Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

44 CHAPTER 2 Neuroscience and BehaviorAsha remembers nothing of the seizureor of being taken by ambulance to the hospitalintensive care unit. She floated in andout of consciousness for the first day andnight. A CAT scan showed some sort ofblockage in Asha’s brain. An MRI scanrevealed a large white spot on the left side ofher brain. At only 32 years of age, Asha hadsuffered a stroke—brain damage caused bya disruption of the blood flow to the brain.She remained in the hospital for12 days. It was only after Asha wastransferred out of intensive care that bothshe and Paul began to realize just howserious the repercussions of the strokewere. Asha couldn’t read or write and haddifficulty comprehending what was beingsaid. Although she could speak, she couldnot name even simple objects, such as atree, a clock, or her doctor’s tie. In thischapter, you will discover why the damageto Asha’s brain impaired her ability toperform simple behaviors, like namingcommon objects.Neuroscience and Behavior Trying to helpyour friend maintain his balance on askateboard, laughing and talking as yousimultaneously walk and scan the path forobstacles or other people, thinking abouthow to help him if he falls—even seeminglysimple behaviors involve the harmoniousintegration of multiple internalsignals and body processes. What kinds ofquestions might neuroscientists ask aboutthe common behaviors shown here?>> Introduction: Neuroscience and BehaviorAs we discussed in Chapter 1, biological psychology is the scientific study of thebiological bases of behavior and mental processes. This area of research is also calledbiopsychology or psychobiology. All three terms emphasize the idea of a biologicalapproach to the study of psychological processes. Biological psychology is one ofthe scientific disciplines that makes important contributions to neuroscience—thescientific study of the nervous system. As neuroscientists, biopsychologists bringtheir expertise in behavior and behavioral research to this scientific endeavor. Someof the other scientific disciplines that contribute to neuroscience include physiology,pharmacology, biology, and neurology.Neuroscience and biological psychology are not limited to the study of the brainand the rest of the nervous system. Throughout this textbook, you’ll encountersome of the many questions that have been studied by neuroscientists. Here aresome examples:• How do you tell the difference between red and blue, sweet and sour, loud andsoft? (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 attitudes affect our vulnerability to infection and disease?(Chapter 12)• How does heredity influence your development? What role doesgenetics play in personality traits? (Chapters 9, 10, and 13)• What role does abnormal brain chemistry play in psychological disorders? Howdo medications alleviate the symptoms of serious psychological disorders?(Chapters 13 and 14)This chapter will lay an important foundation for the rest of this book by helpingyou develop a broad appreciation of the nervous system—the body’s primary communicationnetwork. 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 communicationnetwork, the endocrine system. We’ll then move on to a guided tour of thebrain. We’ll look at how certain brain areas are specialized to handle different functions,such as language, vision, and touch. In Enhancing Well-Being with Psychology,at the end of the chapter, we’ll describe how the brain responds to environmentalstimulation by literally altering its physical structure. And we’ll return to Asha’s storyand tell you how she fared after her stroke.