Chapter 1. Introduction. Course Requirements. Four Exams The final exam will likely be cumulative. Extra-Credit opportunities will be provided.

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1 Course Requirements Insert Text Cover Here Four Exams The final exam will likely be cumulative. Extra-Credit opportunities will be provided. Take me to the companion website for this text. 1 2 Chapter 1 Outline Chapter 1 Introduction Understanding Human Consciousness: A Physiological Approach Ethical Issues in Research with Animals Careers in neuroscience This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The followingare prohibitedbylaw: Strategies for Learning anypublicperformance or display, including transmission of anyimage overa network preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole orin part, of any images anyrental, lease or lendingof the program. 3 4 Dualism A belief in the dual nature of reality; and are separate. A belief that everything in the universe consists of matter and energy and that the mind is a product of the workings of the system. This position 5 6 1

2 Understanding Human Consciousness Split brains The largest commissure of the brain; interconnecting the areas of the neocortex on of the brain. Split-brain operation Brain surgery that is occasionally performed to treat a form of ; the surgeon cuts the corpus callosum, which connects the two hemispheres. 7 8 Understanding Human Consciousness Split brains hemispheres The two symmetrical halves of the brain; constitute the major part of the brain The goals of research Generalization A type of scientific explanation; a general conclusion based on many observations of similar phenomena. Reduction A type of scientific explanation; a phenomena is described in terms of the more elementary processes that underlie it

3 Biological roots of physiological psychology Reflex An, movement produced as the direct result of a stimulus. Model A mathematical or physical analogy for a physiological process; for example, computers have been used as models for various functions of the brain Biological roots of physiological psychology Doctrine of specific nerve energies Muller s conclusion that because all nerve fibers carry the same type of message, sensory information must be by the particular nerve fibers that are active Biological roots of physiological psychology 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 of the brain is damaged

4 Functionalism and the inheritance of traits Functionalism and the inheritance of traits The principle that the best way to understand a biological phenomenon (a behavior or a physiological process) is to try to understand its useful functions for the organism. Natural selection The process by which inherited traits that confer a (increase an animal s likelihood to live and reproduce) become more prevalent in a population Functionalism and the inheritance of traits A change in the genetic information contained in the chromosomes of sperm or eggs which can be passed on to an organism s offspring; provides genetic variability. Selective advantage A characteristic of an organism that permits it to produce more than the average number of offspring of its species Evolution of the human species Evolution A gradual change in the structure and physiology of a plant and animal species, generally producing more complex organisms, as a result of natural selection

5 25 26 Evolution of large brains A slowing of the process of maturation, allowing more time for growth; an important factor in the development of large brains

6 Ethical Issues in Research with Animals Animal research should be humane and worthwhile. Pet owning causes much more harm to animals than animal research. Fifty times more cats and dogs are killed by humane societies because they have been abandoned by their owners than are killed in animal research. Most industrialized societies have very strict regulations about the care of animals and require approval of experimental procedures used on animals. Careers in neuroscience Physiological psychologist A scientist who studies the physiology of behavior, primarily by performing physiological and behavioral experiments with laboratory animals. Neurologist A physician who is involved in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system