The document discusses the biological school of thought and provides an overview of the nervous system and brain. It begins by explaining that neurons are the basic unit of the nervous system and how they communicate through synapses and neurotransmitters. It then describes the different parts of the nervous system including the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and autonomic nervous system. Finally, it briefly outlines some of the major structures and regions of the brain like the cerebral cortex, limbic system, and how genetics can influence brain development.

1. Biological School
It is all about the body!!!!

2. The Nervous System
It starts with an individual nerve cell called a NEURON.

3. Neuroanatomy
Synapse Synapse
Neurotransmitters (chemicals held in terminal
buttons that travel through synaptic gap)

4. How does a Neuron fire?
• Resting Potential: slightly
negative charge.
• Reach the threshold when
enough neurotransmitters
reach dendrites.
• Go into Action Potential.
• All-or-none response.
• Transfer of ions across
axon’s membrane causes
electrical charge.

5. TYPES OF
NEUROTRANSMITTERS

6. Acetylcholine (ACH)
• Deals with motor
movement and
memory.
• Too much and you
will….
• Too little and you
will…
• Lack of ACH has
been linked to
Alzheimer’s disease.

7. Dopamine
• Deals with motor
movement and
alertness.
• Lack of dopamine
has been linked to
Parkinson’s disease.
• Too much has been
linked to
schizophrenia.

8. Serotonin
• Involved in mood
control.
• Lack of serotonin
has been linked to
clinical depression.

9. Endorphins
• Involved in pain
control.
• Many of our most
addictive drugs deal
with endorphins.

10. Drugs can be…..
• Agonists- make neuron fire
• Antagonists- stop neural firing
• Reuptake Inhibitors- block
reuptake

11. Types of Neurons
• Efferent (Motor)
Neurons
• Interneurons
• Afferent (Sensory)
Neurons

12. The Nervous System

13. Central Nervous System
•The Brain
and spinal
cord
•CNS

14. Peripheral Nervous System
• All nerves that are
not encased in bone.
• Everything but the
brain and spinal cord.
• Is divided into two
categories….somatic
and autonomic.

15. Somatic Nervous System
• Controls voluntary
muscle movement.
• Uses motor
(efferent) neurons.

16. Autonomic Nervous System
• Controls the
automatic functions
of the body.
• Divided into two
categories…the
sympathetic and the
parasympathetic

17. Sympathetic Nervous System
• Fight or Flight
Response.
• Automatically
accelerates heart
rate, breathing,
dilates pupils, slows
down digestion.

18. Parasympathetic Nervous System
• Automatically slows
the body down after
a stressful event.
• Heart rate and
breathing slow down,
pupils constrict and
digestion speeds up.

19. Reflexes
• Normally, sensory
(afferent) neurons
take info up through
spine to the brain.
• Some reactions occur
when sensory neurons
reach just the spinal
cord.
• Survival adaptation.

20. The Brain
• Made up of neurons
and glial cells.
• Glial cells support
neural cells.
My wife is my glial cell. She
takes care of me!!!

21. Ways to study the Brain!!!
• Accidents: Phineas
Gage.

22. Lesions
Cutting into the brain and looking for change.
Brain tumors also lesion brain tissue.

23. Less Invasive ways to study the
Brain
• Electroencephalogram
(EEG)
• Computerized Axial
Tomography (CAT)
• Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI)
• Positron Emission
Tomography (PET)
• Functional MRI

24. Brain Structures
• Some scientists
divide the brain up
into three parts.
• Hindbrain
• Midbrain
• Forebrain

25. Medulla Oblongata
• Heart rate
• Breathing
• Blood Pressure

26. Pons
• Connects hindbrain,
midbrain and
forebrain together.
• Involved in facial
expressions.

27. Cerebellum
• Located in the back
of our head- means
little brain.
• Coordinates muscle
movements.
• Like tracking a
target.

28. Midbrain
• Coordinates simple
movements with
sensory information.
• Contains the
reticular formation:
arousal and ability to
focus attention.

29. Thalamus
• In Forebrain
• Receives sensory
information and
sends them to
appropriate areas of
forebrain.
• Like a switchboard.
• Everything but smell.

30. Limbic System
• EMOTIONAL
CONTROL CENTER
of the brain.
• Made up of
Hypothalamus,
Amygdala and
Hippocampus.

31. Hypothalamus
• Pea sized in brain, but
plays a not so pea sized
role.
• Body temperature
• Hunger
• Thirst
• Sexual Arousal (libido)
• Endocrine System

32. Hippocampus and Amygdala
• Hippocampus is
involved in memory
processing.
• Amygdala is vital for
our basic emotions.

33. Cerebral Cortex
• Top layer of our
brain.
• Contains wrinkles
called fissures.
• The fissures
increase surface
area of our brain.
• Laid out it would be
about the size of a
large pizza.

34. Hemispheres
• Divided into a left and
right hemisphere.
• Contralateral controlled-left
controls right side of
body and vice versa.
• Brain Lateralization.
• Lefties are better at
spatial and creative tasks.
• Righties are better at
logic.

35. Split-Brain Patients
• Corpus Collosum
attaches the two
hemispheres of
cerebral cortex.
• When removed you
have a split-brain
patient.

36. Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
• Divided into eight lobes,
four in each hemisphere
(frontal, parietal,
occipital and temporal).
• Any area not dealing with
our senses or muscle
movements are called
association areas.

37. Frontal Lobe
• Deals with planning,
maintaining emotional
control and abstract
thought.
• Contains Broca’s Area.
• Broca’s Aphasia.
• Contains Motor
Cortex.

38. Parietal Lobes
• Located at the top
of our head.
• Contains the somato-sensory
cortex.
• Rest are association
areas.

39. Temporal Lobes
• Process sound
sensed by ears.
• Not lateralized.
• Contains Wernicke’s
area.
• Wernicke’s Aphasia.

40. Occipital Lobes
• In the back of our
head.
• Handles visual input
from eyes.
• Right half of each
retina goes to left
occipital lobe and
vice versa.

41. Brain Plasticity
• The ability for our
brains to form new
connections after
the neurons are
damaged.
• The younger you are,
the more plastic
your brain is.

42. Endocrine System
• System of glands
that secrete
hormones.
• Controlled by the
hypothalamus.
• Ovaries and Testes.
• Adrenal Gland

43. Genetics
• Every human cell
contains 46
chromosomes (23 pairs).
• Made up of
deoxyribonucleic acid-
DNA.
• Made up of Genes.
• Made up of nucleotides.

44. Twins
• Best way to really study
genetics because they
come from the same
zygote.
• Bouchard Study
• .69 Correlational
coefficient for IQ tests
of identical twins raised
apart.
• .88 raised together.

45. Chromosomal Abnormalities
• Gender comes from
23rd pair of
chromosomes…men
have XY…woman have
XX.
• Turner’s syndrome is
single X.
• Klinefelter’s syndrome
is extra X…XXY
• Down syndrome….extra
chromosome on 21st
pair.