Table of Contents

Chapter 3 Part 2

The Biological Bases of Behavior

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Studying the Brain: Research Methods

Electroencephalography (EEG) Damage studies/lesioning Electrical stimulation (ESB) Transcortical Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Brain imaging –

– computerized tomography – CT – positron emission tomography - PET – magnetic resonance imaging – MRI – functional magnetic resonance imaging – fMRI

Table of ContentsFigure 3-10 – Electroencephalography (EEG)

Table of Contents

XXX 3.13

Table of Contents

Figure 3.14 – PET scan

Figure 3.15 – MRI and fMRI scans

Table of Contents

Positron Emission Tomography – PET scan

Table of Contents

Magnetic Resonance Imaging - MRI

Table of Contents

Functional MRI images showing reduced activation of language areas during a linguistic task in patients with schizophrenia

Table of Contents

Functional MRI images

Table of Contents

Brain Regions and Functions

Hindbrain – vital functions – medulla, pons, and cerebellum

Midbrain – sensory functions – dopaminergic projections, reticular activating system

Forebrain – emotion, complex thought – thalamus, hypothalamus, limbic system, cerebrum, cerebral cortex

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

The Cerebrum: Two Hemispheres, Four Lobes Cerebral Hemispheres – two specialized halves

connected by the corpus collosum – Left hemisphere – verbal processing: language,

speech, reading, writing, sequential– Right hemisphere – nonverbal processing: spatial,

musical, visual recognition, parallel Four Lobes:

– Occipital – vision– Parietal – somatosensory – phantom limb - V. S.

Ramachandran - Phantoms in the Brain– Temporal - auditory– Frontal – movement, executive control systems

Primary functions and associated functions– Language – Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas – loss of

language – aphasia

Table of Contents

Table of ContentsFigure 3.19 – The cerebral cortex in humans

Table of ContentsFigure 3.20 – Primary motor cortex with homunculus

Table of Contents

Mirror Neurons An area just forward of the primary motor cortex is

where “mirror neurons” were first discovered accidentally in the mid-1990s.– May play a role in the acquisition of new motor

skills,• the imitation of others,• the ability to feel empathy for others,• and dysfunctions in mirror neuron circuits may

underlie the social deficits seen in autistic disorders.

Table of Contents

The Plasticity of the Brain

The brain is more “plastic” or malleable than widely assumed– Aspects of experience can sculpt features of brain

structure– Damage to incoming sensory pathways or tissue

can lead to neural reorganization

Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. – My Stroke of Insight – a neuroscientist story of her stroke and recovery

Adult brain can generate new neurons – neurogenesis

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Figure 3.22 – Visual input with split-brain – Roger Sperry and others

Figure 3.23 – Split-brain research