1. Biological Psychology
Key Point for this Unit: Everything psychological is simultaneously biological!!

2. NEURON
Dendrites
Dendrites – receive messages from other cells and conduct impulses toward the cell body

3. Cell Body – the cell’s life-support center
NEURON
Dendrites
Cell Body
Cell Body – the cell’s life-support center

4. NEURON
Dendrites
Cell Body
Axon
Axon – the extension of a neuron through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles or glands

5. NEURON
Dendrites
Cell Body
Axon
Myelin Sheath
Myelin Sheath – a layer of fatty cells covering the axon, helps speed neural impulses

6. Terminal branches of axon – form junctions with other cells
NEURON
Dendrites
Terminal branches of axon
Cell Body
Axon
Myelin Sheath
Terminal branches of axon – form junctions with other cells

7. Biological Psychology
It is all about the body!!!!
Concerned with the links between biology and behavior (also called Neuroscience)

8. The Nervous System
It starts with a NEURON: an individual nerve cell; the basic building block of the nervous system

9. How does a Neuron fire? Resting Potential: slightly negative charge.
Reach the threshold when enough neurotransmitters reach dendrites.
Threshold: level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse; excitatory signals minus inhibitory signals must equal a minimum intensity
Go into Action Potential; a neural impulse (brief electrical charge) that travels down an axon.
All-or-none response.

10. TYPES OF NEUROTRANSMITTERS
Chemical messengers that that traverse the synaptic gap between neurons
REVIEW… remember agonists and antagonists???
Agonist – mimic neurotransmitters
**Example: Morphine mimics endorphins
Antagonist – block neurotransmitters
**Example: Poison blocks muscle movement
Did you know? Botox is an antagonist that paralyzes facial muscles!

11. Acetylcholine (ACH)
Involved with voluntary muscle movement, learning and memory
Lack of ACH has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

12. Dopamine Deals with motor movement and alertness.
Lack of dopamine has been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Too much has been linked to schizophrenia.

13. Serotonin Involved in mood control.
Lack of serotonin has been linked to clinical depression.

14. Endorphins Involved in pain control.
Did you know? The word “endorphin” literally means “morphine within”!
Endorphins
Involved in pain control.
Many of our most addictive drugs deal with endorphins.
“Runner’s High” occurs when your brain signals the release of endorphins to reduce pain!

16. The Nervous System
The Nervous System - body’s speedy, electrochemical communication network consisting of nerve cells

17. Central Nervous System (CNS)
The Brain and spinal cord
Neural networks – interconnected neural cells; more connections made as experience gained

18. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
All nerves that are not encased in bone.
Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body
Is divided into two categories….somatic and autonomic.

19. Somatic Nervous System
Controls voluntary muscle movement.
Uses motor neurons.

20. Autonomic Nervous System
Controls the automatic functions of the body.
Divided into two categories…the sympathetic and the parasympathetic

21. Sympathetic Nervous System
Arouses the body
Fight or Flight Response.
Automatically accelerates heart rate and breathing, dilates pupils

22. Parasympathetic Nervous System
Calms the body
Automatically slows the body down after a stressful event.
Heart rate and breathing slow down, pupils constrict

23. Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

24. Types of Neurons Sensory Neurons – sends receptors to CNS
Interneurons – internal communication neurons
Motor Neurons – CNS to muscle and glands

25. Reflexes
Normally, sensory neurons take info up through spine to the brain.
With reflexes though, some reactions occur when sensory neurons reach just the spinal cord.
Automatic response to sensory stimulus; interneurons react to sensory neurons w/o going to brain