Learning Objectives

These are the concepts and the learning objectives for Chapter 3. Read them carefully as part of your preliminary survey of the chapter.

Neurons: The Elements of Behavior

1. Understand the significance of the biology that underlies behavior and identify reasons why psychologists study these biological underpinnings, especially the brain and the nervous system. (pp. 54-55)

2. Describe the structure of the neuron and its parts. (pp. 55-57)

3. Describe the all-or-none law of neural transmission, the resting state and action potential of the neuron, as well as the complete transmission of a message from initial stimulation to transmission across the synapse. (pp. 57-60)

4. Name key neurotransmitters and their functions and describe their known or suspected roles in behavior as well as in illnesses. (pp. 60-61)

The Nervous System

5. Describe the major divisions of the nervous system, including the central and the peripheral, the autonomic and somatic, and the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. (pp. 62-42)

6. Outline the major developments in the evolution of the nervous system and describe the associated fields of evolutionary psychology and behavioral genetics. (pp. 65-66)

The Brain

7. Name the techniques used to map and study the brain. (pp. 67-69)

8. Name the components of the central core and the limbic system and describe the functions of their individual parts. (pp. 69-72)

9. Name the major areas of the cerebral hemispheres, especially the lobes and the cortex areas, and describe the roles of each area in behavior. (pp. 73-76)

The Specialization of the Hemispheres: Two Brains or One?

10. Discuss the issues involved with brain specialization, brain lateralization, and the split-brain operation, including what has been learned about the two hemispheres from that procedure. (pp. 77-78, 80)

11. Discuss differences in brain lateralization as influenced by gender and culture. (pp. 78-80)

The Endocrine System: Of Chemicals and Glands

12. Describe the function of the endocrine system, including its relationship to the hypothalamus and the functions of the pituitary gland. (pp. 80-82)

13. Describe how biofeedback can be used to control some of the basic biological processes. (p. 82)