PSYC 1115 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Central Nervous System, Sympathetic Nervous System, Autonomic Nervous System
Document Summary
In the early 1800s, german physician franz gall proposed that phrenology, studying bumps on the skull, could reveal a person"s mental abilities and character traits. Although its mental popularity faded, phrenology succeeded in focusing attention on the localization of function-the idea that various brain regions have particular functions. By studying the links between biological activity and psychological events, those working from the biological perspective are announcing discoveries about the interplay of our biology and our behaviour and mind at an exhilarating pace. Among these are nerve cells that conduct electricity and talk to one another by sending chemical messages across a tiny gap that separates them. Specific brain systems serve specific functions (though not the functions gall supposed) We integrate information processed in these different brain systems to construct our experience of sights and sounds, meanings, pain and passion. Our adaptive brain is wired by our experience.