Sept 30 th 2012

1. Sept 30th 2012

2. Emotions and behavior are a product of anatomy & physiology • Behavior & mental activity can be traced back to physiological events • Research proves that there are biological correlates of behavior • Link between psychology & physiology

3. Biopsychology • Is the study of biological bases or physiological correlates of behavior • Branch of neuroscience • Studies the nervous system and how it impacts behavior

4. 3 areas of correlation • Neurotransmitters Effect of the nervous system. • Hormones Effect of the endocrine system • Brain Localization

5. The Brain. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE2b5go7V_0&feature=related

6. Neurons

7. Communication between neurons

8. What is a neurotransmitter ? A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger that carries and modulates signals between neurons and other cells in the body. Fact: Scientists do not yet know exactly how many neurotransmitters exist, but more than 100 chemical messengers have been identified. We have 10 and 100 billion neurons in the nervous system. The neurons send electrochemical messages to the brain so that we can respond to stimuli – either from the environment or from internal changes in the body. The method by which these messages are sent is called neurotransmission. They can affect behavior as varied as mood, aggression, appetite, memory and mental illness.

9. Understanding Neurotransmitters • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjgBnx1jVIU&feature=related

10. Neurotransmissioneffects: • Arousal, alertness: Norepinephrine • Moods and emotions: Serotonin • Memory : Acetylcholine • Sexual arousal: Oxytocin • Mental illness: Dopamine • Feelings of pleasure/ Learning: Dopamine

11. Research Studies (Crane & Hannibal) • Serotonin study Kasamatsu & Hirai, 1999 • Neurotransmitters in Learning & Memory Martinez & Kesner, 1991 • Examples- schizophrenia Parkinsons dopamine

12. What is acetylcholine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoySswpvso

13. Homework Read Articlefor Tuesday 2nd.

14. Oct 2nd 2012

15. Neurotransmissioneffects: • Arousal, alertness: Norepinephrine • Moods and emotions: Serotonin • Memory : Acetylcholine • Sexual arousal: Oxytocin • Mental illness: Dopamine • Feelings of pleasure/ Learning: Dopamine

16. What is acetylcholine? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyoySswpvso Write a summary. 200 words. Use psychological words. Due: Thursday 4th

17. DRUGS

18. Drugs? Do they affect me?

19. YESNo Doubt

20. Drugs & Neurotransmission • Drugs can impact: 1. Release of neurotransmitter into the synaptic gap: by preventing/ encouraging production thus increasing/decreasing synapse. 2. Binding of neurotransmitter to receptor site: by occupying receptor site - Effects receiving neuron + prevents communication 3. Reuptake- allowing more time to bind with receiving neurons

21. Mouse Party • http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html

22. More examples • http://www.thirteen.org/closetohome/science/html/animations.html

23. Long term use of drugs causes structural change in the brain as it adapts to the altered activity to neurotransmitters . The most important effect of this adaptation is increased tolerance for the drug. This means that a person needs more of the drug to feel the same effect.

24. NEUROTRANSMITTER SUBSTANCES • Acetylcholine • Norepinephrine • Gamma-aminobutyric acid • Dopamine • Serotonin • Endorphin

25. Different Neurotransmitter Substances and their Effects on Behavior

28. Class WorkRead Serotonin article.Brief debate

29. Is there any way we can regulate serotonin and endorphins? Increase?

30. Oct 3rd 2012

32. Mental illness related to Neurotransmitter?

33. Dopamine

34. Neurotransmitter imbalances and mental illness Neurotransmitter imbalance is one theory about the cause of mental illnesses. The basic idea is that neurotransmitter imbalances within the brain are the main causes of mental illnesses and that these conditions can be improved with medication which corrects these imbalances. Research into other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia also found that too little activity of certain neurotransmitters was correlated to this disorder.

35. Schizophrenia is an extremely complex mental disorder The first signs of schizophrenia tend to surface in adolescence or young adulthood. People with schizophrenia suffer from problems with their thought processes. These lead to hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and unusual speech or behavior. Symptoms affect the ability to interact with others, and often people with schizophrenia withdraw from the outside world. Famous people with schizophrenia:

36. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHpKvmTJOhA

37. Dopamine hypothesis: • Schizophrenia is associated with increased activity at dopamine receptor sites. Antipsychotic (treatment) drugs exert their clinical effect by reducing increased dopamine activity. The hypothesis is based on experimental and accidental drug combinations and types that either increase dopamine activity and therefore schizophrenic symptoms or decrease dopamine activity and therefore reduce symptoms. So for example it is supported by the fact that amphetamines and cocaine, which trigger the release of dopamine have been found to exacerbate the psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. This is called dual diagnosis: example of the shelter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwRdNz8HA0Q

38. Class work Read pages 40,41,42 Brief summary.

39. Oct 9th 2012

40. The use of technology in brain research

41. Modern Technology What you need to know • Explain the technology • Uses • Strengths vs Limitations • Examples of research using this technology

42. EEG: Electroencephalogram • Hans Berger, 1929 • Electrodes placed outside the person’s head in specific locations • Using a cap/helmet with electrodes on standardized places on the skull • Detect changes in electrical activity • EEG- produces the graphical representation of the activity from each electrode

45. Strengths vs Weakness • Strength: Used for sleep studies • Brain activity changes in specific ways during sleep • Not sufficiently accurate because electrodes are outside the skull • Detect uncountable neurons hence give vague picture • Not sufficient to understand localization of brain

46. CT: Computed tomography • Earlier called CAT • Combines computer & x-ray technology • Xray shows human bones very well • Computer lets us see the brain • Images look like slices of the brain • Eg: The case of Janet

49. Strength- Weakness Strength: • Can see the brain from several angles & depth • Extremely useful to see structure of the brain • Can show changes caused by brain damage Weaknesses • Can show only structure not brain activity • Danger of exposure to x-ray radiation

50. MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) • When body exposed to strong magnetic field, protons in the water in the body change alignment • Magnetic field + radio frequency fields used- hydrogen atoms alignment change to be detectable by a scanner • This signal transformed into visual representation • Image represents slice of the brain taken from any angle • Can be used to create 3D image of the brain