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Physiological Psychology Lec 1

This document provides an overview of physiological psychology and its origins. It discusses key concepts like consciousness, split brain studies which found disconnecting brain regions impacts consciousness, and the corpus callosum which connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Split brain surgery was found to reduce epileptic seizures by cutting the corpus callosum. The field draws from Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection to understand brain mechanisms and behavior's role in environmental adaptation. Careers in the field include physiological psychologists who study behavior's physiology and neuroscience through animal experiments.

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90 views16 pages

Physiological Psychology Lec 1

This document provides an overview of physiological psychology and its origins. It discusses key concepts like consciousness, split brain studies which found disconnecting brain regions impacts consciousness, and the corpus callosum which connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Split brain surgery was found to reduce epileptic seizures by cutting the corpus callosum. The field draws from Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection to understand brain mechanisms and behavior's role in environmental adaptation. Careers in the field include physiological psychologists who study behavior's physiology and neuroscience through animal experiments.

Uploaded by

aliraza67570
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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ORIGINS OF

PHYSIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Instructor: Dr. Fatima Khurram
Understanding Human Consciousness:
A Physiological Approach
• The word consciousness can be used to refer to a variety
of concepts, including simple wakefulness. Thus, a
researcher may write about an experiment using
“conscious rats,” referring to the fact that the rats were
awake and not anesthetized.
• Consciousness referring to something else: the fact that
we humans are aware of and can tell others about our
thoughts, perceptions, memories, and feelings.
Split Brains
• Studies of humans who have undergone a particular
surgical procedure demonstrate dramatically how
disconnecting parts of the brain that are involved with
perceptions from parts that are involved with verbal
behavior also disconnects them from consciousness.
• These results suggest that the parts of the brain involved
in verbal behavior may be the ones responsible for
consciousness.
Corpus Callosum
• The corpus callosum is a large bundle of nerve fibers
that connect corresponding parts of one side of the brain
with those of the other.
• Both sides of the brain then engage in wild activity and
stimulate each other, causing a generalized epileptic
seizure.
• These seizures can occur many times each day,
preventing the person from leading a normal life.
• Neurosurgeons discovered that cutting the corpus
callosum (the split-brain operation) greatly reduced the
frequency of the epileptic seizures.
Cerebral hemispheres
• The largest part of the brain consists of two symmetrical
parts, called the cerebral hemispheres, which receive
sensory information from the opposite sides of the body.
• They also control movements of the opposite sides.
• The corpus callosum enables the two hemispheres to
share information so that each side knows what the other
side is perceiving and doing.
The Goals of Research
• 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.
• For instance, most psychologists would explain a
pathologically strong fear of dogs as an example of a
particular form of learning called classical conditioning.
The Goals of Research
• Generalization: Type of scientific explanation; a general
conclusion based on many observations of similar
phenomena.
• Reduction: Type of scientific explanation; a phenomenon
is described in terms of the more elementary processes
that underlie it.
• reflex An automatic, stereotyped movement produced as
the direct result of a stimulus.
Biological Roots of Physiological Psychology

• Study of (or speculations about) the physiology of


behavior has its roots in antiquity.
• Because its movement is necessary for life, and because
emotions cause it to beat more strongly, many ancient
cultures, including the Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese,
considered the heart to be the seat of thought and
emotions.
• The ancient Greeks did, too, but Hippocrates (460–370
B.C.) concluded that this role should be assigned to the
brain.
• Model: A mathematical or physical analogy for a
physiological process; for example, computers have been
used as models for various functions of the brain.
• Doctrine of specific nerve energies:Müller’s conclusion
that because all nerve fibers carry the same type of
message, sensory information must be specified by the
particular nerve fibers that are active.
• Experimental ablation:The research method in which the
function of a part of the brain is
• inferred by observing the behaviors an animal can no
longer perform after that part is damaged.
• Functionalism:The principle that the best way to
understand a biological phenomenon (a behavior or a
physiological structure) is to try to understand its useful
functions for the organism
• NATURAL SELECTION AND EVOLUTION: Darwin’s theory
of evolution, with its emphasis on function, helps
physiological psychologists discover the relations between
brain mechanisms, behaviors, and an organism’s adaptation
to its environment.
• Natural selection The process by which inherited traits that
confer a selective advantage (increase an animal’s likelihood
to live and reproduce) become more prevalent in the
population.
• Mutation: A change in the genetic information contained in
the chromosomes of sperms or eggs, which can be passed
on to an organism’s offspring; provides genetic variability.
• Evolution: A gradual change in the structure and
physiology of plant and animal species generally
producing more complex organisms as a result of natural
selection.

• Neoteny: A slowing of the process of maturation, allowing


more time for growth; an important factor in the
development of large brains.
Careers in Neuroscience
• Physiological Psychologist: A scientist who studies the
physiology of behavior, primarily by performing physiological
and behavioral experiments with laboratory 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.
Careers in Neuroscience cont.
• 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. Most
professional physiological psychologists have received a
Ph.D. from a graduate program in psychology or from an
interdisciplinary program.
Physiological Psychology
Vs
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.
ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH WITH ANIMALS

• Scientific research with animals has taught us most of


what we know about the functions of the body, including
that of the nervous system.
• This knowledge is essential in developing ways to prevent
and treat neurological and mental disorders.
Any Question?

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