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Biological Psychology Melissa Thompson University of Phoenix Biological Psychology When most hear the words biological/psychology, many tend to have trouble rapping their mind around it. Psychology is the study of behavior, so how does biology fit into this equation? Well we have to assume that our brain has influence or somehow effects are behavior. In order to prove or disprove this theory, we have to research the biology and psychology of both the brain and our behavior. So how do we do this, well first we have to understand the brain and how it functions, as humans we have roughly 100 billion nerve cells in the brain.
This is an overwhelming amount to keep track of at one time but ever so important to researchers. Nerve cells in the brain can be a study guide because they have specific ways of acting or interacting when we expel certain behaviors. Of course researchers are still in the infancy stage of completely understanding or being able to identify every aspect of what are brain is doing when we expel certain behaviors. If Researchers could figure out the complications of the brain and behavior those complications cause, they will be able to make amazing discoveries, for the world of biopsychology.
Such as curing diseases and understanding some of the most mysterious disorders. In the beginning, biological psychology started back as far as Avicenna, Avicenna was a Persian psychologist whose specialty was in treatment of illness caused by emotions, he also gave humans a way to link changes in a human’s pulse with their feelings. From there, biological psychology was incorporated in Descartes’ mind body approach to mental health and medicine. During the time of Descartes the big question remained are the mind and body connected? Do they work together with a soul or sprit?
Or do they operate in a mechanical function with the body? Descartes focused his research on innate ideas, such as reflex action and mind and body interactions. Descartes believed that the pineal gland, which is a structure in the human brain, was the connection between the mind and body. From Descartes’ ideas came Descartes’ innate doctrine, Descartes doctrine explains that the mind can exist without the body. The mind is an immaterial substance, the mind and body are not identical. Of course, as science seems to go forward more and more proof points to the two, mind and body being intertwined.
Knight Dunlap, advanced the information on biopsychology with a book he wrote called “An Outline of Psychology,” and “Psychobiology,” William James, also wrote a text book called, “The Principles of Psychology. ” While, the main idea of biopsychology did not originate with these two men. What there impute in this text did, was to open the door for psychology and biology, to be studied together instead of as a separate entities. Biological psychology consists of many different areas, such as paleontology, evolutionary biology, neurobiology, and neuroscience.
Much of the research being done is in hopes of helping individuals who suffer from cognitive disorders, many times accompanied with physical deficits. Such as autism and Alzheimer’s. Biopsychology is also committed to finding solution to such disorders as schizophrenia, and depression. The general idea is that these disorders are somehow related to the chemical imbalances in the human brain. These imbalances make neurons tramitions dysfunctional, and like I said previously, with 100 billion neurons to watch and research, in this is a field of study.
There is still a long way to go to be successful in the ultimate mission. Conclusion The field of biological psychology is an attempt to answer many questions; such as, is homosexuality biological based or an individual choice? The same with alcohol and drug addiction is it biological or an implication of a weak character? These are just a few of the question’s psychological biology theories hope to answer one day through reasearch. It is important to understand how the behavior and brain are connected.
There are many alcoholics and homosexuals who would be eternally grateful to know for a fact that there disease is biologically based and it is not something they them selves have done wrong. So where do we go in the way of biopsychology? In each disorder the tramition of the neurons is disrupted, meaning that if researchers can narrow down where the disruption occurs, and when the effects of the mood beings References: Descartes, Rene, (1986) Descartes psychology by J. Cottingham, Cambridge: Cambridge Cottingham J. (1986) University Presshttp://fatimahye. muslimpad. om/2010/03/05/descartes-mindbody-dualism/ Cochran R. Barbra (2003-2010) what is Biological Psychology, http://www. wisegeek. com/what-is-biological-psychology. htm . (2010). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 23, 2010, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/458833/biological-psychology Hernandez Carrie Ann (2002-2010) what is Biological Psychology? http://www. helium. com/items/1415090-psychology-what-is-biological-psychology Breedlove S. Marc, Rozenzweig R. Mark, Watson V. Neil Learning Biological Psychology http://www. biopsychology. com/5e/lbp5e/home/home. html