UNIT 3: BIOLOGICAL LEVEL OF ANALYSIS

Day 2

Outcome(s):

Explain, using examples, the effects of neurotransmission on human behavior

Discuss the use of brain-imaging technologies in investigating the relationship between biological factors and behavior

Agenda:

1. Psych 1 – Reading Quiz2. More on Neurotransmitters – Mouse

Party3. Coloring Activities – What’s In Your

Brain? & What’s Your Brain Doing?4. Ethics in Brain Research – animals and

humans Reading & Discussion

5. Technology in Brain Research6. Closure – Current Event

Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters: chemical messengers that relay neural messages across the synapse (many are also hormones)

There are several types of neurotransmitters, and each of them is responsible for some specific function.

Mouse Party – Drugs & Neurotransmitters

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse.html

What’s in Your Brain?

1. Cerebral Cortex

2. Thalamus

3. Corpus callosum

4. Hypothalamus

5. Hippocampus

6. Pituitary gland

7. Midbrain

8. Pons

9. Medulla

10. Brainstem

11. Spinal Cord

12. Cerebellum

What’s Your Brain Doing?1. Frontal Lobe• Body movement• Personality• Concentration,

problem solving• Meaning of

words• Emotional

reactions• Speech• Smell

2. Parietal lobe• Touch and pressure• Taste• Body awareness

3. Occipital Lobe• sight

4. Cerebellum (Latin – “little brain”)• Fine motor (muscle) control• Balance and coordination (avoid objects • and keep from falling)

5. Temporal Lobe• Receive and

process sound• Recognizing

faces• Emotion• Long term

memory

6. Limbic Lobe• Located

inside the brain

• Controls emotions like happiness, sadness, and love

Ethics in Brain Research

Animals Reading: More Experience = Bigger Brain

Humans http://

worldsciencefestival.com/videos/ethics_and_the_brain_project

Technology in Brain Research EEG – records brain waves Electroencephalograph: a device for recording brain

waves, typically by electrodes placed on the scalp. The record produced is known as an electroencephalogram (EEG)

Senses which parts of the brain are most active EEG is not a very precise instrument Mapping the Brain with Electric Probes:

Wilder Penfield: during brain surgery, stimulated patients’ exposed brains with an electrode and recorded responses Helped identify boundaries of diseased brain areas (to avoid

removing healthy tissue) Demonstrated brain’s surface is divided into regions with different

functions

EEG

Technology cont.

CT scan (computerized tomography): computerized imaging technique that uses X rays passed through the brain at various angles and then combined into an image

PET Scan (positron emission tomography): an imaging technique that relies on the detection of radioactive sugar consumed by active brain cells

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging): imaging technique that relies on cells’ responses in a high-intensity magnetic field

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging): a type of MRI that reveals which parts of the brain are most active during various mental activities

CT Scan

PET Scan

MRI

fMRI

Closure: Current Event

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/425103/april-04-2013/francis-collins (8 min)

What device is Dr. Collins using?