PSYCH1100:IntroductiontoPsychology–Name:_____________________________________________

GuidedNotes:BehavioralNeuroscience
ThisUnit’sBigQuestions
A. Whatisbehavioralneuroscience?
B. Whatareneurons?
C. Howdoneuronscommunicate?
D. Whatarethepartsofthebrain,andwhatdotheydo?
E. Whatdoournervoussystemsandendocrinesystemdo?
A. Whatisbehavioralneuroscience?
1. Behavioralneuroscience(orbiologicalpsychology)explorestherelationshipbetweenourbiologyand
behavior:
a. Howourbiologyaffectsour___________________________________
b. Howourbehavioraffectsour___________________________________
B. Whatareneurons?
1. Neurons:nervecellsinthenervoussystemthatcommunicatewithoneanother
2. Labelthecellbody,dendrites,axon,andmyelin.Usetheremainingspacefornotes.

Attribution:QuasarJaroszatEnglishWikipedia
a. Dendrites:Branchesthatreceiveinformationfromotherneurons
b. Cellbody:Large,centralmassofaneuroncontainingthenucleusthatdecideswhattodowith
incominginformationandwhethertosendamessage
c. Axon:Branchthatcarriesinformationmeantforotherneurons
i. Myelin:Layerofinsulationcoveringtheaxon,improvingthespeedandefficiencyofsignals
movingdowntheaxon




























WeiYiWu
Behavior
Biology
cell body
Large centralmassof aDendrites
neuron
Branchesthatreceive
containing the nucleus
informationfromother neurons
Axon
Branch thatcarries
informationfor otherneuronMyelin
No all axons are myelinated
madeofglia sup ortcells

2

ii. Howdoesmyelinmakeneuralcommunicationfasterandmoreefficient?








C. Howdoneuronscommunicate?
1. StepsofNeuralCommunication
i. Asingleneurongeneratesanelectricalsignalwithinitself.
ii. Theneuronthenreleasesachemicalmessengerthataffectstheactivityofanotherneuron.
a. Step1:ElectricalSignaling
i. Thesendingneurongeneratesanelectricalsignalwithinitself.
a. ActionPotential:theneuronisgeneratinganelectricalsignal
i. RestingPotential:theneuronisnotgeneratinganelectricalsignal.















b. Theneuronmustachieveacertainthresholdbeforeanactionpotentialcanbesentdownthe
axontobeginthenextstepinneuralcommunication…
b. Step2:ChemicalSignaling
i. Thesendingneuronreleaseschemicalmessengersacrossagaptothereceivingneuron
a. Synapse:thegapsbetweenneurons
b. Whyarechemicalmessengersusedtocrossthesynapse?














Nodesof Ranvier 1 Etr
Actionpotentrenal
A
Captivation
All or nothingprocess
gteratedandsenedown theAxton
Electrical signalscannotcrossthe synapse
3

ii. Thesendingneuronreleaseschemicalmessengersacrossagaptothereceivingneuron
a. Neurotransmitters:thechemicalmessengers
b. Thereceivingneuronacceptsthesechemicalmessengersatreceptors.

i. Howdoreceptorsandneurotransmitterswork
likelocksandkeys?

2. EffectsonReceivingNeurons(andwhattheydowiththemessagestheyreceive)
a. Excitation___________________________________thelikelihoodofreachingtheactivation
thresholdandinitiatinganactionpotential;“Sendthismessagetootherneurons!”
b. Inhibition___________________________________thelikelihoodofreachingtheactivation
thresholdandinitiatinganactionpotential;“DON’Tsendthismessagetootherneurons!”
a. Activity:WhydoweneedexcitatoryANDinhibitorymessages?Whataresomeexampleswhere
eachwouldbehelpful?













c. Summation:theneuron’sdecisiontogenerateanactionpotentialornot

3. Whathappenstoneurotransmittersaftertheyhavedonetheirjobs?
a. Afterneurotransmittersunbindwithreceptorsites,they…
x driftawayfromthesynapse
x arebrokendownbyenzymes
x returntotheaxonterminalfromwhichtheywerereleasedthroughreuptake
b. Reuptake:Whenneurotransmittersreturntotheaxonterminalfromwhichtheywerereleasedto
berepackagedforlateruse;essentially,therecyclingprocessforneurotransmitters
Worklikelocksandkey
increases
Reduces
1 datronio a 2 chemical
4

4. NeurotransmittersofInterestinPsychology
Neurotransmitter Functions OtherNotes(nottested)
Acetylcholine Movement,learning,memory
x InvolvedinAlzheimer’sdisease
Norepinephrine Arousal/alertness,vigilance
x InvolvedinbipolardisorderandpostͲtraumaticstressdisorder
(PTSD)
Dopamine Movement,planning,reward
x InvolvedinParkinson’sdisease,schizophrenia,attentionͲdeficit
hyperactivitydisorder(ADHD),andaddiction
Serotonin Sleep,appetite,mood
x Involvedinmajordepressivedisorder(depression)
Endorphins Perceptionofpain
x Involvedinrunner’shighandaremimickedbyopioids
Glutamate Excitationofbrainactivity,memory
x InvolvedinAlzheimer’sdisease
GABA Inhibitionofbrainactivity
x Involvedinseizuresandalcohol’seffects

i. Activity:Thinkabouttheseneurotransmittersanddecidewhichyouthinkismostimportant
andwhy.








d
singleneuron across any
I
5

a. NeuronsonaLargerScale
i. Types
1. Sensoryneuronscarry___________________________________fromexternal
environment/bodybacktothebrainandspinalcord
2. Motorneuronscarry___________________________________fromthebrainandspinal
cordtothemusclesandglandsofthebody
3. Interneurons___________________________________betweensensoryandmotor
neurons
D. Whatarethepartsofthebrain,andwhatdotheydo?
1. SpinalCord:theconduitforinformationflowingtoandfromthebrainalongnervefibers,carrying
sensoryinformationfromthebodyanddeliveringmotor/actioncommandsfromthebrain






2. Brain
a. Activity:BrainAreaExperts.
b. CerebralCortex
i. Corpuscallosumconnectsthetwocerebralhemispheres






ii. RightBrainandLeftBrain&Myths.
a. Somefunctions,abilities,andbehaviorsinvolvelateralization,orthelocalizationofa
functionineithertherightortheleftcerebralhemisphere.
i. Therightsideofourbodyiscontrolledbythe___________________________________
sideofourbrain.Whatwesenseandfeelfromourrightside’ssensoryorgansis
processedbythe___________________________________sideofourbrain.Itisthe
exactoppositeforourleftsides.
b. However,lateralizationhasledtosomemajormythsabouthowthebrainworks.
i. TheideathatthereareleftͲbrainandrightͲbrainpeopleis
___________________________________
ii. Theideasthatartistic/creativeabilitiesareinonehalfofthebrainandthat
logical/mathematicalabilitiesareintheotherhalfofthebrainare
___________________________________
sensoryinformation
motor commands
form connections
signal head
Damage severing cancause
interesting phenomena
left
right
False
False
6

iii. Whyaretheseideasmythsandwrong?









iii. FrontalLobe
a. Asawhole,thefrontallobeincludestheprimary___________________________________
cortexandperformssophisticated___________________________________functions
b. Prefrontalcortexisinvolvedintheplanningofbehavior,attention,andjudgment
i. Damage
a. Video:TheCaseofPhineasGage











b. Frontallobotomy
i. Lobotomiesweremeanttoreducefearandanxietyinpatientswithserious
psychologicaldisordersbyseveringconnectionsinthefrontallobe
ii. Wasitcompletelysuccessful?









ii. Orbitofrontalcortexisinvolvedinemotionandsocialbehaviors









The
corpus
callosum
motor context
cognitive
Successful butat a greatexpense
to thepatient
7

iv. OccipitalLobe
a. Asawhole,theoccipitallobeincludestheprimary_________________________________
cortexandbeginstheprocessofinterpretingbasicinputfrom
___________________________________



v. TemporalLobe
a. Asawhole,thetemporallobeincludestheprimary_________________________________
cortexandprocessessomehigher___________________________________systemtasks
(e.g.,recognitionofobjectsandthefacesoffamiliarpeople).






vi. ParietalLobe
a. Asawhole,theparietallobeincludestheprimary________________________________
cortexandprocessesinputabouttasteaswellassomecomplexvisualprocessingofthe
andofobjects.






b. Damagecancause…







vii. MirrorNeurons&MirrorSystems
a. Wehavesystemsofneuronsthatreactwhenwedocertainactionsandfeelcertain
emotionsandwhenotherpeopledothosesameactionsandexhibitthosesameemotions
i. Mirrorsystemshelpusempathizeand___________________________________
others’actions,emotions,andintentions
b. Contrarytoinitialbeliefs,thesemirrorsystemsexistinmultipleareasofthebrainandnot
justwiththeprimarymotorcortexinthefrontallobe




Visualcortex
the eyes
auditory cortex
visual
somatosensory
movement
loction
neglectsyndrome
unilateral neglect
understand
8

E. Whatdoournervoussystemsandendocrinesystemdo?
1. Alltheneuronsandstructureswehavebeendiscussingareorganizedintocertainsystems
a. CentralNervousSystem(CNS):Brainandspinalcord
b. PeripheralNervousSystem(PNS):Neuronsoutsideofthecentralnervoussystem
c. EndocrineSystem:Asystemofglandsthatreleasechemicalmessengerslikeneurons

2. PeripheralNervousSystem
a. SomaticNervousSysteminvolvesthe…
i. Deliveryofsensoryinputtothecentralnervoussystemfromthebody
ii. Performanceofvoluntarymusclemovementasdirectedbythecentralnervoussystem

b. AutonomicNervousSystemcontrolsalltissuesotherthanskeletalmuscles(glandsandorgans)
i. The“cruisecontrol”ofthebody
ii. Threesubdivisions:
a. SympatheticNervousSystem“activates”thebodyforsituationsrequiringtheexpenditure
ofenergy(e.g.,___________________________________,emergencies)






b. ParasympatheticNervousSystemdirectsthestorageofenergyinpreparationforfuture
use
i. Rest,___________________________________,andenergystorage







c. EntericNervousSystem:Neuronsembeddedintheliningofthegastrointestinalsystem
i. Coordinateswiththeendocrinesystemtoreleasechemicalsfor
___________________________________


3. EndocrineSystem
a. Madeupofglandsthatreleasechemicalmessengers(hormones)intotheblood
b. Respondstoinputfromthenervoussystems,especiallythe
___________________________________
c. Involvedinarousal,metabolism,growth,andsex

stress danger
Arousal alertness
Fightor flightresponse
repair
second
digestion
brain
cancauseconcious perceptions
or operateunnoticed
hypothalamus
PSYCH1100:IntroductiontoPsychology–Name:_____________________________________________


Nervous
Systems Endocrine system
Central peripheral
Brain Somatic Autonomic
Spinal cord sympathetic
Parasympathetic
Enteric