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Product Development: Biological Influences of Psychology

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In order to better understand how preschool children learn from their play activities, you have advised the Product Development department to study the biological influences of psychology. See the scenario for the specifics of your role.

Develop a short presentation describing the biological influences of psychology. In your presentation you may include elements such as:

1. Functions of the various systems and the divisions of the nervous system.
2. The importance of understanding the biological influences of psychology. Detail what these influences are.
3. The importance that biological factors play in bodily appetites.
4. Similarities and differences in the functions of the spinal cord and the brain.
5. Major areas of the brain and the function of each area. How prescription medicines are designed to positively affect brain function.
6. The way hormones affect our behavior.

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Solution Summary

By including the 6 elements, this solution describes the biological influences of psychology. Supplemented with a nervous system.

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Please see response attached, which is also presented below. I also attached a supporting article.

RESPONSE:

Develop a short presentation describing the biological influences of psychology. In your presentation you may include elements such as:

Note: The list below can act as a tentative outline for your presentation. Let's do an on-line search for information and links that you can consider for each section.

1. Functions of the various systems and the divisions of the nervous system.

The Nervous System is the body's information gatherer, storage center and control system. Its overall function is to collect information about the external conditions in relation to the body's internal state, to analyze this information, and to initiate appropriate responses to satisfy certain needs (Maintain Homeostasis). The most powerful of these needs is survival. The nerves do not form one single system, but several which are interrelated. Some of these are physically separate, others are different in function only. The brain and spinal cord make up the Central Nervous System (CNS). The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) is responsible for the body functions, which are Not under conscious control - like the heartbeat or the digestive system. The smooth operation of the Peripheral Nervous System is achieved by dividing it into Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Systems. These are opposing actions and check on each other to provide a balance. The nervous system uses electrical impulses, which travel along the length of the cells (Neurons). The cell processes information from the sensory nerves and initiates an action within milliseconds. These impulses can travel at up to 250 miles per hour, while other Systems such as the Endocrine System may take many hours to respond with hormones. http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/nervous.html

The Nervous System has TWO Major Divisions.

A. The Central Nervous System (CNS) consist of the Brain and the Spinal Cord. The Spinal Cord carries messages from the body to the Brain, where they are analyzed and interpreted. Response Messages are then passed from the Brain through the Spinal Cord and to the rest of the Body.
B. The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) consists of the neurons NOT Included in the Brain and Spinal Cord. Some Peripheral Neurons Collect Information from the Body and Transmit it TOWARD the CNS. These are called AFFERENT NEURONS. Other Peripheral Neurons Transmit Information AWAY from the CNS. These are called EFFERENT NEURONS. http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/nervous.html

For more discussion of the various systems and the divisions of the nervous system, click http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/nervous.html

NEURONS AND NERVE IMPULSES

1. Communication is vital to the survival of living organisms.
2. To interact with their environment, multicellular organisms have developed a communication system at the Cellular Level.
3. Specialized Cells (Neurons) allow Messages to be carried from one cell to another so that communication among all body parts is smooth and efficient.
4. In HUMANS, these Cells called NEURONS make up the Nervous System.
5. The Nervous System CONTROLS and COORDINATES ALL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS of the Human Body.
6. The Nervous System RECEIVES and RELAYS information about activities within the body and Monitors and Responds to INTERNAL and EXTERNAL CHANGES.

7. The Nervous System has FOUR FUNCTIONS that enable the body to respond quickly. The Nervous System:
A. Gathers information both from the outside world and from inside the body. SENSORY FUNCTION
B. Transmits the information to the processing area of the brain and spinal cord.
C. Processes the information to determine the best response. INTEGRATIVE FUNCTION
D. Sends information to muscles, glands, and organs (effectors) so they can respond correctly. Muscular contraction or glandular secretions. MOTOR FUNCTION http://www.sirinet.net/~jgjohnso/nervous.html

Also see http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/nervous.htm

2. The importance of understanding the biological influences of psychology. Detail what these influences are.

Biological psychology is the scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental states. Because biological psychology and neuroscience both study the nervous system often using the same techniques (such as fMRI and MEG), it is difficult to say whether biological psychology is a branch of neuroscience (or vice versa) or whether they are one and same. Many researchers use the terms interchangeably. Biological psychology is also known as biopsychology, psychobiology, physiological psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and neuropsychology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_psychology

It is important to understand the biological influences of psychology for several reasons, including the way hormones effect our behavior (e.g., normal behavior as well disorders); inheritability of certain diseases and the liks. For example:
· Biological psychology also looks at genetics and their influence on the probability of an individual getting a disease. For example, biological theories of phobias look at a heritability. Davison, Neale and Kring (2004) state that blood, injury and injection phobias run in families; if someone has this specific phobia there is a 64% chance a first degree relative will also have it. This is significantly higher than the percentage at which it occurs in the general population, 3-4%. Studying monozygotic/MZ (identical) and dizygotic/DZ (un-identical) twins is also a method used by biological psychologists. If MZ twins have a higher concordance rate (if one twin has a disorder, the likelihood the other has it) than DZ twins then the disorder is likely to have a biological element. This is because MZ twins share 100% of their genes and DZ twins share only 50%. Of course with twin studies and family studies what must ...

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