PSG 584 [PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGY]

LECTURE ONE: CONCEPTS OF PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGY

Objective of study

1. Describe the behavior of people with split brains, and explain what this phenomenon
contributes to our understanding of self-awareness.
2. Describe the goals of scientific research.
3. Describe the biological roots of physiological psychology.
4. Describe the role of natural selection in the evolution of behavioral traits.
5. Discuss the value of research with animals and ethical issues concerning their care.
6. Describe career opportunities in neuroscience.

INTRODUCTION
Physiological psychology is a subdivision of behavioral neuroscience (biological psychology)
that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior through direct manipulation of
the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments.
This field of psychology takes an empirical and practical approach when studying the brain
and human behavior. Most scientists in this field believe that the mind is a phenomenon that
stems from the nervous system. By studying and gaining knowledge about the mechanisms of
the nervous system, physiological psychologists can uncover many truths about human
behavior. Unlike other subdivisions within biological psychology, the main focus of
psychological research is the development of theories that describe brain-behavior
relationships.
Physiological psychology studies many topics relating to the body's response to a behavior or
activity in an organism. It concerns the brain cells, structures, components, and chemical
interactions that are involved in order to produce actions. Psychologists in this field usually
focus their attention to topics such as sleep, emotion, ingestion, senses, reproductive
behavior, learning/memory, communication, psychopharmacology, and neurological
disorders. The basis for these studies all surround themselves around the notion of how the
nervous system intertwines with other systems in the body to create a specific behavior.

Physiological psychology seeks to describe the physical mechanisms of the body that
mediate our movements and our mental activity

What is the relationship between mind and body?

Two major views of the mind-body problem:
“Dualism”: mind and body are separate but interacting
“Monism”: mind is a property of the physical nervous system (body)
The last frontier in the world and perhaps the greatest one lies within us.
The human nervous system makes possible all that we can do, all we can know, and all that we
can experience. Its complexity is immense, and the task of studying it and understanding it
dwarfs all previous explorations our species has undertaken.
A mind, a soul, or a spirit.
What is the nature of the human mind?
Within our bodies the nervous system plays a central role, receiving information from the
sensory organs and controlling the movements of the muscles.
But what is the mind, and what role does it play? Does it control the nervous system? Is it a part
of the nervous system? Is it physical and tangible, like the rest of the body, or is it a spirit that
will always remain hidden?
Most of us believe that the mind is a phenomenon produced by the workings of the
nervous system. We believe that once we understand the workings of the human body in
particular, the workings of the nervous system, we will be able to explain how we perceive,
how we think, how we remember, and how we act.

Understanding Human Consciousness: a Physiological Approach

How can physiological psychologists study human consciousness?

Consciousness refers to self-awareness and the ability to communicate our thoughts,

perceptions, feelings, and memories to others.
a. Consciousness can vary across the day/night cycle (sleep and dreaming are special
states of consciousness).
b. Drugs can alter consciousness
Alcohol
LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)
c. Brain damage can profoundly affect consciousness.
Because consciousness can be altered by changes in the structure or chemistry of the brain, we
may hypothesize that consciousness is a physiological function, just like behavior.
Consciousness and the ability to communicate seem to go hand in hand. That is, our ability to
send and receive messages with other people enables us to send and receive our own messages
in other words, to think and to be aware of our own existence.
Consciousness and Blind sight

Damage to the visual system on one side of the brain will produce blindness in the opposite
(contralateral) visual field
Blind sight: blind patients are unable to see, but are able to reach for objects placed in their
blind visual field
Implies that we need not be conscious of a stimulus in order to act on that stimulus

The Split-brain Procedure

The corpus callosum is a bundle of axons that interconnects the two cerebral hemispheres
Callotomy involves cutting the corpus callosum to alleviate epileptic seizures
Without a corpus callosum, the left and right cerebral hemispheres are unable to directly
communicate
Information that does not reach the left hemisphere of a callotomy patient does not enter
consciousness: the person cannot verbalize it
An odor presented to the right nostril only is not named because the information does not
reach the left hemisphere
Yet, the person can use their left hand to reach for the source of the odor
Disconnecting parts of the brain that are involved with perception from parts involved with
verbal behavior also disconnect them from consciousness.

These results suggest that the parts of the brain involved in verbal behavior may be the ones
responsible for consciousness.

The effects of cutting the corpus callosum reinforce the conclusion that we become conscious
of something only if information about it is able to reach the parts of the brain responsible for
the verbal communication, which are located in the left hemisphere. If the information does
not reach these parts of the brain, then that information does not reach the consciousness
associated with these mechanisms. We still know very little about the physiology of
consciousness, but studies of people with brain damage are beginning to provide us with some
useful insights.

What are scientific methods in psychology?

Scientific methods in psychology are the rules, procedures and assumptions that psychologists
use to conduct research to help them understand human behaviour, human relationships and
solve social problems. The scientific method outlines how psychologists gather and analyse
data, how they get results and how they share findings with others. Data can be psychological,
physical, physiological or demographical.
The scientific methods in psychology allow psychologists to make observations, formulate
theories, test predictions and contribute to the knowledge of human behaviour. Using scientific
methods in research also enable psychologists to publish their findings and invite discussion
from other psychologists. This discourse is important in building the psychology body of
knowledge and in allowing other professionals to investigate scientific findings or claims.

Scientific principles of research in psychology

As a science, psychological research requires adhering to some principles, including:

 Objectivity: Psychologists require being objective in their research approach. This

means ensuring their personal biases don't interfere with any step in the research
process, from selecting research subjects, collecting data, to reporting findings.
 Replicable: Replicable research refers to the ability of researchers to repeat research to
determine whether the results of a previous study hold true.
 Falsifiable: Psychological research requires grounding in a theory or hypotheses to
prevent researchers bias reporting only what confirms their beliefs.
 Parsimony: The parsimony principle in research allows researchers to use existing
theories to explain their findings rather than invent new theories. Parsimony also
compels researchers to use the simplest explanations for their findings.
 Precision: Scientific research uses precise definitions for variables and concepts.
Precision in research allows researchers to measure variables relevant to the research
and also enables other researchers to replicate the research.
 Ethical: The primary research subjects in psychology are human beings. Psychologists
require being ethical in their work, such as maintaining participant's confidentiality and
doing no harm to the research subjects.

Scientific methods of data collection in psychology

Here are some scientific methods psychologists use to study, explain and predict human
behaviour:

Experimental method

In the experimental method, psychologists investigate the relationship between two or more
variables. A variable is an element or event which can change in observable ways. Typically,
psychologists collect information on two main variables, the dependent and independent
variables. It's the independent variable that the researcher manipulates to observe or measure
changes in the dependent variable. An experimental researcher makes several assumptions in
their experiments. These include the assumption that no other variable influences the
dependent variable and that all variables, other than the independent variable, remain
constant throughout the experiment.
Experimental researchers in psychology also conduct their research by observing the
experimental and control groups and how the groups' behaviour changes. In this approach, the
researcher manipulates the experimental group while leaving the control group untouched. At
the close of the experiment, the researcher measures and observes changes in the
experimental group and compare findings with the control group. Experimental research can
also involve lab experiments, where researchers observe variables in controlled settings to
mitigate the influence of extraneous variables.

Observational method

In the observational method, psychologists study the subject's behaviour through systematic
observation. Observation is an important technique for psychologists, as it doesn't require
special equipment to undertake. Psychologists use observation by following established steps,
noting the actual observations and analysing the collected data. Successful observation requires
psychologists to select an area of interest, determine what to observe and analyse the findings
while avoiding observer biases from interfering. Observational methods fall into the following
categories:

 Naturalistic observation: In naturalistic observation, the researcher observes their

research subjects in their natural settings, such as in their homes, schools and cities. A
researcher doesn't manipulate the subject, but only gathers what they see
spontaneously.
 Controlled observation: A researcher in a controlled observation collects data from
controlled variables. A researcher manipulates the variables and records their
observations depending on the research goals.
 Participant observation: In participant observation, the researcher themselves become
part of the research subjects. The researcher acts as a member of the research subjects,
which enables them to observe behaviour at close range and more holistically.
 Non-participant observation: Non-participant observation method involves a
researcher observing the research subjects remotely, which allows them to observe the
actual behaviour of the subjects. This method can involve the use of discreet cameras.

Case study

Psychologists use the case study method to conduct an in-depth analysis of their research
subject. The case study method involves a researcher using one or several cases to study
specific behaviour and using their findings to provide a generalised explanation for the
behaviour. The case study approach uses multiple data collection methods, such as
observation, interviews, surveys and psychological testing, to obtain detailed data about the
research subjects. Clinical psychologists typically use this approach to diagnose and understand
the psychological disorders of patients.

Correlational research
In correlational research, the researcher seeks to establish whether there's a relationship
between two variables. Unlike experimental research, where a researcher manipulates a
variable, correlational research doesn't vary or change any variable. The researcher simply tries
to find out how two variables correlate. Researchers' measure correlation using correlational
coefficients, ranging from -1 to +1.

A negative one correlation coefficient shows a negative correlation between the research
variables. A correlation coefficient value of one shows a positive correlation between the
variables. Zero coefficient value shows no relationship exists between the variables. Correlation
coefficients also show how strong or weak the relationship between variables is, depending on
how close the coefficient value is to zero.

Content analysis

In content analysis, a researcher reviews various content documents such as texts, interviews,
researcher's notes and articles to derive useful data in their area of interest. Typical steps'
researchers follow in content analysis are collecting and examining relevant data, coding data,
analysing the information and making conclusions. Relational analyses and conceptual analyses
are two approaches to content analysis. In relational analyses, researchers try to establish an
association among concepts. A conceptual analysis entails establishing the occurrence of a
concept, such as a phrase or word, in research data.

Survey research method

The survey research method in psychology allows researchers to understand a real-life situation
or an event by collecting and analysing people's views, attitudes, opinions and behaviour.
Surveys are important as they enable social scientists such as psychologists to collect data
directly from the research subjects and in their own words. There are various survey techniques
researchers use to collect data, such as:

 Direct interviews: Direct interview is a question and answers conversation between a

researcher and interviewee or a respondent. Interviews allow a researcher to collect
useful data in a structured or unstructured way while observing other pointers, such as
body language or tone.
 Telephone surveys: In telephone surveys, a researcher poses questions to respondents
through phone calls or messages. Telephone surveys are cheaper and allow a researcher
to collect useful data in a short time.
 Questionnaires: A questionnaire is a data collection tool where respondents write or
mark answers that best represent their opinions or beliefs. Questionnaires can be open-
ended or close-ended, depending on the research goals.

What are the scientific method steps in psychology?

 To arrive at empirical findings, psychologists require the following systematic research steps
outlined below:

1. Formulate research question: The initial step involves a researcher asking themselves
why certain behaviour takes place. The question can also arise from real-life
observations or existing gaps in previous research.
2. Conduct background research: This step requires the researcher to review data and
literature relevant to the research question. Conducting background research enables a
researcher to gain more information about the subject, which is essential in formulating
the research hypothesis.
3. Formulate research hypothesis: In this step, a researcher formulates a tentative and
testable explanation of the research question. Depending on the topic, a researcher can
formulate several hypotheses.
4. Test the hypothesis: Testing a hypothesis entails collecting and analysing data to prove
or disprove the research hypothesis. This involves analysing data using methods
appropriate to the research question.
5. Draw conclusions: The researcher makes verifiable conclusions supported by the results
of the data analysis. Statistical methods are typically used to support or reject the
research hypothesis.
6. Publish the results: In this step, a researcher communicates their research methodology
and findings to the public. Publishing both the approach and results allows other
researchers to interrogate the research process for reliability.

The Nature of Physiological Psychology

The modern history of physiological psychology has been written by psychologists who have
combined the experimental methods of psychology with those of physiology and have applied
them to the issues that concern all psychologists. Thus, we have studied perceptual processes,
control of movement, sleep and waking, reproductive behaviors, ingestive behaviors, emotional
behaviors, learning, and language. In recent years we have begun to study the physiology of
human pathological conditions, such as addiction and mental disorders.

The Goals of Research

 The goal of all scientists is to explain the phenomena they study. Scientific explanation takes
two forms: generalization and reduction. Most psychologists deal with generalization. They
explain particular instances of behavior as examples of general laws, which they deduce from
their experiments.
 Most physiologists deal with reduction. They explain complex phenomena in terms of simpler
ones. For example, they may explain the movement of a muscle in terms of the changes in the
 membranes of muscle cells, the entry of particular chemicals, and the interactions among
protein molecules within these cells.
 The task of the physiological psychologists is to explain behavior in physiological terms. But
physiological psychologists cannot simply be reductionists. We must understand
"psychologically" why a particular behavior occurs before we can understand what physiological
events made it occur.
 Mice will build nests under two conditions: when the air temperature is low and when the
animal is pregnant. The same behavior occurs for different reasons. If fact, nest-building
behavior is controlled by two different physiological mechanisms. Nest building can be studied
as a behavior related to the process of temperature regulation, or it can be studied in the
context of parental behavior.

Sometimes, physiological mechanisms can tell us something about psychological processes.

Damage to a specific part of the brain can cause very specific impairments in a person’s language
abilities. The nature of these impairments suggests how these abilities are organized. When the
damage involves a brain region that is important in analyzing speech sounds, it also produces
deficits in spelling. This finding suggests that the ability to recognize a spoken word and the
ability to spell it call on related brain mechanisms. Damage to another region of the brain can
produce extreme difficulty in reading unfamiliar words by sounding them out, but it does not
impair the person’s ability to read words with which he or she is already familiar.

This findings suggest that reading comprehension can take two routes: one related to speech
sounds and another that is primarily a matter of visual recognition of whole words.

 In practice, the research efforts of physiological psychologists involve both forms of explanation
generalization and reduction. Ideas for experiments are stimulated by the investigator’s
knowledge both of psychological generalizations about behavior and of physiological
mechanisms. A good physiological psychologist must therefore be both a good psychologist and
a good physiologist.

Biological Roots of Physiological Psychology

 Rene Descartes speculations about the roles of the mind and brain in the control of behavior
provide a good starting point in the history of physiological psychology.

To Descartes, animals were mechanical devices; their behavior was controlled by environmental
stimuli. His view of the human body was much the same: it was a machine. Reactions like this
did not require participation of the mind; they occurred automatically. He called them reflexes.
 Descartes was a duelist; he believed that each person possesses a mind a unique human
attribute that is not subject to the laws of the universe. He was the first to suggest that a link
exists between the human mind and its purely physical housing, the brain.
 He noted that the brain contains hollow chambers (the ventricles) that are filled with fluid, and
he hypothesized that this fluid is under pressure. In his theory, when the mind decides to
perform an action, it tilts the pineal body in a particular direction like a little joystick, causing
fluid to flow from the brain into the appropriate set of nerves. This flow of fluid causes the same
muscles to inflate and move.
 In science, a model is a relatively simple system that works on known principles and is able to
do at least some of the things a more complex system can do.

 Galvin found that electrical stimulation of a frog’s nerve caused contraction of the muscle to
which it was attached. Contraction occurred even when the nerve and muscle were detached
from the rest of the body, so the ability of the muscle to contract and the ability of the nerve to
send a message to the muscle were characteristics of these tissues themselves. Thus, the brain
did not inflate muscles by directing pressurized fluid though the nerve.

Johannes Muller was a forceful advocate of the application of experimental techniques of

physiology. In his doctrine of specific nerve energies, Muller observed that although all nerves
carry the same basic message an electrical impulse, we perceive the messages of different
nerves in different ways.

 The answer is that the messages occur in different channels. The portion of the brain that
receives messages from the optic nerves interprets the activity as visual stimulation, even if the
nerves are actually stimulated mechanically. Because different parts of the brain receive
messages from different nerves, the brain must be functionally divided: Some parts perform
some functions, while other parts perform others.
 Flourens removed various parts of animal’s brains and observed their behavior. This method is
called experimental abolition.
 Paul Broca applied the principle of experimental ablation to the human brain. He observed the
behavior of people whose brains had been damaged by strokes. In 1861 he performed an
autopsy on the brain of a man who had had a stroke that resulted in the loss of the ability to
speak.
 In 1870, German physiologists Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitzig used electrical stimulation as a
tool for understanding the physiology of the brain. They applied weak electrical current to the
exposed surface of a dog’s brain and observed the effects of the stimulation. They found that
stimulation of different portions of a specific region of the brain caused contraction of specific
 muscles on the opposite side of the body. We now refer to this region as the primary motor
cortex, and we know that nerve cells there communicate directly with those that cause
muscular contractions.
 Hermann von Helmholtz devised a mathematical formulation of the law of conservation of
energy, invented the ophthalmoscope (used to examine the retina of the eye), and devised an
important and influential theory of color vision and color blindness, and studied audition, music,
and many physiological processes.
 Helmholtz was also the first scientist to attempt to measure the speed of conduction through
nerves. But Helmholtz found that neural conduction was much slower only about 90 feet per
second.

Functionalism: Nature Selection and Evolution

 Darwin formulated the principles of evolution and natural selection, which revolutionized
biology. He noted that across succeeding generations, individual members of a species
spontaneously undergo structural changes. If these changes produce favorable effects that
permit the individual to reproduce more successfully, some of the individual’s offspring will
inherit the favorable characteristics and will themselves produce more offspring.
 Darwin’s theory emphasized that all of an organism’s characteristics, its structure, its
coloration, its behavior have functional significance. For example, the strong talons and
sharp beaks that eagles possess permit the birds to catch and eat prey.

Darwin’s theory gave rise to functionalism, a belief that characteristics of living organisms
perform useful functions. So, to understand the physiological basis of various behaviors, we
must first understand what these behaviors accomplish. We must therefore understand
something about the natural history of the species being studied so that, the behaviors can
be seen in context.

 To understand that workings of a living organism, we should know what its functions are.
 The cornerstone of this theory is the principle of natural selection. Briefly, here is how the
process works: Every sexually reproducing multicellular organism consists of a large number
of cells, each of which contains chromosomes. Chromosomes are large, complex molecules
that contain the recipes for producing the proteins that cells need to grow and to perform
their function. In essence, the chromosomes contain the blueprints for the construction (that
is, the embryological development) of a particular member of a particular species. If the
plans are altered, a different organism is produced.
 The plans do get altered; mutations occur from time to time. Mutations are accidental
changes in the chromosomes of sperms or eggs that join together and develop into new
organisms.
 Most mutations are deleterious; the offspring either fails to survive or survives with some
sort of deficit. However, a small percentage of mutations are beneficial and confer
a selective advantage. Many different kinds of traits can confer a selective advantage:
resistance to a particular disease, the ability to digest new kinds of food, more effective
weapons for defense or for procurement of prey, and even a more attractive appearance to
members of the opposite sex (after all, one must reproduce to pass on one’s chromosomes).
 Variety is a definite advantage for a species. Different environments provide optimal
habitats for different kinds of organisms.
 What is the ultimate function of the brain? "Thinking," or "logical reasoning," or
"perceiving," or "remembering things." Certainly, the nervous system performs these
functions, but they support the primary one: control of movement.
 And thinking can often take place without causing any overt behavior. However, the ability
to think evolved because it has a useful function: It permits us to perform complex behaviors
that accomplish useful goals.
 An understanding of the principle of natural selection plays some role in the thinking of every
person who undertakes research in physiological psychology. Some researchers explicitly
consider the genetic mechanisms of various behaviors and the physiological processes upon
which these behaviors depend. Others are concerned with comparative aspects of behavior
and its physiological basis; they compare the nervous systems of animals from a variety of
species to make hypotheses about the evolution of brain structure and the behavioral
capacities that correspond to this evolutionary development.

Ethical Issues in Research with Animals

 Most of the research involves experimentation on living animals and we should be sure
that what we are doing is both humane and worthwhile.
 Our species is beset by medical, mental, and behavioral problems, many of which can be
solved only through biological research. Let us consider some of the major neurological
disorders. Strokes, caused by bleeding or occlusion of a blood vessel within the brain, often
leave people partly paralyzed, unable to read, write, or converse with their friends and
family. Basic research on the means by which nerve cells communicate with each other has
led to important discoveries about the causes of the death of brain cells. This research was
not directed toward a specific practical goal; the potential benefits actually came as a
surprise to the investigators.
 Research with laboratory animals has produced important discoveries about the possible
causes or potential treatments of neurological and mental disorders, including Parkinson’s
disease, schizophrenia, manic-depressive illness, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive
disorders, anorexia nervosa, obesity, and drug addictions.
 Some people have suggested that instead of using laboratory animals in our research, we
could use tissue cultures or computers. Unfortunately, neither tissue cultures nor
computers are substitutes for living organisms. We have no way to study behavioral
problems such as addictions in tissue cultures, nor can we program a computer to simulate
the workings of an animal’s nervous system. (If we could, that would mean we already had
all the answers.)
 The easiest way to justify research with animals is to point to actual and potential benefits
to human health.

Careers in Neuroscience

 Physiological psychologists study behavioral phenomena that can be observed in

nonhuman animals. They attempt to understand the physiology of behavior: the role of
the nervous system, interacting with the rest of the body (especially the endocrine
system, which secretes hormones), in controlling behavior. They study such topics as
sensory processes, sleep, emotional behavior, ingestive behavior, aggressive behavior,
sexual behavior, parental behavior, and learning and memory. They also study animal
models of disorders that afflict humans, such as anxiety, depression, obsessions and
compulsions, phobias, psychosomatic illnesses, and schizophrenia.
 Although physiological psychology is the original name for this field, several other terms
are now in general use, such as biological psychology, biopsychology, psychobiology, and
behavioral neuroscience.

 Physiological psychology belongs to the larger field of neuroscience. Neuroscientists

concern themselves with all aspects of the nervous system: its anatomy, chemistry,
physiology, development, and functioning. The research of neuroscientists ranges from
the study of molecular genetics to the study of social behavior.
 Most professional physiological psychologists are employed by colleges and universities,
where they are engaged in teaching and research. Others are employed by institutions
devoted to research for example, laboratories owned and operated by national
governments or by private philanthropic organizations. A few work in industry, usually
for pharmaceutical companies that are interested in assessing the effects of drugs on
behavior. To become a professor or independent researcher, one must receive a
doctorate. Nowadays, most physiological psychologists spend two years in temporary
postdoctoral position, working in the laboratory of a senior scientist to gain more
research experience.
 Two other fields often overlap with that of physiological
psychology: neurology and experimental neuropsychology. Neurologists are physicians
involved in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system.
  Experimental neuropsychologist’s scientists with a Ph. D. in psychology and specialized
training in the principles and procedures of neurology.

Assignment

Outline ten current advances in the field of behavioral neuroscience that you know?