THE BRAIN The Brain in sum The Brain

THE BRAIN

The Brain in sum

The Brain in Sum Prefrontal Cortex: Dopamine-sensitive neurons Planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making and moderating social behavior Hippocampus: Consolidation of short-term to long-term memory Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and other autonomic nervous system processes Stimulates or inhibits the secretion of pituitary hormones

PSYCHOLOGY

“Old” Psychological Theories Sigmund Freud founded the discipline of psychoanalysis and helped establish the field of verbal psychotherapy The Freudian theory: The id - motivations and instinctual urges are hidden in the unconscious mind The super-ego (our conscience) - upholds the moral ideals that we assume to be “perfection” The ego (rational/conscious mind) tries to maintain a balance between these two

“Old” Psychological Theories

Present day support for this theory Unconscious Motivation: Neuronal pathway connecting perceptual information with “fear receptors” but which bypasses hippocampus Repression of Memories in patients Damage to the frontal limbic region causes Korsakoff’s psychosis where cognitive

However… Criticisms of the Freudian theory: “Pseudo-science”: Little or no scientific evidence (based on patient observations) We should not be trying to force-fit neurobiological data into outdated psychoanalytical theories The ego-id struggle is unlikely to control brain chemistry Need for more biologically based models of dreams, mental illness and normal conscious experience

Criminal Psychology Profiling of criminals based on trend and patterns in behaviour of criminals in the past (esp. serial killers) Profile is usually based on: Victimology Type of crime/location “Trigger” that could have led to the killings

Memory Process by which information is: Encoded Stored Retrieved Short-term memory vs. Long-memory (The working memory)

Atkinson-Shiffrin model Pre-frontal Hippocampu Cortex s

Baddeley and Hitch Model

Torrance Test of Creative Thinking

Right Brain vs. Left Brain

Left brain vs Right brain Complex relationships Corpus Callosum Often cut to cure seizures Provides left/right information Speech in left, identification of visual concepts in right Left responsible for explanative power, right for perception of self

Sleep and Dreams Morpheus and Hypnos—Greek Gods of Dreams and Sleep: found in almost all organisms, sharks sleeps half a brain at a time Dreams: Most mammals + some bird/reptile

Sleep 2 main components- Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) REM longer and more frequent closer to waking Recovery functions NREM have diff brain waves

Dreams No one knows why! : O Frued-Unconscious desires Proposed cognitive purposes: transfers memory from short term to long term Also to clear “junk” memory Testing and selecting schemas Evolutionary Relics Damages to parietal lobe stops dreams

Interpersonal Relationships Psychology of friendship: Beginnings: Commonalities Growth: Reciprocal self-disclosure Intimacy (but not too much) Positive reinforcements Social-Identity Support Friendships benefits when the we identify with the friend our primary social role and the friend supports it Self centered?

Interpersonal Relationships Psychology of Love Triangle theory of love-Intimacy, commitment, passion. Opposites attract FALSE Love is not just a feeling, it is also a commitment/decision

Interpersonal Relationships Neurological basis of Love 3 Stages of Love corresponds to 3 classes of neurotransmitters Lust, Attraction and Attachment Testosterone/estrogen Dopamine/norepinephrine/serotonin, (happiness and addiction) Oxytocin (bonding)

Evil Gene Possibility of a genetic condition that contributes to violence/psychopathy? Callous-Unemotional Children: “lack of affect, remorse or empathy” Unable to feel emotions in others cause of extreme violence

Evil Gene Mirror Neurons: Neurons that fire when we perform OR see others perform an action. Theorized to play a part in empathy Anterior cingulate cortex hypothesized to be involved in empathy Lack of an “empathy molecule”/receptors? Oxytocin (love and boding), serotonin and dopamine (feel good molecules)?

(Interesting) Mental Illness Korsakoffs Syndrome Inability to form long term memory amongst others Neuron loss via malnutrition/alcoholism Prosopagnosia Inability to recognize faces Fusiform Face area Cotard Delusion Patient believes that he is dead Dissociation between recognition and emotion

Mental Illness Schizophrenia Disorganised, distracted thinking, disturbed perceptions, inappropriate emotions Dopamine, thalamus, amygdala overactivity and shrinking cerebal tissue Strongly genetic correlation, impairments in fetal brain development (can be detected early)

Antisocial Personality Disorder Characterized by high intelligence and high apathy even to close ones, heightened aggression Reduced frontal lobes activity Reduced Adrenaline secretion