So what have psychologists learned about human behavior and the mind... it all starts with the brain.

Psychological Research and Parts of the Brain

Approaches to Psychological Research Scientific method – Theory Hypothesis (testable prediction) Research Conclusion Case Study – depth not breadth Survey – breadth not depth – Wording, sample, randomness Naturalistic Observation Laboratory Observation/experimentation

Correlation Degree to which two factors are related (predict the presence of the other) Correlation does not equal causation Examples: – agazine/correlation-or-causation gfx.html agazine/correlation-or-causation gfx.html

Techniques to examine functions of the brain 1. Remove part of the brain & see what effect it has on behavior 2. Examine humans who have suffered brain damage

3. Stimulate the brain 4. Record brain activity

Brain Structure and Functions

Basic Facts about the Brain Weighs approximately 3 lbs. 2% of body weight Biggest brain of any animal in comparison to body weight The old adage of humans only using 10% of their brain is not true. Every part of the brain has a known function.

“If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t” -Emerson Pugh, The Biological Origin of Human Values (1977)

“Secrets of the Mind” Phantom Limb 1.What is phantom limb syndrome? 2.How does the film define body image? 3.Why did the patient’s face tingle on the same side of his face as his missing limb? What was the explanation given? 4.Where can phantom symptoms occur? 5.What is a mirror box? How does it help treat phantom limb syndrome?

“You never identify yourself with the shadow cast by your body, or with its reflection, or with the body you see in a dream or in your imagination. Therefore, you should not identify yourself with this living body either.” – Shankara (AD ) Vedic scriptures (Hinduism)

Our Divided Brains Corpus collosum – large bundle of neural fibers (myelinated axons, or white matter) connecting the two hemispheres

Hemispheric Specialization LEFT Symbolic thinking Language Detail Literal meaning RIGHT Spatial perception Overall picture Context Metaphor

Contra-lateral division of labor Right hemisphere controls left side of body and visual field Left hemisphere controls right side of body and visual field

The Brain Brainstem – responsible for automatic survival functions Medulla – controls heartbeat and breathing

BRAINSTEM  Heart rate and breathing CEREBELLUM  Coordination and balance Parts of the Brain amygdala pituitary hippocampus THALAMUS  Relays messages

The Cerebellum – helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

The Cerebral Cortex Cerebral Cortex – the body’s ultimate control and information processing center

The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres

Planning, decision making speech Sensory Auditory Vision

The Cerebral Cortex Frontal Lobes – involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments Parietal Lobes – include the sensory cortex

The Cerebral Cortex Occipital Lobes – include the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field Temporal Lobes – include the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear

The Cerebral Cortex Frontal (Forehead to top)  Motor Cortex Parietal (Top to rear)  Sensory Cortex Occipital (Back)  Visual Cortex Temporal (Above ears)  Auditory Cortex

The Senses Somatosensory: Touch Olfactory: Smell Vestibular: Balance and Spatial orientation

The Cerebral Cortex – Language  Broca’s Area  an area of the left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech  Wernicke’s Area  an area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression

Language Areas Broca  Expression Wernicke  Comprehension and reception LEFT HEMISPHERE

 Brain activity when hearing, seeing, and speaking words

 Functional MRI scan shows the visual cortex activated as the subject looks at faces

“Secrets of the Mind” Blindsight/visual neglect – visual 1.What is Blindsight? 2.How does Blindsight relate to consciousness? 3.How do we all experience Blindsight in our daily lives? What is an example? 4.What is visual neglect?

The Limbic System Hypothalamus, pituitary, amygdala, and hippocampus all deal with basic drives, emotions, and memory Hippocampus  Memory processing Amygdala  Aggression (fight) and fear (flight) Hypothalamus  Hunger, thirst, body temperature, pleasure; regulates pituitary gland (hormones)

Limbic System

The Limbic System  Hypothalamus  neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; directs several maintenance activities  eating  drinking  body temperature  linked to emotion

The Limbic System Amygdala – two almond- shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion and fear

The Endocrine System  Endocrine System  the body’s “slow” chemical communication system  a set of glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream

The Brain Thalamus – the brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem – it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

“Secrets of the Mind” Capgras Delusion 1.What is Capgras Delusion? 2.What part of the brain suffered damage? What does this part of the brain do? 3.When the patient highlighted speaks on the phone with his parents, how does his recognition change? 4.Why do patients with temporal lobe seizures have spiritual connections after a seizure?

Nervous System

Direction of message

 More intelligent animals have increased “uncommitted” or association areas of the cortex

Split Brain  a condition in which the two hemispheres of the brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them