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At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Define and use biological, physiological, and psychological terminology of the neurosciences.
2. Differentiate among specialty areas within Biological Psychology and the related disciplines
within the Neurosciences and the types of research that characterize the biopsychological
approach.
3. Summarize the major issues in human evolution, genetics, and behavioral development that
underlie the "biology of behavior."
4. Generate and explicate concrete examples of invasive vs. noninvasive research methods and
the general principles of research ethics for the study of animals and human beings, including
the research safeguards and the peer-review process in science.
5. Explain scientific approaches used in methodologies for the study of brain-behavior
relationships.
6. Explain the general anatomy and physiology of the nervous system and its relationship to
behavior.
7. Describe neural conduction and synaptic transmission.
8. Discuss the role of the neuroendocrine system as it relates to behavior.
9. Exemplify with concrete examples various brain-behavior relationships including ingestive
behavior, sexual behavior, sleep, learning, memory, stress, drug dependence, and psychiatric
disorders such as affective disorders and schizophrenia.
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I. The Origins of Brain and Behavior
A. Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
B. Evolution of Brain and Behavior
C. Brain Size and Intelligence
II. The Nervous System's Functional Anatomy
A. Overview of Brain Function and Structure
B. Nervous, Central, Somatic, and Automatic System's Evolutionary Development
C. Basic Principles of Nervous System Function
III. Functional Units of Nervous System
A. Cells of Nervous System
B. Internal Structure of Cell
C. Genes, Cells, and Behavior
IV. Neurons and Electrical Signals to Transmit Information
A. Electrical Activity of a Membrane
B. How Neurons Integrate Information
C. How Sensory Stimuli Produce Movement
V. Neural Communication and Adaptation
A. Structure of Synapses, Excitatory and Inhibitory Messages
B. Neurotransmitter Systems and Behavior
C. Adaptive Role of Synapses in Learning and Memory
VI. Influence of Drugs and Hormones on the Brain and Behavior
A. Principles of Psychopharmacology
B. Psychoactive Drugs
C. Responses to Drugs and Treating Drug Abuse
VII. Brain Structures and Functions
A. Measuring and Manipulating Brain and Behavior
B. Chemical and Genetic Measures of Brain and Behavior
C. Neuroscience Research Methods
VIII. Development and Adaptation of Nervous System
A. Neurobiology of Development
B. Brain Development and the Environment
IX. Nature of Sensation and Perception
A. Visual System's Functional Anatomy
B. Neuronal Activity
X. Learning and Memory
A. Neural Systems Underlying Explicit and Implicit Memories
B. Structural Basis of Brain Plasticity
C. Recovery from Brain Injury
XI. Causes of Emotional and Motivated Behavior
A. Evolution, Environment, and Behavior
B. Identifying the Causes of Behavior
C. Control of Regulatory and Non-regulatory Behavior
XII. Sleep, Dream, and the Brain
A. Neural Basis of the Biological Clock
B. Neural Basis of Sleep and Sleep Disorders
C. Sleep and Consciousness
XIII. The Nature of Thought and the Brain
A. Cognition and the Association Cortex
B. Cerebral Asymmetry in Thinking
C. Intelligence and Consciousness
XIV. Biological Bases of Psychological Disorders
A. Classifying and Treating Brain and Behavioral Disorders
B. Understanding and Treating Neurological Disorders
C. Understanding and Treating Psychiatric Disorders
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Biological Psychology. 13th ed. Kalat, James. Cengage Learning. 2018
Physiology of Behavior. 12th ed. Carlson, Neil and Birkett, Melissa. Pearson. 2017
An Introduction to Brain and Behavior. 5th ed. Kolb, Bryan and Whishaw, Ian and Teskey, G. Worth Publishers. 2016
Biopsychology. 9th ed. Pinel, John. Pearson. 2014 (classic)