic System, & Cortex

© Kip Smith, 2003 Medulla & Pons: breathing and heart rate; relay between visceral stimuli and thalamus The Brainstem Thalamus: relay between sensory receptors and the cortex Midbrain: Sleep (dreams) & arousal

© Kip Smith, 2003 Cerebellum: coordinates rapid movement and balance Moving on up... Basal ganglia: coordinates deliberate movements

© Kip Smith, 2003 Hippocampus: involved in the storage of memory Amygdala: controls fear & aggression The structures in the limbic system mediate memory, homeostasis, and emotion The Limbic System Hypothalamus: directs homeostasis and basic drives e.g., the 4 F’s: feeding, fleeing, fighting, f*

© Kip Smith, 2003 Homeostasis, Emotion, Memory Homeostasis Maintaining a constant internal state, e.g., 98.6° Regulating body chemistry, e.g., blood sugar Emotion A bodily state, a response to information in the environment A ‘feeling’ is consciousness of an emotion Memory

© Kip Smith, 2003 Cortex Frontal Judgment, decision making, integration of information Temporal Memory Categories Parietal Where How Occipital Vision

© Kip Smith, 2003 Topographic Organization & Localization of Function Primary motor cortex Tells the body what to do, how to move Primary somatosensory cortex The map of what’s going on with the body Primary visual/auditory cortex The first cortical stop in the stream of vision/hearing Wernike’s/Broca’s areas Speech comprehension/production

Primary somatosensory cortexPrimary motor cortex

© Kip Smith, 2003 Hemispheric specialization Association areas in the left and right hemispheres of the brain tend to specialize to serve different functions They are connected by the corpus collosum, a massive bundle of axons

© Kip Smith, 2003 Left Right Language Comprehension Speech Visuospatial Map reading Face recognition Drawing geometric shapes This differentiation becomes obvious only in special cases

© Kip Smith, 2003 The big unsolved problem Task 4: Consciousness How do neurons (nerve cells) provide the basis for the phenomenon of consciousness? An exercise for the student

© Kip Smith, 2003 For next time Read Chapter 5 Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). The split brain in man. = the third article in the Scientific American reader Do PsychInquiry Both activities for chapter 5 Questions?