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Biological Psychology Paper

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Biological Psychology Paper
Biological Psychology Paper
Jacqueline Leday
PSY 340
August 24, 2010
Lisa M. Shores

Biological Psychology Paper
Biological Psychology can be defined as the study of the brain, and how the brain functions in relation to human behavior. The assumption that mind and brain are linked is the basis of understanding biological psychology. The two areas which are most relevant to Biological Psychology are Neuroanatomy (study of how parts of the brain are connected) and Neurophysiology (study of how neurons work). Laboratory animals such as rats and non-human primates are used in experiments to better understand human pathology which contribute to providing evidence for the field of study. Starting at the beginning with the theorists that made …show more content…
His pupil Aristotle disagreed with him. Aristotle felt that the heart was the center of reasoning. The brain function was to cool the blood circulating in the body. Galen (130-200 A.D.) was one of the first writers to propose a theory which were based on the ventricles of the heart. He also believed that the heart was the crucial organ of the body because it provided substance (blood) to the brain. Others expanded on Galen ideas including Nemesius (Bishop of Ernesa) who foresaw that the lateral ventricles were the site for sensory and mental impression. The third ventricle produced the site of reason, and the fourth ventricle was the site for memory. This theory became to be the one of the most popular theories relating to the brain in written history. It has remained unchanged for approximately 1500 years (Wickens, …show more content…
He performed experiments at the University of Bologna involving electric charges on frogs. A charge was applied to the spinal cord to a frog, and caused the frog to produce muscular spasms. The charges could make frogs jump even if the legs were no longer attached to the frog. Galvani believed that he was seeing animal electricity, the life force within the muscle of a frog (Corrosion Doctors). Galvani showed that nervous energy was electrical, but a Italian Anatomist named Camillo Golgi discovered a new stain that could be used to truly observe the acutual nerve cell. By applying silver nitrate to the nerve cell, the cell would turn black enabling them to stand out and be observed clearly through a microscope . Thia method became indispensable for examining a wide variety of cells in the brain (Wickens,
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