Chapter 1 - What Is Biopsychology

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Biopsychology, 8th Edition

by John P.J. Pinel
Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm

Western Washington University
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Chapter 1
Biopsychology as a
Neuroscience
What Is Biopsychology,
Anyway?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

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What Is Biopsychology?
 “The scientific study of the biology of
behavior (psychology)”
 Psychology : the scientific study of
behavior
 Also called psychobiology, behavioral
biology, behavioral neuroscience
 Biopsychology emerged as a discipline in
the late 1940s
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` What Is Biopsychology?
Continued
 Hebb (1949) proposed that
psychological phenomena might be
produced by brain activity
 Hebb’s work helped discredit the notion
that psychological functions were too
complex to be derived from
physiological activities
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Biopsychology and Other
Disciplines of Neuroscience
 Biopsychology utilizes the knowledge and
tools of other disciplines of neuroscience
 Each discipline studies a different aspect
of the nervous system that informs our
understanding of what produces and
controls behavior

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Other Disciplines of
Neuroscience
 Neuroanatomy
 Structure of the nervous system
 Neurochemistry
 Chemical bases of neural activity
 Neuroendocrinology
 Interactions between the nervous system
and the endocrine system
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Other Disciplines of
Neuroscience Continued
 Neuropathology
 Nervous system disorders
 Neuropharmacology
 Effects of drugs on neural activity
 Neurophysiology
 Functions and activities of the nervous
system
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Human and Nonhuman
Subjects
 Many questions about the biology of
behavior are addressed using human
subjects
 However, much can be learned from
studying the brains of other species

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Human and Nonhuman
Subjects Continued
 Why use nonhumans?
 Simpler brains makes it more likely that
brain-behavior interactions will be revealed
 Comparative approach – gain insight by
making comparisons with other species
 Fewer ethical restrictions for nonhumans
than with humans
 although nonhuman research also
requires extensive ethical oversight
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Human and Nonhuman
Subjects Continued
 Why use humans?
 They can follow instructions
 They make subjective reports
 They are often cheaper to work with
 Their cages are easier to clean

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Experiments and
Nonexperiments Continued
 Experiments involving living subjects
require that subjects be placed in various
conditions
 Between-subjects design: Different group of
subjects tested under each condition
 Within-subjects design: Same group of
subjects tested under each condition

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Pure and Applied Research
 Pure research – conducted for the purpose
of acquiring knowledge
 Applied research – intended to bring about

some direct benefit to humankind
 Often research projects have elements of

both
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Divisions of Biopsychology
 Six major divisions
 Physiological psychology
 Psychopharmacology
 Neuropsychology
 Psychophysiology
 Cognitive neuroscience
 Comparative psychology
 Each has a different approach, but
there is much overlap
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Continued
 Physiological psychology
 Studies the neural mechanisms of
behavior through controlled experiments
with direct manipulation of the brain
 Either through electrical or surgical
methods; Almost always utilizes non-
human subjects
 E.g. Rats with electrical nodes implanted
on the insula
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Continued
 Psychopharmacology
 Focuses on the manipulation of neural
activity and behavior with drugs
 Controlled experiments of the effects of
drugs on the brain and behavior
 E.g. the discovery of drugs that
supplements the brain with acetylcholine
to help patients suffering from
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Continued
 Neuropsychology
 Studies the psychological effects of brain
damage in humans; Usually has a
clinical emphasis
 Deals almost exclusively with case
studies and quasiexperimental studies of
patients with brain damage resulting
from disease, accident, or neurosurgery
 The case of Mr. R…
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Continued
 Psychophysiology
 Relation between physiological activity
and psychological processes
 Because the subjects of
psychophysiological research are
human, recording procedures are
typically noninvasive
 Example: visual tracking is abnormal in
schizophrenics
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FIGURE 1.4 Visual tracking of
a pendulum by a normal
control subject (top) and
three schizophrenics.
(Adapted from Iacono &
Koenig, 1983.)

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Continued
 Cognitive neuroscience
 The neural bases of cognition; a term
that generally refers to higher intellectual
processes such as thought, memory,
attention, and complex perceptual
processes
 Functional brain imaging is the major
method of cognitive neuroscience
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FIGURE 1.5 Functional brain
imaging is the major method of
cognitive neuroscience. This
image—taken from the top of
the head with the subject lying
on her back—reveals the
locations of high levels of
neural activity at one level of the
brain as the subject views a
flashing light. The red and
yellow areas indicate high levels
of activity in the visual cortex at
the back of the brain. (Courtesy
of Todd Handy, Department of
Psychology, University of
British Columbia.)

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Continued
 Comparative psychology
 Comparing different species to
understand evolution, genetics, and
adaptiveness of behavior
 Laboratory and/or ethological research;
study of animal behavior in its natural
environment
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Converging Operations
 Using multiple approaches to address a
single question

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 Example: Korsakoff’s syndrome
 Korsakoff’s syndrome is a condition
characterized by severe memory loss and
most commonly seen in alcoholics
 Is Korsakoff’s the result of the toxic
effects of alcohol on the brain?

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Continued
 Jimmie G. – an alcoholic with
Korsakoff’s syndrome
 Korsakoff’s is also seen in malnourished
persons who had little or no alcohol
 Thiamine-deficient rats exhibit memory
deficits
 Alcohol accelerates the development of
brain damage in thiamine-deficient rats
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Continued
 By exploring the possible causes of
Korsakoff’s using multiple approaches, or
converging operations, findings are more
accurate
 Korsakoff’s syndrome is the result of
thiamine deficiency, but the damage is
accelerated by alcohol
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Critical Thinking
 The ability to evaluate scientific claims by
identifying potential omissions or
weaknesses in the evidence

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Critical Thinking Continued
Jose Delgado and Aggression: What a bull…

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 Case 1: Delgado claims that a charging
bull can be tamed by stimulation of its
caudate nucleus (a structure deep within
the brain)
 Many possible alternative explanations:
bull is dizzy, in pain, temporarily
blinded, etc.
 Morgan’s Canon: give precedence to
the simplest interpretation for a
behavioral observation
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Moniz and his Nobel Prize winning method:

Frontal Lobotomy
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 Case 2: Moniz wins Nobel Prize for
prefrontal lobotomy
 Adoption for human therapy based largely
on study of a single chimpanzee
 Inadequate postoperative evaluation of
human patients, often by the physician
who prescribed the surgery
 Undesirable side effects such as
amorality, lack of foresight, emotional
unresponsiveness, epilepsy, and urinary
incontinence rights reserved.

FIGURE 1.8 The prefrontal lobotomy
procedure developed by Moniz and
Lima.

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What is biopsychology?

What is biopsychology?

What are some other disciplines of neuroscience that inform biopsychology?

What are some other disciplines of neuroscience that inform biopsychology?

PowerPoint Presentation for

Biopsychology, 8th Edition

Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

 Applied research – intended to bring about

 Often research projects have elements of

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

Jose Delgado and Aggression: What a bull…

Moniz and his Nobel Prize winning method:

incontinence rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All

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