Foundations of Biopsychology – The origin of every thought, emotion, and behavior starts in the brain. This describes biological psychology which in the past was called physiological psychology or behavioral neuroscience. The term physiological was used because of the methods that were put to use in which to experiment on the brain. Examples of these methods are lesioning and stimulation. Although the terms physiological psychology and behavioral neuroscience are still used in the field of psychology, this branch has been separated from the connections between the brain and behavior (Wickens, 2005).
The ancient Greek’s were the first to realize that the brain has importance even though they had never been able to study a human brain. During this time, Plato (429-348 BC) was the first to state that the human ability to reason stems from the brain. Galen (AD 130-200) was the first to point out that the four ventricles of the brain held a major function even though his theory was that behaviors stem from the heart (Wickens, 2005). “However, others who followed Galen expanded these ideas, and in the fourth century AD, Nemesius, the Bishop of Emesa, hypothesised that the lateral ventricles were the site of sensory and mental impressions, the third ventricle was the site of reason, and the fourth ventricle was the site of memory” (Wickens, 2005, para. 7).
Descartes (1596-1650) agreed with Plato, stating that the mind and body are two separate entities but he did believe that the mind and body work together. Descartes came up with his own theory which stated that the exact location in which the mind and the body communicated is called the pineal gland (Wickens, 2005). Although Descartes believed in the mind and body interacting together, he also believed that the body has some of its own mechanical responses to some stimuli or otherwise known as reflexes that do not need intervention from the mind. He would go on to prove his theory by recognizing the bodies ability to breathe and digest food along with the ability to feel emotions and sustain memories (Wickens, 2005).
A man named Luigi Galvani started his own experiments in 1791 on exposed nerves in the detached legs of frogs. Galvani’s experiments included metals and wires which were attached to the nerves located in the frog legs that would make them twitch which began the discovery on the workings of nerves. Even after Galvani, no one seemed to know exactly what nerves looked like even though the microscope had already been around for over 100 years. In 1830 new lenses were being developed which were much stronger and which provided a clearer view then the previous lenses, but it was not until 1875 that scientists were able to view nerves because there were not any useful stains around. A man named Camillo Golgi (1843-1926) changed that by creating a stain which allowed the individual nerve cells, including brain cells, to be seen under a microscope. Santiago Ramon y Cajel (1852-1934) was the first to figure out the firing structures of the brain and to point out that it was not just a mass of cells but a very organized structure (Wickens, 2005). After this, more stains were developed which made it much easier to study nerves. In 1936, a man named John Z. Young recognized a neuron which was located on a giant squid. These particular neurons are much larger than that of a human and when removed from the animal can stay alive for hours in a lab. Through this finding, we now know how neurons work.
Scientists have come together with one common goal in mind and this is to figure out how the mind and body connection works as one. One of these is called social neuroscience and the goal in mind for this branch is to come to a conclusion about the mind and body connection based on social experiences (Cacioppo, 2002). Another is physiological psychology and in this branch they study the nervous system by the use of surgical interventions. In the past lesioning and stimulation of humans were used to do this but now these experiments are tested on non-human subjects (Biological). Psychopharmacology is another that is used, in this branch the effects of medications are tested on behaviors. Psychophysiology is another which is used to study the interactions between physiological activities and physiological processes (Biological).
Although it is known that gene’s are passed from parents to children it really is so much more than that. Not every gene is passed and sometimes separate gene’s will combine and an illness or disorder will show up in one persons DNA when it was not a problem with his or her parents DNA. These are just some of the puzzles that scientists are trying to uncover. As more branches of science come together to understand the mind and body connection, more will be known about the human brain. Hopefully someday doctors will be able to tell expecting parents what should be expected for the unborn child.
Biological Psychology
Cacioppo, J. (2002). Social neuroscience: Understanding the pieces fosters understanding the whole and vice versa. American Psychologist. 57(11). 819-831. Retrieved November 26, 2007. EBSCOhost.
Wickens, A. (2005). Foundations of Biopsychology. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall.. Retrieved electronically November 26, 2007 from: http://www.psypress.com/common/supplementary/184169360X/part1.pdf
