The brain is what makes us think, see, smile, and act.
Discussion # 2 – Biological Psychology
This week we learn about the brain. Why? The brain is what makes us think, see, smile, and act. Our brains make us who we are.
This chapter starts with a discussion of evolution and natural selection. This is not a religious or spiritual question. These are scientific theories based upon observations. You can believe in the theory of evolution and the existence of a God if you’d like. I think many people think these two things are mutually exclusive, but in my mind (and in many people’s minds), they are not.
The next section is on the nervous system, and her star pupil the neuron. You need to learn about neuron parts, neural communication (the action potential), and the chemical messengers (neurotransmitters). Check out these websites:
- Although this is a science website for kids, I find it provides the basic information effectively with a lot of pictures to help you understand the concepts better. There’s also a quiz at the end: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/cells.html (Links to an external site.)
We next move into brain function and structure, brain imaging technologies, and nervous systems. The last 2 pages of the chapter deal with plasticity – basically how we learn new concepts or recover from brain injury. The brain is a 3D object so sometimes it’s hard to appreciate it while reading your 2D text. Here are a couple websites to help you visualize the brain better:
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/organs/brainmap/ (Links to an external site.)
- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html (Links to an external site.)
This week’s discussion questions; start your answer in a new thread with your name as the subject line.
- Give an example of a “Real World Occurrence” you found this week pertaining to this week’s chapters.(use information from the PowerPoint to answer this question there is no wrong or right answer. An incident I can recall that relates to this topic is when I was in car accident and had to throw several neurological tests. Just add details to this scenario. There is not a specific word count just has to substantial
- Imagine that you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of a stroke. A stroke can either temporarily or permanently damage a localized part of the brain. In your opinion, where is the worst place in the brain for the stroke to happen? Why? What does that area do?
- Why should an introduction to psychology class cover the biological bases of behavior? What do neurons have to do with psychology? How can neuroscience research inform psychological theories?
- Answer TWO of the following:
- How did Darwin’s observations about finches spark his theory of natural selection? What exactly does “survival of the fittest” mean in this context? What’s the difference between genotype and phenotype?
- How does an action potential work? Use the following terms in your answer (not necessarily in this order): resting potential, ion channels, all-or-non law, refractory period, synapse, and neurotransmitters.
- Why is the case of Phineas Gage so important to field of psychology? What is this case study about and what did we learn from it?
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