PSY-707 Biological Bases of Behavior4 semester credits
This course surveys the structural and functional relations of the central nervous system, physiology, sensory processes, and behavior. Study is divided into two subsections: (1) physiological psychology and (2) evolution, genetics, and behavior. Students become familiar with the biology of memory and the biological/genetic aspects of psychiatric disorders. Knowledge of the functioning of the brain at the anatomical, cellular, and molecular levels underpins any understanding of behavior. Biological Bases of Behavior provides fundamental knowledge of brain functions in the interest of providing an understanding of the foundational grounding from which all behavior comes. Attention is paid to the physiology of the brain; the environmental, genetic and evolutionary influences on the brain; and the ways in which the brain processes information, records emotions, and instantiates memory and learning. The course includes an understanding of how information from the environment is processed, the underlying mechanisms of affect and reinforcement, how experience can alter the brain, and what limitations are imposed on an individual following neural damage. It also includes a solid understanding of the evolution of mechanisms involved in behavior, as well as the putative mechanisms of medications in the brain.
Pre-requisites: PSY 500 , PSY 500A , PSY 525 or PSY 533 taken concurrently or completed prior.
Delivery Method: Distance/Electronically Mediated
Note: This course is only open to Clinical or Media PhD students or RCP certificate students.
Grading Default: Letter
Learning Objective(s):
1. Know the major anatomical areas of the brain, their evolutionary significance, and their putative functions, and the structure and function of a neuron.
2. Know the mechanisms of information processing at the cellular and molecular levels and the mechanisms of learning and memory at the cellular, molecular, and anatomical levels.
3. Know the influences of heredity and environment on brain development and functioning, pre-and post-partum and through the life span.
4. Know how the brain regulates bodily and brain functions, and how behaviors arise from the biochemical functions at the molecular level, including the transduction of stimuli into information and the generation of responses to internal and external environments.
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