Axia College Material Appendix C

Brain Response of Behavior

Part I

Note: Parts II and III follow below, complete all three.

Run Multimedias 2.3 and 2.4

Go to the Web site HYPERLINK "http://www.prenhall.com/morris" www.prenhall.com/morris. Click text: Psychology: An Introduction (12th ed.) Click 2 on the select a chapter tool bar. Click Live!Psych on the left hand menu. Select 2.3 and 2.4.

Write a 350- to 700-word response to the following: Explain the communication process of neurons in the brain. List some common neurotransmitters and describe their effect on behavior.

There are more than 10 millions neurons in the average human brain,each neuron being made of of a nucleus, cytoplasm, and a cell membrane. Movement, sensation, thought, and emotion are all results of communication between neurons in the body. Neurons communicate by the way of electrical emotion, connected to the neurons are dendrites and axons. Dendrites have the responsibility of bringing messages to a cell while axons carry messages away from one neuron on to the next neuron. These chemical messages are sent from on neuron to the next through dendrites and axons, by the way of neurotransmitters. The process of electrical impulses traveling down an axon is called action potential When a neuron becomes charged it sends the electrical impulse traveling down to the end of the axon across the synaptic cleft of the next connected neuron. As the electrical traveling reaches the terminal buttons at the end of the axon neurotransmitters are released to pass the message on to the next cell. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that carry and regulate signals between neurons. The message is then received by the next synapse and the neurotransmitter binds with receptors that fits the neurotransmitter specifically. When neurons are disproportion within the body it can lead to the development of mental illnesses

Neurotransmitters can be categorized in one of six categories, acetylcholine, amino acids, neuropeptides, monoamines, purines, and lipids and gases. Acetylcholine it is responsible for transmitting electrical impulses between motor neurons to control the muscles in the body. It also correlates with learning and memory. When there is not enough acetylcholine is linked to Alzheimers disease. Dopamine is categorized under monoamines, it counteracts acetylcholine in controlling muscles, these two neurotransmitters work together to maintain in control of voluntary movement. Epinephrine is also categorized as a monoamines, it works as a stress reliever, norepinephrine influences sleep, and alertness. Glycine Glutamate Aspartate is categorized as an amino acid, it is involved in the learning process as well as memory storage. Cholecystokin increases relaxaion, while histamine controls learning ability, ability to stay attentive, and arousal. Serotonin balances anxiety, mood, appetite, sleep, and sexuality.

Part II

Refer to Ch. 2 (pp. 58-78) In Psychology: An Introduction.

Write a 350- to 700-word response identifying the major regions of the brain and what functions of behavior the systems of each region control.

There major regions of the brain are , the brain stem, the limbic system, the diencephalon, and the cerebral cortex. The brain stem connects the spinal cord and the cerebrum; it consists of the medulla oblongata, the pons, and reticular activating system. The medulla oblongata controls swallowing, breathing, sneezing, heart rate, and blood pressure. The medulla oblongata passes messages between the brain and spinal cord as well as assisting in coordinating body movements, and controlling autonomic functions. The pons is the communication center for both hemispheres of the brain, helps to transfer messages between the brain and the spinal cord. The pons is controls autonomic functions, it is associated with sleeping, walking, and dreaming. The reticular activating system controls attention, cardiac reflexes, motor functions, awareness,sleep, arousal, and sends nerve impulses to the cerebral cortex. The diencephalon consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, and the epithalamus. It is responsible for chewing, hearing, swallowing, smell, taste, respiration, phonation,

facial sensation, and vision. The thalamus filters sensory information detects pain, the hypothalamus controls hunger, thirst, and body temperature. The epithalamus controls sleep patterns and secretes melatonin. The cerebellum is located in the back of the brain stem, it helps to keep sense of coordinating movement, sense of balance, posture, and learning simple skills as well as gained reflexes. The cerebellum consists of the frontal lobes, basal ganglia and the corpus callosum. The frontal lobes regulate impulses as well as reticular, reasoning, motor functions, memory, and planning. The basal ganglia controls cognition, voluntary movement, and movement coordination. The corpus callosum conrtols eye movement and communications between the two hemispheres of the brain. The corpus callosum maintains the balance of attention and arousal. The limbic system controls memory, motives, and emotions like; fear, hunger, and sexual aggression. The limbic simple houses the hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala. The hypothalamus is responsible for the survival process, it controls hunger, thirst, sex, and reproduction. The amygdala is associated with emotions like anger, fear, and aggression. The hippocampus is essential for memory function.

Part III

Consider the following chain of events. Describe in 350-700 words the sensory process that takes place as the scenario unfolds.

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The sensory processes of the scenario provided are are vision, and touch. The brain alerted the senses that it needed to react in the situation. The ball was pitched to the batter and the nerves in his occipital lobe sent electrical occipital to the brain, and the brain processes that a baseball is coming toward him. The thalamus is then relays a message to the brain to processes when it is best to swing at the ball.

The players sense of memory and previous experience allows him follow the ball and to swing at the ball once it is close enough. The pons and the reticular activating system allow the batter to swing at the ball. Upon hitting the ball the players heard a crack noise, the cortex of the brain is then alerted to process this sound. The batter then looks up at the ball that he just hit because the occipital cortex sends a message to the brain alerting it that the ball is up in the air. A message is then sent to the cerebral cortex informing the body to move its legs and run. The pitcher's senses where also alerted as their pitcher's lobe is alerted to look at the ball the body is also stimulated by the and frontal lobes, cerebral cortex telling him to run in the direction of the ball. Electrical impulses sent to the cerebellum helps the batter to determine when to run and where to run based on his experience in previous games of baseball. The catcher is prompted thalamus to attempt to catch the ball with his hands. The catchers cerebellum then processes this message and allows the body to reach for the flying ball, motor processes are alerted and the ball is caught in the baseball mitt. The pitcher is excited to catch the ball so messages are sent to the brain, the amygdala releases dopamine and serotonin as a result to the pitcher's victory. The batter is disappointed that the ball was caught and his brain sends messages of this therefore the secretion of serotonin and dopamine is reduced.

References

http://www.brainexplorer.org/gallery/Gallery_Brain_regions.shtml

http://www.physorg.com/tags/brain+regions/

http://biology.about.com/od/humananatomybiology/a/anatomybrain.htm

BEH 225