Unit 2 - Biological

Psychology
2.1 Interaction of Heredity and Environment
Evolutionary Psychology
2.2 Endocrine System
2.3 Nervous System
2.3 Neurons
2.4 Neural Firing
2.5 Neurotransmitters
2.6 The Brain
2.7 Imaging
2.8 Drugs and Addiction
2.9 Sleep and Dreams
MrGalusha.org
2.5 Influence of Drugs on Neural Firing
Neurotransmitters

Excitatory vs Inhibitory
Reuptake
Agonist
Antagonist
Acetylcholine
Serotonin
Dopamine
Norepinephrine
Epinephrine
GABA
Glutamate
 How do neurons communicate
with each other?

The sending neuron releases neurotransmitters across

a synapse to the receiving neuron.
The synapse has 4 key components.
1. Terminal button - Enlarged area at the axon terminal
2. Synaptic vesicles - Sacs in the terminal button that
release chemicals called neurotransmitters into the
synaptic space
3. Synaptic gap (synaptic cleft) - Tiny gap between neurons
4. Receptor sites - Location on receptor neuron where
neurotransmitters can bind.
Chemical Communication
Terminal button - Enlarged area
at the axon terminal
Synaptic vesicles - Sacs in the
terminal button that release
chemicals called
neurotransmitters into the
synaptic space
Synaptic gap (synaptic cleft) -
Tiny gap between neurons
Receptor sites - Location on
receptor neuron where
neurotransmitters can bind.
Chemical Communication
Neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters (chemicals) released from the
sending neuron that travel across the synaptic cleft
and bind to receptor sites on the receiving neuron,
thereby influencing it to generate an action potential.
(b) In this pseudo-colored image from a scanning electron microscope, a terminal button (green) has been
opened to reveal the synaptic vesicles (orange and blue) inside. Each vesicle contains about 10,000
neurotransmitter molecules.
 What is a
neurotransmitter?

chemical
messengers
that travel
across the
synapse and bind to
receptor sites
on the receiving
neuron
 How does the
process work?

When an action potential

reaches an axon’s terminal
branch, it stimulates the
release of neurotransmitter
molecules.

These molecules
cross the synaptic gap and
bind to receptor sites on the
receiving neuron. This will either excite or inhibit a new
action potential.
 What is
reuptake?

a
neurotransmitter’s
reabsorption by
the sending
neuron
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors
Citalopram (Celexa)
Escitalopram (Lexapro)
Fluoxetine (Prozac)
Paroxetine (Paxil, Pexeva)
Sertraline (Zoloft)
 Incoming neurotransmitters can be
excitatory or inhibitory.

excitatory signal inhibitory signal

Like the gas pedal Like the brake pedal
on the car. on the car.

Excitatory neurotransmitter Inhibitory neurotransmitter

signals trigger action. signals depress action.

When the excitatory impulses outnumber the inhibitory impulses, the

threshold has been reached and an action potential occurs.
Neurotransmitters fit like chemical keys in chemical locks.
 2 Categories of neurotransmitters:
Excitatory and Inhibitory
Excitatory Inhibitory
•The key fits and ‘opens’ the •The key fits in but only stops
receiving neuron. any other keys.
•Activation of the receptor •Activation of the receptor
causes depolarization of the causes hyperpolarization and
membrane and promotes an depresses action potential
action potential in the generation.
receiving neuron.
 How do drugs alter
neurotransmission ?

Drugs and chemicals from outside the body alter our

brain chemistry.

Drugs act as agonists (exciting neuron firing) or as

antagonists(inhibiting neuron firing).
 Example: morphine mimics the
How does an actions of endorphins at
agonist work? μ-opioid receptors throughout the
central nervous system

An agonist is a
drug molecule that
acts to create an
excitatory signal
Drugs that excite a neuron are called Agonists

Agonist
excites!!!
 Curare is a plant poison extract. It
How does an occupies the same position on the
receptor as ACh (muscle movement) but
antagonist elicits no response, making it a
competitive antagonist.
work?
An antagonist is a drug
molecule that inhibits or
blocks a
neurotransmitter’s
action.

Antagonists can also

work by blocking
reuptake.
Drugs that inhibit a neuron are called antagonists

Antagonist
stops!!!
 Neurotransmitters

Serotonin
Norepinephrine
Acetylcholine (ACh)
GABA
Glutamate
Endorphins
Dopamine
 Serotonin

● Functions: Mood, sleep and hunger

● Too much: Anxiety and maybe Autism
● Too little: Depression and to a lesser degree OCD
and eating disorders.
● Mnemonic: Serotonin sets the emotional TONE
 Norepinephrine

● Functions:
○ alertness and arousal (vigilance).
○ Active along with epinephrine (adrenaline) during
SNS response.
● Too much - Anxiety and panic attacks
● Too little - Depression
● Mnemonic- EPI pen makes you alert
 Acetylcholine (ACh)

● Functions: Muscle Actions and Attention

● Too much: --
● Too little: Alzheimer’s Disease: deterioration of
ACh-producing neurons (Alzheimer's disease is a
progressive disorder that causes brain cells to waste away (degenerate)
and die. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia — a
continuous decline in thinking, behavioral and social skills that disrupts
a person's ability to function independently.)
● Mnemonic: AAA (Actions, Attention and Alzheimer's)
 GABA

● Functions:
○ Sleep
○ Major inhibitory neurotransmitter
● Too much:
● Too little: Insomnia, Anxiety, Epilepsy (seizure disorder) and
Huntington’s Disease (Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal genetic
disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.
It deteriorates a person's physical and mental abilities usually during their
prime working years and has no cure.)
● Mnemonic: ABBA puts you to sleep.
GABA Examples:

Undersupply of GABA: Insomnia Undersupply of GABA: Seizures

● Corresponding neurons become
hyperactive and susceptible to
seizures
 Glutamate

● Functions:
○ Involved in learning and memory
○ Serves as a widely distributed excitatory
neurotransmitter
● Too much: Seizures and migraines (avoid MSG)
● Too little
● Mnemonic: Learn and remember not to eat MSG or you get
a migraine due to all the glutamate.
 Endorphins

● Functions: reduce pain

● Too much: -
● Too little: -
● Mnemonic: ENDURE Pain
 Dopamine

● Functions:
○ reward pathway
○ voluntary movement
○ Influences learning
● Too much - Schizophrenia (mental illness
characterized by hallucinations and delusions)
● Too little - Parkinson's (brain disorder that leads to
shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with walking,
balance, and coordination)
● Mnemonic: Dopey on Dopamine
How do neurotransmitters
influence our behavior?
 2.6 The Brain

Brainstem Cerebral Cortex

Medulla Frontal lobes
Pons Parietal lobes
Reticular Formation Occipital lobes
Cerebellum Temporal lobes
Thalamus Motor Cortex
Somatosensory Cortex
Limbic System Brocca’s Area
Hypothalamus Wernicke’s Area
Amygdala Split Brain
Hippocampus Corpus Callosum
Brain Stem

Medulla
Pons
Reticular Formation
Cerebellum
Thalamus
 What are the
functions of the
medulla?

● Breathing and beating

heart (also blood
pressure, barfing and
blinking)
● Life support center Mnemonic - Medal
hanging over heart
● Base of the brainstem and lungs.
 What are the
functions of the
pons?

● just above the

medulla
● controls sleep
‘Puts you into REM’
● Regulates sleep PONS puts you into
REM
wake cycle
 What are the
functions of the
reticular formation?

nerve network that travels

through the brainstem into
the thalamus

helps control arousal (wakes

you up) and filters incoming Re-TICKLE-ular
sensory stimuli (selective Formation- tickles
you awake.
attention)
 What are the
functions of the
thalamus?
at the top of the brainstem

relay station for incoming

and outgoing sensory
information (with the
exception of smell). Sends Two traffic cops
sensory signals to the named Hal and
Amos routing the
correct part of the brain. sensory traffic.
 What are the
functions of the
cerebellum?

at the rear of the brainstem

processing sensory
input, coordinating
movement
and balance, (nonverbal
learning and memory)
Gymnast SaraBalance Cerebellum
Limbic System

Hypothalamus
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Which structures make up
the limbic system?
 What are the
functions of the
amygdala?

two
lima-bean-sized neural clusters

linked to
emotion, fear, and aggression.
Starts the Fight of Flight
response in the SNS.
 What does research suggest about the functions of the amygdala?

One study showed math anxiety is associated with

hyperactivity in the right
amygdala (Young et al., 2012).

Another study linked criminal behavior with amygdala

dysfunction
(Boccardi et al.,2011; Ermer et al., 2012).

Researchers found when people view angry and

happy faces, only the angry ones increase activity in
the amygdala.
(Mende-Siedlecki et al., 2013).
What are the functions
of the hypothalamus?

below (hypo) the thalamus;

Primary Drives: Hunger, thirst

and sex
(body temperature )

(helps govern the

endocrine system via the
pituitary gland, linked to emotion
and reward)
 What does research suggest about the
functions of the hypothalamus?

Stimulating the reward centers of the hypothalamus will motivate a rat

to cross an electrified grid, receiving painful electric shocks, to reach a
bar that will give additional stimulation.
What are the functions
of the hippocampus?

Small structure with two “arms”

that wrap around the thalamus

Helps turn your short term

memories into long term
memories.
What does research suggest about the
functions of the hippocampus?
Humans who lose their hippocampus to surgery or injury also lose
their ability to form new memories of facts and events (Clark &
Maguire, 2016).

Those who survive a hippocampal brain tumor in childhood struggle to

remember new information in adulthood. (Jayakar et al., 2015)

NFL players who experience one or more loss-of-consciousness

concussions may later have a shrunken hippocampus and poor
memory
(Strain et al., 2015).
Cerebral Cortex

Frontal lobes
Parietal lobes
Occipital lobes
Temporal lobes
Motor Cortex
Somatosensory Cortex
Brocca’s Area
Wernicke’s Area
Split Brain
Corpus Callosum
 What is the cerebral cortex?

The intricate fabric of

interconnected neural cells
covering the cerebral hemispheres;
the body’s ultimate control and
information-processing center.

It is divided into four regions called lobes.

 What four lobes make up
the cerebral cortex?

▪ frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital

lobe
▪ located in both right and left hemispheres
 What are the functions of the
frontal and parietal lobes?
frontal lobes parietal lobes

Decision making and

Spatial reasoning
analysis.
 What is spatial reasoning?

Spatial reasoning is a category of reasoning skills that

refers to the capacity to think about objects in three
dimensions and to draw conclusions about those
objects from limited information. Someone with good
spatial abilities might also be good at thinking about
how an object will look when rotated, good at parallel
parking, putting away leftovers in the right container,
designing a floor plan etc.
 What are the functions of the
temporal and occipital lobes?
temporal lobes occipital lobes

Hearing
Processing vision
(facial recognition)
 What are the functions of the
motor and somatosensory cortex?
motor cortex somatosensory cortex

registers information from

controls voluntary
the skin senses and body
movements
movement
Do we really use only
10% of our brain?
 What are the association areas?

Most of the brain’s cortex which integrates information

involved in learning, remembering, thinking, and other higher-
level functions.

Attention is shifted, planning occurs.

Not specifically devoted to motor or sensory cortex functions.

 Let’s look at the research on association
areas…
The prefrontal cortex in the forward part of
the frontal lobes enables judgment, planning, and processing of
new memories
(de la Vega et al., 2016).
People with damaged frontal lobes may have high intelligence
test scores and great cake-baking skills. Yet they would not be
able to plan ahead to begin baking a cake for a birthday party
(Huey et al., 2006).
And if they did begin to bake, they might forget the recipe.
(MacPherson et al., 2016).
 The case of Phineas Gage

A tamping iron accident His frontal lobes could no longer

damaged neural tracks in filter emotional reactions from
the limbic system.
his frontal lobe.
 What are Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas?

Broca’s area Wernicke’s area

language center located in the language center located in the

left frontal lobe left temporal lobe

involved in expressive involved in receptive language

language - speaking + writing - hearing and reading
Left Hemisphere

● Language
● Logic
● Both Broca’s and Wernicke’s
areas are located in the left
hemisphere
● Controls the right side of the body
● Receives sensory input from the
right side of the body
Right Hemisphere

● Creativity
● Arts
● Imagination
● Controls the left side of the body
● Receives sensory input from the
left side of the body
Corpus Callosum
 Split Brain Patients

● Due to a seizure disorder they require an operation where their corpus

callosum must be cut.
● Their Left and Right Hemispheres can no longer talk to each other.
● Sperry and Gazzaniga did experiments to see what impact this surgery has
and what it tells us about the hemispheres. What they found is
fascinating.
Left side goes to right hemisphere Right side goes to Left hemisphere
 What will happen when the
Left side goes to right hemisphere Right side goes to Left hemisphere
patient is asked what they
saw?
 What will happen when the
Left side goes to right hemisphere Right side goes to Left hemisphere
patient is asked to find the
object on the table?
 What will happen when the
Left side goes to right hemisphere Right side goes to Left hemisphere
patient is asked what they
saw?
 What will happen when the
Left side goes to right hemisphere Right side goes to Left hemisphere
patient is asked to find the
object on the table?
Split Brain Research
2.7 Tools for Examining Brain Structure and Function

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
CAT Scan
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
PET (positron emission tomography) scan
fMRI (functional MRI)