what is psychobiology?
the biological understanding of behaviour
what are the 3 fundamental assumptions of psychobiology?
- behaviour is dependant upon bodily function
- the brain is the primary area involved
-try not to neglect completely the role of other body areas
is the psychobiology approach an example of philosophy?
yes, the body cannot explain the mind therefore we are making an assumption
define reductionism…
a phenomenon is defined in terms of the more elementary processes that underly it
- potentially possible to understand complex behavioural phenomena in therms of neurobiological substrates
what are the 3 degrees of reductionism?
- macro anatomical level
- micro anatomical level
- macro molecule level
what is the macro anatomical level of reductionism?
- functional interaction of different brain areas
what is the micro anatomical level of reduction?
- functional interaction of different brain cells
what is the macro molecule level of reductionism?
- functional interaction of individual protein molecules
define cells:
fundamental building block of all biological organisms
how are cells generated?
by mitosis followed by differentiation
what does the brain do?
contains neurones, information processing and transmitting element of the nervous system
what are glia?
supporting cells
what are neurons?
- fully differentiated
- can’t undergo mitosis
what does the soma/ cell body do?
integrates information
what do dendrites do?
- branch like processes on a cell body, receive info from other neuron’s
what does the axon do?
- long filament like process, branches, conveys information away from the cell body to other neuron’s
where to branches end?
terminals
how do neurons connect?
at a synapse
what is dualism
which argues that the mind is separate from the body. this is incompatible with the psychobiology theory
do we use the perspective of dualism or monism?
monism
what is monism?
the mind is a result of biological function
