Chapter 1 – Biological Approach (summary from the book and the slides)

1.1: The biological approach to behaviour

 Psychology is not exclusively the science of self-report

 Two difficult questions:
- “Why is there something rather than nothing?”
- The hard problem a.k.a. the mind-body problem a.k.a. the mind-brain problem:
- > Why and how did brain activity become conscious?
 Biological psychology is the study of the physiological, evolutionary, and developmental
mechanisms of behaviour and experience.
 Biological psychology: the biological background of psychological processes/functionin
→ Frequent use of animal models, including the destruction of certain brain areas
→ Invasive and non-invasive methods in humans
 Neuroscience includes more detail about anatomy and chemistry, whereas biological psychology
is more concerned with explaining behaviour. There are different types of explanations:
- Physiological explanations relate the behaviour to the activity of the brain and other organs;
- Ontogenetic explanations describe how a behaviour develops (from e.g. genes and experience);
- Evolutionary explanations reconstruct the evolutionary history of a behaviour;
- Functional explanations describe why a behaviour evolved as it did.
 There are many different jobs related to biological psychology, in the fields of research,
practitioners, medical science or allied medical science.

1.2: Genetics and behavior

 Mendel demonstrated that inheritance occurs through genes later discovered to be

composed of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
 Those come in pairs as they are aligned along chromosomes that also come in pairs (an
exception: X and Y in a man).
 A strand of DNA serves as a template for RNA (ribonucleic acid) synthesis.
 Information from DNA is translated into proteins (sometimes enzymes) through RNA.
 Someone with two identical genes is homozygous for that gene (the opposite being
heterozygous).
 Some genes are recessive, others are dominant, and still others are intermediate.
 The genes on the sex chromosomes (X and Y) are sex-linked genes; the others are
autosomal genes. Sex-limited genes are present in both sexes, but mainly active in one
sex (such as breast growth).
 Genes can change by mutation, a heritable change in DNA. Any change in DNA causes it
to code for a different protein.
 Epigenetics deals with changes in gene expression without DNA modification.
 To activate a gene, the DNA must be partially unwound from the histones, the molecules
around which it is wound, and this is done by certain chemical groups. Thus, a change in
the chemical environment can alter gene expression.
 In research of heritability (the degree to which variation in a characteristic depends on
genetic variations in a given population), researchers compare monozygotic (one-egg)
and dizygotic (two-egg) twins. Most attributes are significantly heritable; an exception is
religious affiliation. Many heritable traits can be environmentally modified, such as
phenylketonuria a.k.a. PKU, an inability to metabolize phenylalanine.
  Evolution is a change over generations in the frequencies of various genes in a
population. Instead of the natural selection part, breeders often use artificial selection.
 Common misunderstandings include
(1) Lamarckian evolution, the idea that acquired characteristics are inherited, and
(2) the idea that evolution means improvement (instead, it improves fitness, the number
of copies of one’s genes endure in later generations).

Evolutionary psychology is about how behaviours evolved.

 The assumption is that any behaviour characteristic of a species arose through natural
selection and hence provided some advantage, at least in ancestral times.
 A theoretically interesting example is altruistic behaviour, which seems to be present only in
humans.
 An explanation is kin selection, the selection for a gene that benefits the individual’s
relatives; another is reciprocal altruism, the idea that individuals help those who will return
the favour (building a reputation for helpfulness).

1.3: The use of animals in research

 Reasons for animal research include

(1) the underlying mechanisms of behaviour are similar across species and sometimes easier
to study in a nonhuman species;
(2) we are interested in animals for their own sake;
(3) what we learn about animals sheds light on human evolution; and
(4) legal or ethical restrictions prevent certain kinds of research on humans.
 The minimalists are those who are opposed only to certain kinds of animal research; the
abolitionists are opposed to all animal research.

Human consciousness

 Still a scientific mystery

 Can it be understood from a scientific point of view or does it belong to philosophy/religion
(William James)?
 There is no brain center of consciousness, but a continuously changing (and at the same
time stable) network of neurons –Timing (synchrony) is key
 Brain injury can impact different aspects of consciousness, depending on the location -> The
story of Phineas Gage:
 A calm, friendly person with normal self-regulation
 A railroad construction foreman
 A workplace accident occurred
 Damage to the left frontal cortex → He turned into an aggressive and impulsive person
 Conclusion: Brain structure determines psychological processes

The placebo phenomenon

 It used to be a scientific mystery, “the power of mind over matter”

 However, the placebo response can be blocked by opioid antagonist molecules (e.g.
naloxone)
 The major centers of placebo analgesia, from the prefrontal cortex to the spinal cord, are
known today
  frontal function: planning, wanting,self-contol etc.
 It is still difficult to evoke a response for certain people (different instructions/informations
are optimal)
 Conclusion: Neural changes cannot be
separated from psychological changes

Important points

 Perception occurs in the brain and leads

to experience and behaviour
 Mental activity and brain activity cannot
be separated (dual-aspect theory, identity
theory)
 They do not cause each other (!!)
 E.g., decreased activity of certain brain
areas does not explain depression (!)
 Experience and neural changes are
concomitants. (hand-in-hand)