INTRODUCTION TO
BIOPSYCHOLOGY
Unit 1
Synopsis
•Nature and Scope
•Methods and Ethics in Biopsychology
•Divisions of Biopsychology
What is Biopsychology?
◦ Biopsychology is the scientific study of the biology of behavior.
◦ psychobiology, behavioral biology, or behavioral neuroscience
• Intersection between biology, behavior, and mental processes
• Examines thoughts, feelings, and behavior from the biological/physical point of view
• Science of brain and nervous system and their influence on behavior
• Subfields include cognitive neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience and neuropsychology
History
• Aristotle - heart controlled our behavior
• Hippocrates & Galen - brain was responsible for thought & behavior
• 300- 1300 AD – fluid-filled ventricles
• Rene Descartes (1596 - 1650) - mind - body dualism
◦ The Organization of Behavior in 1949 by D. O. Hebb
◦ first comprehensive theory of how complex psycho-logical phenomena, such as perceptions, emotions,
thoughts, and memories, might be produced by brain activity.
Disciplines of neuroscience that are
relevant to biopsychology
◦ Neuroanatomy- The study of the structure of the nervous system.
◦ Neurochemistry-The study of the chemical bases of neural activity
◦ Neuroendocrinology- The study of interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system
◦ Neuropathology- The study of nervous system disorders.
◦ Neuropharmacology- The study of the effects of drugs on neural activity .
◦ Neurophysiology- The study of the functions and activities of the nervous system
Divisions of Biopsychology
Contd..
◦ neural mechanisms of behavior through the direct manipulation and recording of the brain in con trolled
experiments—surgical and electrical methods
◦ manipulation of neural activity and behavior with drugs.
◦ neuropsychology is the study of the psychological effects of brain damage in human patients.
◦ psychophysiology is the division of biopsychology that studies the relation between physiological activity
and psychological processes in human subjects.
◦ Cognitive neuroscientists study the neural bases of cognition
◦ biology of behavior, rather than specifically with the neural mechanisms of behavior,
Ethics
• Beneficence- moral obligation to act for others’ benefit,
helping them to further their important and legitimate interests.
Methods in Biopsychology
How it started?
• Autopsy tissue-
Neuroscientists see
what brain looks like.
• Testing the behavior of
patients with damage to
certain parts of brain
Imaging Techniques
◦EEG
◦EMG
◦X Ray based techniques
◦PET
◦MRI
◦FMRI
EEG(Electroencephalogram)
• Through Electrodes
• Electrical signals
• Sum of electrical events
• No structural image but
functions.
• Noninvasive
• https://youtu.be/p38nzOGJZtI?si=_ynffq
Wyg2zfyhPu - EEG
MEG
• Magneto
Encephalography
• Through Changes in
magnetic fields
• https://youtu.be/_wsMxlcLna0?si=PKn
1kaac_ka__7Ho – MEG
X- Ray Based Techniques
CT Scan
• Non-invasive
Contrast Xray
• Invasive
PET(Positron Emission Tomography)
PET Scan(Positron
Emission Tomography)
• Invasive technique
• Function (2D and 3D)
• Radioactive
fluorodeoxyglucose
• Metabolic test
• https://youtu.be/yrTy03O0gWw?
si=d1Ln8uBCSTbobyM7 – PET
MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
• High-Resolution images
• 3D structure
• Non-invasive
• Radiofrequency waves
• https://youtu.be/nFkBhUYynUw?si=pHmdZ
dgKayBVgHzx – MRI
FMRI(Functional Magnetic
Resonance Imaging)
• BOLD (Blood Oxygen
Level Dependent) signal
• 3D Structure and Function
• Non invasive
• Great Spatial resolution
Diffusion tensor Imaging
• Measures Orientation and
integrity of white matter
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
• Not a brain Imaging technique
• Magnetic field
• Electrical waves
