THE BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE GENETIC FACTORS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM THE BRAIN THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM THE NEUROSCIENCE REVOLUTION NEUROPHARMACOLOGY PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY INTEGRATION OF BIOLOGICAL AND

PSYCHOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

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THE NEUROSCIENCE REVOLUTION

Neuroanatomy Neuropathology Neurochemistry Neuropharmacology Neuropsychology

THE NEURON

Types of Neurons

Communication Neurons “fire” Action Potential releases

neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters cross the

synaptic cleft and bind to the post-synaptic membrane of the neighboring neuron(s)

Excitatory or inhibitory The circle of events

continues… The network of neural cells

is highly specialized

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Purkinje Cell 

• Main players in the cerebellum 

• Long Distance Connections 

• Most number of connections

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The Brain

BROCA’S AREA FOR SPEECH

BRAIN AT 15 WEEKS GESTATION

BRAIN AT 32 WEEKS GESTATION

cerebellum

pons

Medulla Breathing Heart rate

regulation

Pons Reticular formation

• Sleep• Arousal

Cerebellum Many fine folds;

large surface area Muscle movement

& muscle tone Balance Some learning &

memory

Divisions of the Brain

Hindbrain Medulla Reticular

formation Cerebellum

Midbrain Dopamine

produced Relay of visual

and auditory signals

Forebrain Diencephalon

• Hypothalamus• thalamus

Telencephalon• cortex

THE BRAIN

Thalamus “relay station” for

sensory information (except smell)

• Directs sensory signals to appropriate areas of cortex

Hypothalamus Involved in motivated

behavior (feeding, drinking, sex)

Regulates the internal environment of the body

• Fight-or-flight response• Endocrine System• Temperature Control

Diencephalon

LIMBIC LOBE GRAPHIC OVERLAY

Hippocampus

(purple)(blue)

Limbic System

Basal Ganglia Initiates Movement

e.g., walking

Gross motor control

Many smaller structures

Affected in Parkinson’s

Sensorimotor Cortex, Left Hemisphere

OLFACTORY TRACT

BRAIN IMAGING COMPUTERIZED AXIAL

TOMOGRAPHY (CT) MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING

(MRI) MAGNETIC RESONANCE

SPECTROSCOPY (MRS) SINGLE PHOTON EMISSION

COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY (SPECT)

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY (PT)

POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY(PT SCAN)

PET SCAN NORMAL AND PARKINSON’S DISEASE