01:830:101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Fluid Compartments, Pituitary Gland, Sympathetic Nervous System
6 Jun 2018
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Module 5 Outline: Neural and Hormonal Systems
Biology, Behavior, and Mind
▪ Everything psychological—every idea, every mood, every urge—is biological.
▪ Psychologists working from a biological perspective study the links between biology and
behavior. Includes: neuroscience, behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology.
▪ Humans are biopsychosocial systems in which biological, psychological, and
social-cultural factors interact to influence behavior.
▪ Understanding of the relationship between the brain and mind has evolved over time.
▪ Plato: Mind located in spherical head
▪ Aristotle: Mind found in heart
▪ Gall: Phrenology revealed mental abilities and character traits
Studying bumps on the skull (study of skull shape & size)
▪ During the past century, researchers discovered
▪ Nerve cells conduct electricity and communicate through chemical messages
across tiny separating gaps
▪ Specific brain systems serve specific functions and information is integrated to
construct a wide range of experiences
▪ The adaptive brain is wired by experience
Neuron’s Structure: Terms
▪ Neuron: Nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system
▪ Dendrites: Neuron extensions that receive messages and conduct them toward the cell body
▪ Axon: Other neurons or cells
▪ Glial cells (glia): Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons; they may
also play a role in learning, thinking, and memory
▪ Synapse: joining between one neuron’s axon and another’s dendrites/cell body
▪ Refractory period: Period of inactivity after a neuron has fired
▪ Threshold: Level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse
▪ All-or-none response: Neuron’s reaction of either firing (with a full-strength response) or not firing
▪ Neurotransmitters: Neuron-produced chemicals that cross synapses to carry messages to other
neurons or cells
▪ Reuptake: Neurotransmitter’s reabsorption by the sending neuron
▪ Myelin: insulating layer of fatty material; composed of glial cells; helps efficient transmission to other
cells.
▪ Nodes of Ravnier: gaps in myelin sheath
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Action potential: Neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon like a wave
Neurons and Neuronal
Communication:
The Structure of a Neuron
The Action Potential
▪ Electrical charge gathered by
dendrites and cell body
▪ Electrical charge travels down
the axon to synapse
▪ Stimulates the release of
neurotransmitters into synapse
▪ Occurs only when electrical
signal is at a certain level
(threshold)
▪ All-or-none—electrical
impulse is the same no matter
how much stimulation the
neuron receives
▪ Neuron returns to resting state
after electrical charge is
transmitted
The resting potential is the difference in the electrical charge between
ions inside and outside the neuron membrane. The intracellular fluid has a
higher negative charge than the extracellular fluid. The resting potential is -
70 millivolts.
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01:830:101 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Biology, behavior, and mind: everything psychological every idea, every mood, every urge is biological, psychologists working from a biological perspective study the links between biology and behavior. Action potential: neural impulse; a brief electrical charge that travels down an axon like a wave. The resting potential is the difference in the electrical charge between ions inside and outside the neuron membrane. The intracellular fluid has a higher negative charge than the extracellular fluid. How drugs and other chemicals alter neurotransmission: agonist: molecule that increases a neurotransmitter"s action, antagonist: molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter"s action. Endorphins boosts mood, lessens pain artificial opiates cause brain to stop producing endorphins. Autonomic nervous system subdivisions: sympathetic nervous system: (autonomic) that arouses the body, mobilizing its energy in stressful situations, parasympathetic nervous system: (autonomic) that calms the body, conserving its energy. Interneurons: brain and spinal cord communicate with one another and process information between the sensory input and motor output.
