Biopsychology Part 2

Overview

Key facts

This Biopsychology Part 2 course from Warnborough College builds on the foundation of Biopsychology I to give you a deeper understanding of the influence of biology, in particular, the influence of the brain, on human behaviour.

Excessive stress for an extended period at first will cause unpleasant feelings, but in due course, it can cause physical damage to the body, fatigue, and in extreme situations, ultimately death. Excessive stress that causes physical damage has been called dystress (by Syle). The Greek prefix ‘dys’ means bad. Dystress literally means ‘bad stress’. Some stress is both inevitable, and in some respects, desirable. Dystress (or distress), however, is not desirable.

Course Aims

• Viewing behaviour as part genetic and part experiential.

• Discuss how human behaviour is linked to evolution.

• Explain how dominant traits are passed on to offspring by genetics.

• Describe the relationship between gene expression and the genetic code.

• Consider how studies of identical twins shed light on the development of differences among individuals.

• Explain how CT and PET scans are used to obtain images of the brain.

• Determine what invasive research methods have been employed to try and understand the brain and behaviour.

• Consider how drugs are used to understand neurotransmitters and their effect on behaviour.

• Explain how gene knockout and gene replacement techniques are used.

• Outline methods of neuropsychological testing.

• Determine how studying animal behaviour in the laboratory can be useful in understanding human behaviour.

• List and define the most common causes of brain damage.

• Explain the significance of neuron death.

• Explain what happens during neural regeneration and neural degeneration

• Determine the function of slow and rapid neural reorganisation in the mammalian brain

• Determine the extent of neurotransplantation of replacement parts in the brain.

• Explain the relationship between physical dependence on drugs and withdrawal syndrome.

• The extent that neural mechanisms seemingly involved in addiction

• Determine what medial temporal lobe amnesia tell us about implicit and explicit memory

• Consider cerebral dominance through language lateralisation and left and right-handedness.

• Consider evidence that suggests that the hemispheres of split-brain patients function independently.

• Identify what we now know about lateralisation of function in the left and right hemispheres.

• Evaluate the Wernicke-Geschwind model of cortical localisation of language.