Assignment: Outline Two Assumptions of the Biological

Approach
The biological approach is a theory that is used to describe human
behaviour in terms of biology. This is done by observing physical changes
in the body e.g. heart rate, blood pressure etc. These are physical
responses to a stimulus they are triggered by the nervous system. There
are three assumptions in the biological approach, they are theories that
explain behaviour.
Assumption 1 The Brain
The human brain is divided into 5 main sections called lobes. Each one of
these lobes has a certain function. The frontal lobe is located at the front
of the brain and is responsible for conscious thoughts such as voluntary
movement. It also coordinates certain information from other lobes.
Damage to this part of the brain can result in mood changes. The parietal
lobe is located in the upper-middle section of the brain and plays an
important role in processing sensory information such as temperature,
pressure and pain. The occipital lobe, located at the back of the brain, is
the processing centre of visual information from the eyes, if damaged
hallucinations can be produced. The temporal lobe, is in the lowermiddle part of the brain and is involved in storing memories and
processing emotions.
Assumption 2 Neurones and Neurotransmitters
Neurones are a group of nerve cells that are responsible for passing
information around the body in the form of electrical impulses. The
Neurones form a huge network around the body called the Nervous
System. The nervous system consists of the Central Nervous System
(CNS) which acts as a processing centre of the impulses and the
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).
Neurons pass on information when they receive the impulses from another
neuron which is detected at the receiving end of the neuron on small
branches called dendrites. These impulses are passed on across a small
gap between the dendrites called a synapse. The impulses are passed
across the synapse in the form of chemical messengers called
neurotransmitters. Some examples of neurotransmitters are serotonin
(mood and sleep), adrenaline (heart rate, sweat, blood pressure etc.) and
GABA (anxiety). Neurotransmitter are released from presynaptic vesicles
and travel across the synapse to the receptor site on the dendrite of the
next neurone.