INTRODUCTION: Neuroscience and Behavior

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.

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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?

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:

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.

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