1. Biological Foundations of
Behavior
AP Psychology
Mr. Hinder

2. The Nervous System
• Complex neural network carrying
information throughout the body
Nervous System
Central Nervous
System (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous
System (PNS)

3. Divisions of the Nervous System
Nervous System
Central Nervous
System (CNS)
Peripheral
Nervous
System (PNS)
• Composed of the
brain and spinal cord.
• Spinal cord is the
primary means for
transmitting
messages between
the brain and the rest
of the body.
Central Nervous System

4. Divisions of the Nervous System
Nervous System
Central Nervous
System (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous
System (PNS)
• Made up of neurons
with long axons and
dendrites.
• Branches out from
the spinal cord and
brain to reach the
extremities of the
body.
Peripheral Nervous System

5. Divisions of the Nervous System
• Central nervous system (CNS)
• Brain and spinal cord
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
• Somatic nervous system
• Sensory nerves and muscular
activity
• Autonomic nervous system – internal
organs
• Sympathetic nervous system –
arouses
• Parasympathetic nervous system –
calms

6. Central Nervous System
Brain Spinal cord
Central Nervous System
(CNS)
Forebrain Midbrain Hindbrain
Thalamus Hypothalamus
Cerebrum
Limbic
system
Cerebellum Pons Medulla
Corpus
callosum

7. Peripheral Nervous System
Somatic division
• Voluntary muscle
activation
Sympathetic
(generally activates)
Parasympathetic
(generally inhibits)
Peripheral Nervous System
(PNS)
Somatic division
Autonomic
division
Autonomic division
• Controls smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle, and glands;
• Basically involuntary

8. Neuron Structure
• Brain: Approximately 100 billion neurons
• Glial Cells: Provide support and nutrition
• Specialized Cell Structure
• Cell body
• Dendrites
• Axon
• Myelin sheath

9. The Neuron Structure

10. Neural Impulse
• Resting Potential
• Stable, negative charge of an inactive
neuron
• Action Potential
• Ion gates cause depolarization
• Brief, positive electrical charge: firing
• All-or-None Principle
• Once initiated, it cannot be stopped

11. Resting & Action Potential

12. Neurons & Synapses
• Synaptic Transmission
• Neurochemical communication
• Action potential (electrical impulse) is
converted into a chemical signal
• Synapses
• Space between terminal buttons and
the receiving neuron’s cell body or
dendrites

13. Neuron & Synapse

14. Neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters either excite or inhibit
• Acetylcholine
• Muscle actions, learning, memory
• Alzheimer’s disease: ↓ Ach levels
• Nicotine: ↑ Ach levels
• GABA – inhibitory functions
• Anxiety: ↓ GABA levels

15. Neurotransmitters
• Norepinephrine
• Stress and mania: ↑ Norepinephrine
levels
• Depression: ↓ Norepinephrine levels
• Regulates sleep states in conjunction
with ACh
• Dopamine
• Stimulant drugs: ↑ Dopamine levels
• Parkinson’s disease: ↓ Dopamine levels

16. Neurotransmitters
• Oxytocin
• Both a hormone and a neurotransmitter
• Related to onset of lactation in new
mothers
• Related to attachment / emotional
bonds
• Drugs and Neurotransmitters
• Agonist – mimics or enhances NT
effects
• Antagonist – blocks effects of NT

17. Brain Structure
• Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Forebrain
• Hindbrain
• Medulla – control breathing,
regulate reflexes
• Cerebellum – movement,
coordination
• Pons – sleep, arousal

18. Brain Structure
• Midbrain
• Reticular Formation
• Stereotyped behavior patterns
like walking
• Brain Stem
• Alertness, breathing, heart rate,
blood pressure

19. Brain Structure
• Forebrain
• Limbic System – memory and emotion
• Amygdala
• Emotional awareness and expression
• Hippocampus
• Formation and storage of memories
• Thalamus
• Relay station for much sensory
information
• Basal Ganglia
• Coordination of voluntary movements
• Hypothalamus
• Eating, drinking, sexual behaviors
• Emotion, stress, reward

20. The Brain: Structure
• Cerebral Cortex (Four Lobes)
• Occipital Lobe – Vision
• Temporal Lobe – Hearing, language processing, memory
• Frontal Lobe – Intelligence, personality, voluntary muscles
• Parietal Lobe - Spatial location, attention, motor control

21. Cerebral Cortex

22. Tour the Brain
• tour of the brain
• The working of the brain
• BBC Brain Structure and Function

23. Split-Brain Research
• Corpus Callosum
• Large bundle of axons
that connects the two
hemispheres of the
brain
• Hemispheric Specialization
of Function
• Right hemisphere
• Spatial perception,
visual recognition,
emotion
• Left hemisphere
• Verbal processing,
speech, grammar

24. Can you label the structures?