Psychology

• earliest theories that the behavior, intellect and personality may be linked to the brain anatomy • phrenology: if a trait was developed, spot of the brain would expand • believed expansion of knowledge would cause bulges in the head • measure psychological attributes by feeling/measuring skull

• studies functions of the major brain sections • extirpation/ablation extirpation: parts of brain removed, behavior observed • certain parts of the brain = specific functions

• father of american psychology • studied how mind adapts to the environment • functionalism: mental processes help individuals adapt to their environments

• functionalism • criticized reflex arc (breaking process of reacting to a stimulus into discrete parts) • believed psychology should focus on study of organism as a whole as it functioned to adapt to environment

• examined behavior deficits of people with brain damage • 1st to show specific functional impairments could be linked with specific brain lesions • studied man who could not speak, disability due to lesion in specific area of the left side of mans brain (Broca’s area)

• measured speed of nerve impulse • related to reaction time (link between behavior and nervous system activity • began to make psychology quantifiable

• inferred existence of synapses • thought synaptic transmission was electrical, but it is actually chemical

(afferent neurons) trasmit sensory info from receptors to spinal cord and brain

(efferent neurons) transmit motor information from brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands

found between other neurons, most numerous of the three located in brain and spinal cord, linked to reflexes

control reflexive behavior… formed by interneurons ex: stepping on a nail, interneurons cause you to react before info reaches the brain

brain and spinal cord

nerve tissue and fibers outside brain and spinal cord (includes spinal nerves and cranial nerves)

31 pairs of nerves emanating from the spinal cord

12 pairs of nerves emanating directly from brain

sensory and motor neurons through skin , joints, muscles Afferent neurons Ascend in the cord towards brain, Efferent neurons Exit the cord to rest of body

• regulated heartbeat, respiration, digestion and glandular secretions • manages involuntary muscles • regulates body temp

sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems - two antagonistic systems

• conserve energy (resting, sleeping, reduce heart rate, constrict bronchi) • manage digestion (increase peristalsis and exocrine secretions)

• acetylcholine

• constricts pupils • stimulates flow of saliva • constricts bronchi • slows heartbeat • stimulates peristalsis and secretion • stimulates bile release • contracts bladder

Stress! (school, emergencies, life/death situations) “fight or flight”

• dilates pupiles • inhibits salivation • relaxes bronchi • accelerates heartbeat • stimulates sweating or piloerection • inhibits peristalsis and secretion • stimulates glucose production and release • secretion of adrenaline and noradrenaline • inhibits bladder contraction • stimulates orgasm

thick, three-layered sheath of connective tissue covering brain