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Biology and Behaviour Psychology 1106 Introduction Seems to me that if we are to truly understand behaviour and that if we accept that the brain controls it, we must understand the brain The nervous system is built out of neurons or nerve cells, and glial cells, which are sort of the glue Glial cells do other support functions too Neurons Three basic parts • Cell body • Axon Sends out info • Dendrite Receives info Myelin sheath • Insulates neurons, speeds transmission Neurons The neuron fires when stimulated • Heat • Light • Pain • Other neurons • Pressure The impulse is called an action potential Electrical activity of the neuron Resting potential • About -70 mV • Selectively allowing certain ions in • With stimulation Na+ is allowed in Action potential • Changes in one area lead to changes in another • Chemical to electrical, very cool The action potential Resistance and myelin affect transmission rate Less resistance with a big axon Normally you have a resting potential because a process called Active Transport pump out Na+ and pulls K+ in (3:2) so you get a negative charge across the cell membrane The Sodium Potassium Pump Active transport takes energy Easier encoding? Faster reaction? An Action potential happens when stimulation causes the pump to sort of stop, Na gets in, K goes out Sort of reversed later My neurons are firing right now After a neuron fires it must recharge so to speak • Refractory period A neuron is either on or off At the end of the axon there is a gap between it and the next dendrite This gap is called the synapse • A Greek word meaning ‘gap’ Every mall in Athens has a store called The Synapse…. Neurotransmitters are released across the synapse by the axon Bind to a receptor site at the dendrite Lock and key sort of Key opens an ion channel Causes an action potential in the next neuron…. Great place for drug interactions The Neurotransmitters Acetylcholine (Ach) Monoamines • Catecholamines Norepinephrine (NE) Epinephrine (E) Dopamine (DA) • Indoleamine Seretonin (5-Ht) • Others Histamine (H) More neurotransmitters Amino Acids • Glutamate (universally excitatory) • GABA (universally inhibitory) • Glycine • Proline Peptides • Substance P Finally…. Morphine like substances • Endorphins • Enkephalins Other peptides • Insulin • Prolactin • HGH • Vasopressin More on synapses Agonists • Mimic neurotransmitters or make brain make more • Morphine is an endorphin agonist Antagonists • Bind to receptor sites or neurotransmitter molecules Sometimes the brain can’t get a drug because of the blood-brain barrier • Glial cells around blood vessels The Nervous system Central Nervous system (CNS) • Brain, spinal column, cerebellum • Communication is neural Peripheral Nervous system (PNS) • Nerves that make you move basically • Communication is neural How does it work? Bicep curl for example Muscle needs an agonist and an antagonist Motor neuron sends message to bicep to curl up Sensory neuron tells you when to stop Simple behaviour LOTS of neurons In a Moth’s Ear…. Moth Ear basically has two neurons A1 and A2 They are not frequency sensitive, but do not respond to low frequencies Those would be some tiny Q tips….. Do Moths Have Ear Wax? A1 is responsive to intensity More firing with closer bat A2 only fires with very loud sounds A2 fires, bat must be very close Moths and Bats, Charts and Graphs A1 on the left fires, that wing beats faster Moth’s course corrects to 180 degrees from bat So very and totally cool A2, go crazy 2 neuron ear can encode where a predator in in 3 dimensional space!!! Autonomic Nervous System Different communication than in the CNS and PNS Not neural, more chemical Hormones secreted into bloodstream by ‘ductless glands’ Pituitary gland is the master gland Example, pituitary controls release of pitocin and oxytocin which start labour Another example, effects of testosterone on spatial ability psychoneuroendocrinology THE BRAIN BRAIN BRAIN BRAIN One more brain diagram EEG Oldest form of brain imaging CAT Scan Computerized axial tomography PET scan Positron emission tomography MRI Magnetic Resonance Imaging Function and Form Brainstem • Medulla • Reticular formation Thalamus • Sort of a ‘sensory switchboard’ Cerebellum • • • • ‘little brain’ Walking Balance Skilled movement Form and Function Limbic system • Hippocampus Memory • Amygdila Emotion (?) • Hypothalamus Homeostasis • Nucleus accumbens reward Cerebral Cortex Covers the hemispheres Wrinkled • More area Lots of connections to other regions Different lobes • Frontal -> complex cognition • Parietal -> space, vision • Temporal -> sensory stuff, language • Occipital -> vision Hemispheres Left and right Left Language Right spatial Split brain patients do not have a corpus collossum Recognize pictures faster in left visual field Recognize words faster in right Very cool This left brained right brained stuff is nonsense Genetics, Evolution and Behaviour We have no problem accepting that “animals’” behaviour is somehow affected by genetics What about us? OF COURSE IT IS, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU ARE SO SPECIAL? Introduction ‘Trying to determine how much of a behaviour is due to genetics and how much is due to the environment is like trying to determine how much the area of a field is caused by its length and how much by its width’ Donald Hebb Nature v. Nurture is a stupid argument A little background You get half of your genes from your mother and half from your father Single genes can affect a characteristic Many genes can affect a characteristic It is always an interaction An Example Human Ocular cutaneous albinism • I wonder where that example came from….. Single gene for the production of melanin A – normal a - bad Dominance / Recessive relationship AA, aA, Aa all lead to normal, aa leads to me Leslie and Rick Aa and Aa • • • • Or some variation aA and Aa Aa and aA aA and aA Phenotypically normal 1 in 4 chance of having a kid with aa They did, on June 23, 1965 My genotype MUST be aa because there is no dominance They got the looks, but I got the brains…….. Danny and Stephanie may be carriers, or they may not be, they are phenotypically normal Their kids could carry the allele, assuming they do My kids MUST carry the allele, as they had an a from me, and, an A from Isabelle We know they got an A from Isabelle by looking at their phenotype Behavioural Effects I don’t spend much time in the sun I have very poor vision (20/200, melanin guides the growth of the visual system) No binocular vision Can’t drive a car Not very good at baseball Huge IQ……. Evolutionary Psychology Homo sapiens sapiens showed up somewhere between 100 000 and 200 000 years ago Civilization happened 10 000 years ago. For most of our existence we were hunter/gatherers Men hunted Women gathered, did child care Evolution rocks Evolutionary psychology takes our history into account and makes some amazing predictions Predictions that no other type of psych makes, and it helps organize a very diverse data set Predictions of evolutionary psychology More abuse towards adopted kids Men want youth Women want resources Incest taboo Racism Sugar is sweet We are better at detecting cheating in a social context Men are more promiscuous than women Women having affairs have more orgasms with their lover Men sleeping around have more killer sperm in their ejaculate Misinterpretations Just because someone says they are an evolutionary psychologist does not mean that • They believe in the status quo • They believe things cannot change • They believe things are morally right Evolutionary psychologists believe that natural selection has affected our behaviour Further Reading ‘The Selfish Gene’ and ‘The Blind Watchmaker’ by Richard Dawkins ‘Sex, Evolution and Behavior’ by Daly and Wilson ‘Evolutionary Psychology’ by Cosmides and Tooby