PSB 4002 / INTRODUCTION TO BIOPSYCHOLOGY

T TH 12:30 1:45 pm / Fall Semester, 2012

Instructor: Professor Robert Lickliter

DM 260
email: licklite@fiu.edu
webpage: http://dpblab.fiu.edu

Teaching Associate: Josh Herrington

email: joshuahvt@gmail.com

Teaching Assistant: Gina Bretos

email: gbret001@fiu.edu

Instructors Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays: 2 3:30 pm

(DM 260)
or by appointment (email or 305/3483441)

Prerequisites: PSY 2020 / Introduction to Psychology

(or equivalent)

Required Text: Biological Psychology (3rd edition)

by Frederick Toates
Prentice Hall Publishers (2011)

On-Line Text Supplement: Brain Facts: A Primer on the Brain

and Nervous System
Society for Neuroscience (pdf format)
(available on the course webpage:
dpblab.fiu.edu)

Course Goals: The combined scientific disciplines of behavioral and

cognitive neuroscience, physiological psychology, and psychobiology
are often referred to as biopsychology. This survey level course is
designed to examine a variety of topics in the domain of biopsychology
and to explore how their understanding contributes to a better
understanding of behavior. These topics include evolutionary theory,
organization and development of the nervous system, sensing and
moving, maintaining homeostasis, biological rhythms, emotions,
learning and memory, thinking and consciousness, and disorders of the
brain and behavior. While the primary emphasis of the course will be to
develop a better understanding of the complex relationship between
the nervous system, the body, and the environment, we will also
explore such topics as the roles of evolution and development in

Course Format and Grading: There are two

sources of information you will be responsible for:
the class lectures and your assigned textbook
readings. Your grade in this course will depend on
your performance on three midterms and a final
exam. The three midterm exams and the final exam
will consist of both multiple choice and true/false
questions and each exam will count 50 possible
points. The final exam will not be cumulative and will
essentially be a fourth midterm. The material to be
covered in each exam will include both assigned
readings in your text and lecture material presented
in class. This means you are responsible for both
sources of course information, the assigned readings
and the classroom lectures. Your final letter grade in
the course will be directly translated from your
overall percentage, which will be derived from the

Important: Since this is a survey level course and we must

cover a large amount of material over the semester, the
assigned textbook readings and the lecture material presented in
class will rarely overlap in their content, so class attendance is
necessary for you to do well in the course.

No makeup exams will be provided without a valid medical

release. Plan to be in class for all four scheduled exams.
The date of the exams will be announced at least two weeks
prior, and your will receive sample study questions and the
lecture powerpoint slides one week prior to each exam.

Please arrive to lecture on time (12:30 pm). It is distracting

to both the instructor and other students if you arrive after
lecture begins. I appreciate how challenging it can be to be
unplugged for more than an hour nevertheless, I expect you
to turn off your cell phones, social media, etc. and actively
participate in the lecture and discussion while you are in the
classroom.

All aspects of your coursework are covered by the Universitys

Honor System. In regards to cheating and plagiarism - dont

 How

is the nervous system

structured and organized? How
does the nervous system develop?
How does the nervous system
process and represent
information about an organisms
internal and external
environment?
How does the brain change during
learning and how are memories
stored and retrieved? How does
the brain think?

 What

brain sites and activities

underlie emotions and feelings?

What brain
regions are
involved in
language?
How does
consciousness
emerge from the
activities of a
nervous system?

 Your

cerebral cortex, critical to higher brain

functions such as speech, thought, complex
movement patterns, goals and planning,
has about 10 billion neurons (nerve cells)

Each of these neurons

receives connections
from other neurons at
sites called synapses.
There are roughly one
million billion of these
connections in just in
your cerebral cortex

 If

you set out to count these

connections, one connection
(synapse) per second, you would
finish counting 32 million years after
you began counting.

Another

way of getting a feeling for

this complexity is to consider that a
match heads worth of your brain
contains about 1 billion connections.

If we consider how the connections

between neurons might be variously
combined, the number becomes
hyperastronomical = 10 followed by
millions of zeros.

So we have our first clue as to what

makes the brain so remarkable, because
when one adds the chemical factors
(neurotransmitters, hormones) that
influence neurons, as well as billions of
glial cells that influence neurons, we are
talking about the most complex material
object in the known universe.

Complexity turns out to be difficult to

define, but there are five attributes that
in combination seem to be involved:

large

number of parts, large number of

levels
large number of interactions among
parts and levels
hierarchical organization (of multiple
levels)
non-linearity (not A B C D)

 and

perhaps most important, emergent

properties (the whole is greater than the
sum of the parts)

emergent

properties cannot be predicted

based on knowledge of the properties of
the parts alone (example of water, H2O)

emergence

will turn out to be important

in how we make sense of higher order
mental functions, such as thinking,
dreaming, and consciousness

Professor Robert
Lickliter
DM 260 / 305-3483441
licklite@fiu.edu
website:
dpblab.fiu.edu

The

brain is a complex
temporally and spatially multiscale structure that gives rise to
complex molecular, cellular, and
neuronal phenomena that
together form a basis for
perception, movement,
cognition.

The brains job is to facilitate an

adaptive dynamic pattern of
interaction among brain, body, and
the world
In other words, neural systems are
elements of a larger system that
includes the rest of the organisms
body and also its situation in and
interaction with the environment

Proposes that all aspects of perception,

movement, cognition, and interactions with
the environment are based on the coupling
of a brain, in a body, in an environment.

Embodiment thus refers to bodily

interactions with the world, which is a
necessary precondition for subjectivity,
emotion, value and meaning. These
interactions are based on (and constrained
by) the actual shape and physical
capacities and limits of the body.

The overall function of the brain is

to be well informed about 1) what
goes on in the rest of the body, 2)
about what goes on in itself, and 3)
what goes on in the environment.
This regulatory process is about
the business of homeostasis. This
involves (at the very least) the
coupling of a number of complex
systems beyond simply the nervous
system.

Meeting the challenge of

homeostasis involves:
central nervous system
autonomic (peripheral) nervous
system
endocrine system
immune system
limbic system

 Given

that the brains primary job

is to coordinate our dealings with
the environment, it is only in the
context of the brain, body, and
environment system that the
function of the brain can be
understood

Like all cells of the body, neurons contain:

1. nucleus
2. cytoplasm
3. cell membrane
However, neurons are specialized to
communicate with other neurons, muscles,
glands, and other internal organs. This is
achieved via:
4. axon
5. dendrites
6. synapses

Axons are coated

(insulated) by
myelin, improving
the flow of electrical
events from cell to

 The

manner in which complex

phenomena arise from a collection of
interactions between system
components

The

outcome is more than the sum

of its parts

Self-Organization:
Self-organization is the process in
which pattern at the global level of a
system emerges from numerous
interactions among the lower-level
components of the system.
Thus, self-organization is an
emergent property of the system,
rather than imposed on the system
by a pre-specified program or set of

The instructions for development

dont reside or exist anywhere
they emerge out of how an
organism lives and interacts with
its world
This insight leads us to a key
insight in our exploration of
development: the minimum unit
of analysis for understanding
the nervous systems is the
coupling of a brain, in a body,
in a complex physical and

 Self-organization
Reducing

degrees of freedom
Sensitive periods
Developmental cascades

Professor Robert
Lickliter
DM 260 / 305-3483441
licklite@fiu.edu
website:
dpblab.fiu.edu

 Nerve

cells are arranged in circuits and

these are arranged in neural networks

There

are three basic types of neurons:

sensory neurons (input)

motor neurons (output)
interneurons (integration)

 There

are two forms or channels of

communication between neurons
electrical: action potentials / an all or

nothing mode
chemical: neurotransmitters / many and

modulated

 There

are two forms or channels of

communication between neurons
electrical: action potentials / an all or

nothing mode
chemical: neurotransmitters / many and

modulated

HOW NEURONS COMMUNICATE WITH

EACH OTHER CHEMICALLY
The connection between two neurons
is called a synapse
The neurons are not in direct
physical contact at the synapse but
are separated by a small gap called
the synaptic cleft
The neuron transmitting to another is
called the presynaptic neuron
The receiving neuron is the
postsynaptic neuron

The Synapse Between a Presynaptic

Neuron and a Postsynaptic Neuron

HOW NEURONS COMMUNICATE WITH

EACH OTHER

A Presynaptic
Terminal Releases
Neurotransmitter
at the Synapse

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The human ovum is the largest cell in

the body, roughly 15 times larger than
other cells, but it is still no larger than a
dot, much much smaller that the period
at the end of this sentence.
Over about 277 days of gestation, this
one fertilized cell will become trillions of
cells, all organized into the various
glands, tissues, organs, etc. that
constitute our brain/body system.

Development of the Nervous

System
The human genome
has approximately
25,000
genes; the brain and spinal
cord (CNS) has more than 100 billion
neurons. Clearly these numbers
indicate that nervous system
development cannot be simply
genetically determined or prescribed.
Gene expression is certainly involved
in all aspects of nervous system activity
and the behavior it supports, but many

Development is an historical
process
- initial conditions are powerful
- one thing leads to another
- what happens before guides and
constrains
what can happen next
- particular pathways taken promote or
make less
likely other pathways becoming

Two Key Concepts in Making

Sense of Developmental
Processes:
Processes
- self-organization
- loss of degrees of freedom

Self-Organization
Example: termite mounds

Loss of Degrees of
Freedom:
The emergence of structure or
pattern at any point in a
developmental sequence constrains
or limits what structure or pattern
can occur next.
Example: moving into a new
apartment

Professor Robert
Lickliter
DM 260 / 305-3483441
licklite@fiu.edu
website:
dpblab.fiu.edu

Thursday, September 13 (50 questions,

multiple choice and true/false format)

sample study questions and powerpoint

slides will be available on the course
website (dpblab.fiu.edu) by Thursday,
September 06

Exam will cover textbook chapters 1, 3,

and 6 and lecture material through
Tuesday, September 11.

Some perspective:
How old
are you?
As it turns out, not a straightforward
question, as the egg that developed
following fertilization into you was formed
when your mother was a fetus so, at
least from our mothers side of the story,
you are as old as your mother.

Human development before birth takes

place in three stages:
zygote (first 2 weeks following conception)
embryo (3-8 weeks following conception)
fetus (8-38 weeks following conception)

This process of prenatal development consists

of a cascade of many thousands of events a
cascade is a succession of sequentially
interdependent events, with each event both
triggered/influenced by the event(s) preceding
it and in turn itself acting as a trigger for the
next event(s).

The cascade of prenatal development involves

gene expression events, chemical events,
cellular events, and their interactions. No
surprise - these events are influenced by
factors both internal and external to the
developing embryo or fetus.

Key Processes in the Prenatal

Development of the Nervous
System

1. Induction: cells on the ectoderm

form a neural tube, induced by
cells below it in the mesoderm
2. Proliferation: cell division
results in an incredibly rapid
generation of tens of thousands of
cells per minute (during the last
half of gestation, over 250,000

Key Processes (continued)

3. Migration: moving from the
neural tube to the location where
the cell will form a part of the brain
and become functional, with help
from glial cells
4. Aggregation: similar cells come
together by means of chemical and
electrical gradients produced by
surrounding cells

Key Processes (continued)

5. Differentiation: sprouting axon
and dendrites by means of a growth
cone

6. Circuit and Network Formation:

connecting synapses and axons and
producing neurotransmitters, thereby
establishing channels of

Circuit Formation
During circuit formation, the axons of
developing neurons grow toward their
target cells and form functional
connections.
To find their way, axons form
growth cones at their tip which
sample the environment for
directional cues.
Chemical and molecular signposts
attract or repel the advancing axon,

Key Processes (continued)

7. Cell Death (apoptosis): based
on patterns of activity, experience,
and use

DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE

IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
8. The next stage of neural development,
circuit pruning, involves the elimination of
excess neurons and synapses
the developing nervous system refines its
organization and continues to correct errors by
eliminating large numbers of excessive synapses
over time.

Prenatal Development of the

Nervous System
(summary of eight processes)

Induction
Proliferation
Migration
Aggregation
Differentiation
Circuit formation
Cell death (apoptosis)
Circuit pruning

Prenatal Development

 Self-organization
Reducing degrees of freedom
Developmental cascades

Professor Robert
Lickliter
DM 260 / 305-3483441
licklite@fiu.edu
website:
dpblab.fiu.edu

POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM

patterns of increased connectivity and organization, and synchronizatio

of
activity
increased number of dendrites, axon branches, synapses
increased brain weight, increased thickness of cortex
increasing degree of mylenation of axons
all of these processes involve experience and activity-dependent
competition and selection

POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM

The neural networks of the brain are

made during development by cellular
movement, extensions, and connections
The number of cells being made, dying,
and
becoming incorporated into
the nervous system is
huge. The entire
situation is a dynamic one, depending
on signals, proteins, cell movement,
divisions, gradients, and cell death, all

 Stimulation

continues to shape synaptic

construction and reconstruction
throughout an individuals life.

Much

of the change resulting from

experience in the mature brain involves
reorganization, a shift in connections that
changes the function of an area of the
brain.

Professor Robert
Lickliter
DM 260 / 305-3483441
licklite@fiu.edu
website:
dpblab.fiu.edu

Nervous System
The process of nervous system
development is cumulative (builds on itself)
events occurring in one place require that
previous events have occurred at other
places. In other words, brain structure and
function is
historical
situated
contingent

Nervous System

Nervous System
The notion of experience-dependent
development

-interactions with the environment modify

gene activity and expression and shape the
course of nervous system construction and
modification

Postnatal Maternal Care in

Rodents
Variations in care
lead to variations
in offspring
phenotype

stress
responsivi
ty
response
to reward
natural variations
in maternal care

High vs. Low

levels of
licking/grooming
stimulation of pups

cognition

social
behavior

Real Time/ Developmental

Time

Real Time: firing patterns of diverse

neural networks; cell groups transmit
information to each other; activities of
brain regions cohere or synchronize it real
time (we can now observe this with neural
imaging technology)
Developmental Time: increasing
specification of structure; increased levels
of organization based on real time use. The
overall cumulative effects of activity and

The central nervous system is arranged in a

hierarchy.
As you ascend from the spinal cord through
the hindbrain and midbrain to the forebrain,
the neural structures become more complex
and so do the behaviors they control.

The hemispheres are divided into four lobes

frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal each
named after the bone of the skull above it.

Same Basic Design:

Genes (at least most)
Neurons and neural networks
Action potentials
Neurotransmitters
Ion channels
Hormones

The Brain
The human brain is mostly distinguished
from the brains of other mammals, including
other primates, by the number of brain cells
and the patterns of their interconnections.
The two regions of the brain that differ most
between humans and other primates are the
frontal and parietal lobes of the cortex.
These structures are 5-8 times larger in
humans and remain highly open to shaping
by the environment and experience for 5 to
10 times longer during postnatal

 Powerpoint

slides and sample study

questions will be available on the
course website (dpblab.fiu.edu) on

Exam

will cover textbook chapters 1,

3, 5 and lecture material through

What determine the structure and

behavior of a system are particular
relational conditions of the system
and the environment over time
Self-organization can be contrasted
to the notion of organization by
design.
Example: A car or a computer - in
order to work, every detail must
function according to a preconceived