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Psychology 110 B
Introduction to Neurons and the
Brain
© Kip Smith, 2003
Where we are at
 Psychology, the science of mind and behavior
 The scientific method
 Nature, Part 1: environment & evolution
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Nature, Part 2: the thing that supports mind and
behavior
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The shapers of mind and behavior
The brain and the rest of the nervous system
Nurture - learning
Minds
© Kip Smith, 2003
The Nervous System
Psychology is the science of
mind and behavior
=
The science of
information processing by
the nervous system
© Kip Smith, 2003
The nervous system has 4
information processing tasks
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Receiving input
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Organizing and integrating information so they
can be used to direct goal-directed activity
Controlling the body
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Sight, sound, touch, pain, smell, taste, proprioception,
etc.
Motor, emotional, etc.
The big C: Consciousness
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 1: Receiving
sensory input
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Perception
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Picking up the
information made
available by the
environment
Performed by the
sensory portion of the
peripheral nervous
system
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© Kip Smith, 2003
The ‘incoming’ portion of
the peripheral nervous
system
Task 1: Receiving
sensory input

Perception


Picking up the
information made
available by the
environment
Performed by the
sensory portion of the
peripheral nervous
system
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 2: Organizing and
integrating information
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Storing information
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Retrieving stored information
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Turning information into knowledge
One of the two functions of memory
The other function of memory
Making the information useful
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Reflex action
Emotion
Thought
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 3: Controlling the body
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Maintaining homeostasis
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Sustaining life
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Thermoregulation, etc.
Heart rate
Breathing
Performed by the autonomic nervous
system
© Kip Smith, 2003
Task 3: Controlling the body

Generating action
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Movement
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© Kip Smith, 2003
Performed by the ‘outgoing’ portion of the peripheral
nervous system
Brainstem, Limbic System, &
Cortex
© Kip Smith, 2003
The Brainstem
Thalamus:
relay between
sensory receptors
and the cortex
Midbrain:
Sleep (dreams)
& arousal
Medulla & Pons:
breathing and
heart rate;
relay between
visceral stimuli
and thalamus
© Kip Smith, 2003
Basal ganglia:
coordinates
deliberate
movements
Moving on up ...
Cerebellum:
coordinates
rapid movement
and balance
© Kip Smith, 2003
Hypothalamus:
directs homeostasis
and basic drives
e.g., the 4 F’s:
feeding, fleeing,
fighting, f*
The Limbic System
Hippocampus:
involved in the
storage of
memory
Amygdala:
controls fear & aggression
The structures in the limbic
system mediate memory,
homeostasis, and emotion
© Kip Smith, 2003
Homeostasis, Emotion, Memory
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Homeostasis
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Emotion
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Maintaining a constant internal state, e.g.,
98.6°
Regulating body chemistry, e.g., blood sugar
A bodily state, a response to information in the
environment
A ‘feeling’ is consciousness of an emotion
Memory
© Kip Smith, 2003
Cortex
Parietal
Where
How
Occipital
Vision
Frontal
Judgment,
decision making,
integration of
information
Temporal
Memory
Categories
© Kip Smith, 2003
Topographic Organization &
Localization of Function
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Primary motor cortex
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Primary somatosensory cortex
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The map of what’s going on with the body
Primary visual/auditory cortex
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Tells the body what to do, how to move
The first cortical stop in the stream of vision/hearing
Wernike’s/Broca’s areas
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Speech comprehension/production
© Kip Smith, 2003
Primary motor cortex
Primary somatosensory cortex
Hemispheric specialization
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Association areas in the left and right
hemispheres of the brain tend to
specialize to serve different functions
They are connected by the corpus
collosum, a massive bundle of axons
© Kip Smith, 2003
Left
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Language
Comprehension
Speech
Right
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Visuospatial
Map reading
Face recognition
Drawing geometric
shapes
This differentiation becomes
obvious only in special cases
© Kip Smith, 2003
The big unsolved problem
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Task 4: Consciousness
How do neurons (nerve cells) provide the
basis for the phenomenon of
consciousness?
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An exercise for the student
© Kip Smith, 2003
For next time
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Read
Chapter 5
 Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). The split brain in
man.
= the third article in the Scientific American
reader
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Do PsychInquiry
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Both activities for chapter 5
Questions?
© Kip Smith, 2003