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Published byDwight Welch Modified over 8 years ago
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BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
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WHY DO PSYCHOLOGISTS STUDY THE NERVOUS SYSTEM? The nervous system is the direct source of all behavior The nervous system is shaped by our experiences and behaviors The brain is infinitely interesting and remains to be completely understood!
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NEURONAL STRUCTURE Cell body Dendrites Axon –Terminal buttons Vesicles Transporter molecules –Myelin
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SYNAPSE Synapse - gap between two neurons
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COMMUNICATION WITHIN A NEURON Action potential –Brief electrical charge that travels down an axon Charged ions move in and out of the membrane
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COMMUNICATION WITHIN A NEURON Action potentials –Threshold of excitation –Cell body to terminal buttons –All-or-none firing –Rate of firing
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COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEURONS Neurotransmitters –Chemical messengers Released when action potential reaches the terminal button Carry message across the synapse Fit into receptors on the receiving neuron –Excitatory –Inhibitory
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COMMUNICATION BETWEEN NEURONS Synaptic communication is terminated when neurotransmitter is removed from the synapse –Reuptake –Enzymatic deactivation
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NEUROTRANSMITTERS Acetylcholine Dopamine Norepinephrine Serotonin Glutamate GABA + many others!
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DRUGS All psychotropic drugs work by binding to receptors in the brain –Agonists –Antagonists Drug effects have lead to discoveries about brain chemistry
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NERVOUS SYSTEM Central nervous system - Brain - Spinal cord Peripheral nervous system - All nerves extending from CNS
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NERVOUS SYSTEM
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Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal ____________ division (arousing) ___________ division (calming) Pupils dilate EYES Pupils contract Decreases SALIVATION Increases Perspires SKIN Dries Increases RESPIRATION Decreases Accelerates HEART Slows Inhibits DIGESTION Activates Secrete stress hormones ADRENAL GLANDS Decrease secretion of stress hormones
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TYPES OF NEURONS Sensory neurons Motor neurons Interneurons
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REFLEXES Automatic responses to stimuli –Occur entirely within the spinal cord
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BRAIN DIVISIONS & REGIONS Brain stem –Myelencephalon Medulla –Metencephalon Cerebellum –Mesencephalon Reticular formation
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Diencephalon –Thalamus –Hypothalamus BRAIN DIVISIONS & REGIONS
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Telencephalon –Cerebral cortex –Limbic system –Basal ganglia BRAIN DIVISIONS & REGIONS
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CEREBRAL CORTEX Frontal lobe Temporal lobe Parietal lobe Occipital lobe
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CEREBRAL CORTEX Frontal lobe –Prefrontal cortex –Motor cortex Parietal lobe –Somatosensory cortex Temporal lobe –Auditory cortex Occipital lobe –Visual cortex
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LATERALIZATION OF CORTICAL FUNCTION Left hemisphere –Language areas Broca’s area Wernicke’s area –Analyzing sequences Right hemisphere –Emotion –Spatial relations
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CORPUS CALLOSUM Connects the two cortical hemispheres
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SPLIT BRAIN PATIENTS In all mammals –Information from the left visual field is analyzed in the ___________ occipital lobe –Information from the right visual field is analyzed in the ___________ occipital lobe If the corpus callosum is severed –Objects presented in the right visual field _________ be named –Objects presented in the left visual field _________ be named.
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LIMBIC SYSTEM Hippocampus Amygdala Nucleus accumbens
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BASAL GANGLIA Coordinates balance and motor output –Caudate –Putamen –Globus pallidus
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