2: Neuroscience and Behavior

2.1 INTRODUCTION: Neuroscience and Behavior

Neuroscience and Behavior Even simple behaviors, such as laughing and talking while skating with a friend, involve the harmonious integration of multiple internal signals and body processes. What kinds of questions might neuroscientists ask about the common behaviors shown here?

Sam Edwards/age fotostock

As we discussed in Chapter 1, biological psychology is the scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental processes. Biological psychology is one of the scientific disciplines that make important contributions to neuroscience—the scientific study of the nervous system. Other scientific disciplines that contribute to neuroscience include biology, physiology, genetics, and neurology.

biological psychology

The specialized branch of psychology that studies the relationship between behavior and bodily processes and systems; also called biopsychology or psychobiology.

neuroscience

The study of the nervous system, especially the brain.

Neuroscience and biological psychology are not limited to the study of the brain and the nervous system. Throughout this textbook, you’ll notice the many questions that have been studied by neuroscientists. Here are some examples:

How do you tell the difference between red and blue, sweet and sour, loud and soft? (Chapter 3)
What happens in the brain when you sleep, dream, or meditate? (Chapter 4)
What exactly is a memory, and how are memories stored in the brain? (Chapter 6)
Why do you get hungry? How do emotions occur? (Chapter 8)
How do emotions and personality factors affect your vulnerability to infection and disease? (Chapter 13)
How does heredity influence your development? What role does genetics play in personality traits and psychological disorders? (Chapters 9, 11, and 14)
What role does abnormal brain chemistry play in psychological disorders? How do medications alleviate the symptoms of serious psychological disorders? (Chapters 14 and 15)

This chapter will lay an important foundation for the rest of this book by helping you develop a broad appreciation of the nervous system—the body’s primary communication network. We’ll start by looking at neurons, the basic cells of the nervous system. We’ll consider the organization of the nervous system and a closely linked communication network, the endocrine system. We’ll then move on to a guided tour of the brain. We’ll look at how certain brain areas are specialized to handle different functions, such as language, vision, and touch. In Psych for Your Life, at the end of the chapter, we’ll describe how the brain responds to environmental stimulation by literally altering its physical structure. And we’ll return to Asha’s story and tell you how she fared after her stroke.