Chapter 1: Biopsychology as a neuroscience

leucotome

A surgical device used in psychosurgery to cut out a core of brain tissue

__________________ are biopsychologists who study the genetics, evolution, and adaptiveness of behavior, often by using the comparative approach.

Comparative psychologists

lordosis

The arched-back, rump-up, tail-to-the-side posture of female rodent sexual receptivity

cognitive neuroscience

a division of biopsychology that focuses on the use of functional brain imaging to study the neural mechanisms of human cognition

scientific inference

a logical process by which observable events are used to infer the properties of unobservable events

Electrocephalogram (EEG)

a measure of gross electrical activity of the brain, commonly recorded through scalp electrodes

With respect to its relationship to creative thinking, critical thinking is:

a necessary foundation for creative thinking.

Koraskoff's syndrome

a neuropsychological disorder that is common in alcoholics and who's primary symptoms include memory loss, sensory and motor dysfunction, and, in its advanced stages, sever dementia

transorbital lobotomy

a prefrontal lobotomy performed with a instrument inserted through the eye socket

prefrontal lobotomy

a surgical procedure in which the connections between the prefrontal lobes and the rest of the brain are cut, as a treatment for mental illness

Translational research:

aims to translate the findings of pure research into useful applications.

between-subjects design

an experimental design in which a different group of subjects is tested under each condition

within-subjects design

an experimental design in which the same subjects are tested under each condition

confounded variable

an unintended difference between the conditions of an experiment that could have affected the dependent variable

psychosurgery

any brain surgery performed for the treatment of a psychological problem ( ie. prefrontal lobotomy)

prefrontal lobes

areas of cortex, left and right, that are located at the very front of your brain- in the frontal lobes

psychology is the study of

behavior

An experiment that tests a different group of participants in each of the experimental conditions is said to use a(n):

between-subjects design.

Korsakoff's syndrome is:

caused in large part by thiamine deficiency

neurons

cells of the nervous system that are specialized for the reception, conduction, and transmission of electrochemical signals

Which division of biopsychology relies on functional brain imaging as its major research method?

cognitive neuroscience

_____________________ is a division of biopsychology that investigates the neural bases of human cognition; its major method is functional brain imaging.

cognitive neuroscience

The study of biological processes by examining different species is known as the _____ approach.

comparative

Donald Hebb developed the first comprehensive theory of how:

complex psychological phenomena might be produced by brain activity

Using different research approaches in such a way that the weaknesses of one approach are compensated for by the strengths of another is known as

converging operations

Who reported discovering a caudate taming center?

delgado

Hebb is BEST described as using a(n) _____ approach in developing the first comprehensive theory of how psychological phenomena may be produced by brain activity.

eclectic

Quasiexperimental studies examine groups of participants who have been:

exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world.

Who was responsible for popularizing the use of the transorbital lobotomy?

freeman

cognition

higher intellectual processes such as thought, memory, attention and complex perceptual processes

The experimenter assigns the participants to conditions, administers the treatments, and measures the outcome in such a way that there is only one relevant difference between the conditions being compared. This difference between the conditions is called the:

independent variable

A strength of the neuropsychological approach is that ____________________, whereas a weakness of the neuropsychological approach is that ____________________.

it focuses on human patients with brain dysfunction; its focus on human patients as subjects usually precludes experiments

Thiamine-deficient rats display:

memory deficits

Emmie is giving a class presentation on the contributions of Nobel Prize winners to psychology's history. She discusses not only the work of Pavlov on classical conditioning but also the work of _____, who developed the prefrontal lobotomy.

moniz

If you were to inject curare into your eye muscles and then try to move your eye, you would see the stationary visual world:

move in the same direction as your attempted eye movement

The field that focuses on the study of the structure of the nervous system is:

neuroanatomy

With respect to the major fields of neuroscience, the study of the chemical bases of neural activity is to the study of nervous system dysfunction as _____ is to _____.

neurochemistry; neuropathology

The field that focuses on the study of interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system is:

neuroendocrinology.

Janae is a graduate student researching the effects of methamphetamine on brain activity. Janae's research is BEST described as an example of the field of:

neuropharmacology

The field that focuses on the study of the functions and activities of the nervous system is:

neurophysiology

A biopsychologist who studies the memory deficits of human patients with brain dysfunction would MOST likely identify with the division of biopsychology called:

neuropsychology

Under normal conditions, the brain mechanisms responsible for the perception of motion don't consider eye movements per se. Instead, they consider:

only those eye movements that are actively produced by neural signals from the brain to the eye muscles.

clinical

pertaining to illness or treatment

The research of _____________________ typically involves the direct manipulation or recording of the neural activity of laboratory animals by invasive surgical, electrical, or chemical means.

physiological psychologists

Biopsychology is sometimes called:

psychobiology

The division of biopsychology that focuses on the effects of drugs on behavior is often called ____________________.

psychopharmacology

Biopsychologists who study the physiological correlates of psychological processes by recording physiological signals from the surface of the human body are often called:

psychophysiologists

There is a tradition of ___________________ research in physiological psychology; the emphasis is usually on research that contributes to the development of theories of the neural control of behavior rather than on research of immediate practical benefit.

pure

The differences between the brains of humans and those of related species are more ______________ than _________________.

quantitative, qualitative

translational research

research designed to translate basic scientific discoveries into effective application (ie. into clinical treatments)

pure research

research motivated primarily by the curiosity of the researcher and done solely for the purpose of acquiring knowledge

Applied Research

research that is intended to bring about some direct benefit to mankind

The empirical method that biopsychologists and other scientists use to study the unobservable is:

scientific inference

Lester and Gorzalka developed a clever way to control for the confounded variable of:

sexual fatigue of males.

quasi experimental studies

studies of groups of subjects that have been exposed to the conditions of interest in the real world; such studies have the appearance of experiments but are not true experiments because potential confounding variables have not been controlled for

case studies

studies that focus on a single case or subject

evolutionary perspective

the approach that focuses on the environmental pressures that likely led to the evolution of characteristics (e.g. of brain and behavior) of current species

generalizability

the degree to which the results of a study can be applied to other individuals or situations

independent variable

the difference between experimental conditions that is arranged by the experimenter

psychopharmacology

the division of biopsychology that studies the effects of drugs on the brain and behavior

comparative psychology

the division of biopsychology that studies the evolution, genetics, and adaptiveness of behavior, often by using the comparative approach

physiological psychology

the division of biopsychology that studies the neural mechanisms of behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments

neuropsychology

the division of biopsychology that studies the psychological effects of brain damage human patients

psychophysiology

the division of biopsychology that studies the relation between physiological activity and psychological processes in human subjects through noninvasive methods

Major weaknesses in the scientific case for the prefrontal lobotomy included the fact that:

the effects of the prefrontal lobotomies were not carefully evaluated

coolidge effect

the fact that a copulating male that becomes incapable of continuing to copulate with one sex partner can often recommence copulation with a new sex partner

cerebral cortex

the layer of neural tissue covering the cerebral hemispheres of humans and other mammals

Neuroplasticity

the notion that the brain is a "plastic" (changeable) organ that continuously grows and changes to fit an individual's environment and experiences

autonomic nervous system (ANS)

the part of the peripheral nervous system that that participates in the regulation of the body's internal environment

consciousness

the perception or awareness of some aspects of one's self or the world

The early reports that the prefrontal lobotomy was therapeutically effective were based on the impressions of the individuals who were the LEAST objective; that is, these early reports were based on the impressions of:

the physicians who had prescribed the surgery.

critical thinking

the process of recognizing the weaknesses of existing ideas and the evidence on which they are based

Morgan's canon

the rule that the simplest possible interpretation fro a behavioral observation should be given precedence

biopsychology

the scientific study of the biology of behavior; a biological approach to the study of psychology

neuroscience

the scientific study of the nervous system

epigenetics

the study of all mechanisms of inheritance other than the genetic code and its expression

ethnological research

the study of animal behavior in its natural environment

comparative approach

the study of biological processes by comparing different species- usually from the evolutionary perspective

neuropathology

the study of nervous system disorders

neurochemistry

the study of the chemical bases of neural activity

Neuropharmacology

the study of the effects of drugs on neural activity

neurophysiology

the study of the functions and activities of the nervous system

neuroendocrinology

the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system

neuroanatomy

the study of the structure of the nervous system

converging operations

the use of several research approaches to solve a single problem

dependent variable

the variable measured by the experimenter to asses the effect of the independent variable

thinking creatively

thinking in productive, unconventional ways

Research that aims to turn the findings of pure research into useful applications for humankind is called _____ research.

translational research

Biopsychology developed into a major neuroscientific discipline in the ____ century.

20th

When there are several possible interpretations for a behavioral observation, the rule is to give precedence to the simplest one; this rule is called:

Morgan's canon