Introduction to Psychology

 Professor Christine Mihal Vasapoli

 Chapter 2- Neuroscience and Behavior

Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 Chapter 2

Neuroscience and Behavior

- Neurons
- Neurotransmitters
- The Nervous System
Neuron: Basic Structure

 Dendrites
Receive messages
from other neurons
Neuron:Basic Structure
Axon
Carries messages destined for
other cells

Myelin Sheath
cells that wrap
themselves around
the axon providing
a protective
coating and
increase velocity of
the electrical
impulse
All-or-none law
Neurons are either on or off

Resting State
Negative electric charge
within the neuron

Action Potential
An electric nerve impulse that
travels through a neuron,
changing the cell’s charge
from negative to positive
 Neuron: Basic Structure
 Excitatory messages
A chemical message that
makes it more likely that a
receiving neuron will fire
and an action potential will
travel down its axon.

 Inhibitory Messages
A chemical message that
prevents or decreases the
likelihood of a receiving
neuron firing.
Neurotransmitters
 Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that carry
messages across the
synapse to the dendrite
(and sometimes the cell
body) of a receiver
neuron.
 Synapse
The space
between two
neurons where
the axon
communicates by
using chemical
messages.
 Neurotransmitters

 Location
Brain, spinal cord,
peripheral nervous system,
especially some organs of
the parasympathetic
nervous system
 Effect
Excitatory in brain and
autonomic nervous system;
inhibitory elsewhere
 Function
Acetylcholine (ACh) Muscle movement;
cognitive functioning
Neurotransmitters

 Location
Brain, spinal cord
 Effect
Excitatory
 Function
Memory

Glutamate
Neurotransmitters

 Location
Brain, spinal cord
 Effect
Main inhibitory
neurotransmitter
 Function
Eating, aggression
Gamma-amino sleeping
butyric acid (GABA)
Neurotransmitters

 Location
Brain
 Effect
Inhibitory or
excitatory
 Function
Muscle disorders,
mental disorders,
Parkinson’s disease
Dopamine
 Neurotransmitters

 Location
Brain, spinal cord
 Effect
Inhibitory
 Function
Sleeping, eating,
mood, pain,
depression

Serotonin
Neurotransmitters
 Location
Brain, spinal cord
 Effect
Primarily inhibitory,
except in hippocampus
 Function
Pain suppression,
pleasurable feelings,
appetites, placebos

Endorphins
 Central Nervous
System (CNS)
 Spinal Cord
 Reflexes
 Sensory (Afferent)
Neurons
 Motor (Efferent)
Neurons
 Interneurons
 The Nervous System

 Evolutionary psychology
The branch of psychology that
seeks to identify behavior patterns that are a result of our
genetic inheritance from our ancestors.

 Behavioral genetics
The study of the effects of heredity on behavior.
The Endocrine System
The Central Core
The Specialization of
the Hemispheres
 Hemispheres
two symmetrical left and right
halves of the brain that control
the side of the body opposite to
their location
 Lateralization
the dominance of one
hemisphere of the brain in
specific functions
 Association Areas
of the Brain
 Association Areas of the
Brain: the site of higher
mental processes such as
thought, language, memory
and speech

 Aphasia
 Broca’s aphasia causes
interference with speech
production
 Wernicke’s aphasia
produces difficulties both
in understanding others
speech and the production
of language.