Course Overview

1. Course Overview • Syllabus • Exams – 4 @ 100 points each • Quizzes - Frequent @10 points each • Essays – Four for a total of 100 points • Suggested study strategies • Schedule of Topics • Topic Pages • Reading Assignments • Discussion Questions • Something To Do • Additional Sources

2. Behavioral Neuroscienceby Breedlove & Watson

3. Table of Contents 1. Behavioral Neuroscience: Scope and Outlook 2. Functional Neuroanatomy: The Nervous System and Behavior 3. Neurophysiology: The Generation, Transmission, and Integration of Neural Signals 4. The Chemical Bases of Behavior: Neurotransmitters and Neuropharmacology 5. Hormones and the Brain 6. Evolution of Brain and Behavior 7. Life-Span Development of the Brain and Behavior 8. General Principles of Sensory Processing, Touch, and Pain 9. Hearing, Vestibular Perception, Taste, and Smell 10. Vision: From Eye to Brain 11. Motor Control and Plasticity 12. Sex: Evolutionary, Hormonal, and Neural Bases 13. Homeostasis: Active Regulation of Internal States 14. Biological Rhythms, Sleep, and Dreaming 15. Emotions, Aggression, and Stress 16. Psychopathology: Biological Basis of Behavioral Disorders 17. Learning and Memory 18. Attention and Higher Cognition 19. Language and Lateralization

4. Figure 1.1 Your Brain by the Numbers Not On Exam

5. Basic Terminology for Behavioral Neuroscience Neurons, or nerve cells, are the basic unit of the nervous system. Synapses are areas where billions of neurons make contacts with each other. Axons and dendrites are specialized extensions of neurons that send and receive information, respectively, from neurons.

6. Myths about the brain • Common aspect of popular culture • 7 Myths About The Brain You Thought Were True • People ordinarily use only 10% of their brain • Science fiction in movies; Lucy TRAILER 1 (2014) • “Lucy is based on the premise that people ordinarily use only 10% of their brain and that somehow allowing one to tap into the unused 90% of our brain unlocks superhuman powers.” Nature Neuroscience p. 1137 • A rational left brain and an intuitive, artistic right side • Based on misinterpretation of lateralization of function such as language is usually more on the left then right side • The bigger your brain, the smarter you are • In this case it is not size that matters but the number of neurons connected into complex circuits. • Artists and Scientists: More Alike Than Different

7. Three Approaches Relate Brain and Behavior Three Approaches Relate Brain and Behavior 1. Somatic intervention: Alteration of a structure or function to see how behavior is altered. 2. Behavioral intervention: Intervention in a behavior to see how structure or function is altered. 3. Correlation measures how much a body measure varies with a behavioral measure; but correlation does not imply causation

8. Figure 1.3 Three Main Approaches to Studying the Neuroscience of Behavior (Part 1) Somatic intervention—alteration of a structure or function to see how behavior is altered An independent variable is the factor that is being manipulated. A dependent variable is what is measured in response to changes in the independent variable.

9. Figure 1.3 Three Main Approaches to Studying the Neuroscience of Behavior (Part 2) “Environmental” Behavioral “Environmental” intervention—intervention in a behavior such as exercise to see how structure or function is altered Behavioral change is then the independent variable and body changes are dependent variables.

10. Figure 1.3 Three Main Approaches to Studying the Neuroscience of Behavior (Part 3) Correlation measures how much a body measure varies with a behavioral measure—but correlation does not imply causation. Biological psychology considers all three of these approaches.

11. Figure 1.3 Three Main Approaches to Studying the Neuroscience of Behavior (Part 4) “Environmental”

12. What is Behavioral Neuroscience? Physiological (Biological) Psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with the effects of normal and pathological physiological processes on mental life . Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Neurobiology refers specifically to the biology of the nervous system Behavioral Neuroscience is the study of biological bases of psychological processes and behavior.

13. Figure 1.2 What’s in a Name? Not On Exam Sociology Social Psychology Social Cognitive Neuroscience Developmental Psychology

14. What is Behavioral Neuroscience? Five major perspectives are used to study the biology of behavior: 1. Describing behavior 2. Studying evolution of behavior • Observing the development of behavior and its biological characteristics over the life span • Studying biological mechanisms of behavior • Studying applications of behavioral neuroscience—for example, its applications to dysfunctions of human behavior

15. What is Behavioral Neuroscience? Historically the “Five major perspectives” originate from concepts put forward by Tinbergen in 1951 and are sometimes referred to as Tinbergen's 4 'whys‘. Tinbergen N: The Study of Instinct. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1951. PHYSIOLOGY: How does a particular behaviour relate to functioning of the brain and other organs? What are the cellular, chemical and hormonal influences on behaviour? DEVELOPMENT: How does a particular behaviour develop, i.e. by what combination of the influence of genes and the environment? EVOLUTION: How does a behaviour relate to the evolutionary history of the species? FUNCTION: Why has a particular behaviour evolved? What genetic/survival advantage might a particular behaviour give to an individual or a species? For additional background See Four Areas of Biology Diagram

16. Table 1.1 Five Research Perspectives Applied to Three Kinds of Behavior

17. Overview and color figures

18. Table 1.1 Five Research Perspectives Applied to Three Kinds of Behavior Reading in the Brain How does eye movement scan across letters during reading? What is the role of reading in the way culture is shared? Why does part of the cortex have circuits for reading? How does reading experience change brain circuits? How do the circuits combine letters into word meaning? What are the best methods for learning to read?