1. Biological/Genetic/Evolutionary Perspective

2. Ancient Conceptions About Mind
Plato correctly placed mind in the brain. However, his student Aristotle believed that mind was in the heart.
Aristotle posited body humors that controlled personality

3. Phrenology
In 1800, Franz Gall suggested that bumps of the skull represented mental abilities. His theory, though incorrect, nevertheless proposed that different mental abilities were modular.

4. Body types Sheldon Endomorph: plump (relaxed, social, complacent)
Mesomorph: muscular (assertive, adventurous)
Ectomorph: thin (reserved, anxious, uptight, self-conscious)

5. Ways into the “black box” ?????
clinical observation
lesion/ablation studies
stimulation studies
EEG
CT, MRI, fMRI
PET scans

6. Clinical Observation
Clinical observations have shed light on a number of brain disorders. Alterations in brain morphology due to neurological and psychiatric diseases are now being catalogued.

7. EEG

8. MRI

10. Limbic System

11. CORTEX

12. Eysenck Introversion/Extroversion
ARAS (Ascending Reticular Activating System)
Extros: low
Intros: high
Geen (1984) study
recent fMRI evidence

13. BAS/BIS (Gray) BAS: “gas pedal” reward/pleasure seeking
left frontal cortex
dopaminergic
BIS: “brake pedal”
inhibition, avoidance, caution
right frontal cortex
serotonergic

14. Brain Laterality (Davidson)
Left brain/ Right brain (frontal lobes)
Positive emotion states/Negative emotion states
Pleasure, Calm/Anxiety, Depression
e.g., “monk studies”

15. Hormones Testosterone: a. correlational research b. animal studies
c. genetic abnormality
Oxytocin “the love hormone”

16. Neurotransmitters Dopamine: reward/pleasure system
Serotonin: anxiety and depression
Psychopharmacology
(Listening to Prozac)
Implications???