Psychology : Semester I : Biological Basis of Behavior

Sections:

Introduction  |   Section 1  |  Section 2  |   Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 | Section 6

Psychology : Biological Basis of Behavior : Section One How the brain is studied People had been curious about the structure and function of the brain for a very long time but were unable to study it very well. With the exception of studying brains of the dead and observing what happened to injured or damaged brains, the structures and functions of the brain were out of reach. The year 1848 brought a renewed interest in the study of the brains because of a railroad foreman by the name of Phineas Gage. While working with his men to advance the railroads, a rod used to pack dynamite exploded and went through Phineas’s head.  He survived but experienced a total personality change. His injury and especially the change in him sparked a renewed interest in trying to unravel the mysteries of the brain and its abilities. Phineas Gage’s injury    With the progress of medical science and imaging, the brain has now revealed not only its structures but functions as well. Today, we can even watch the brain in action. The first device that was used to measure the brain was an electroencephalograph.  It took readings of the brain’s electrical activity.  It is referred to as an EEG.    (EEG brain wave recording) The new technologies that allow us to image the brain include: Scan What it Does CT - scan (computerized tomography) Takes x-ray photographs of the brain PET - scan (positron emission tomography) Shows brain’s activity by tracing radioactive glucose MRI - scan (magnetic resonance imaging) Takes a detailed picture of the brain’s soft tissue by aligning spinning atoms in a strong magnetic field fMRI - scan (functional MRI) Images the blood flow to the part of the brain being used   CT –scan PET –scan MRI –scan fMRI –scan Next Section!

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