PSY 403A Physiological Psychology
(4 credit hours)

Fall Semester, 2005 at Houghton College

Paul Young, Department of Psychology

Office: Academic Building B - 324 Phone: 567-9308

Office hours: 2:15 - 3 WF, 2:50 - 3:30 TR; or by appointment

Catalog Description:

Physiology of nervous and glandular systems as they relate to behavior, including sensation, emotion, aggression, learning, and mental disorders. Prerequisite: Four hours of laboratory biology.

General Objectives:

• To understand the elements of physiology that influence the way we think, feel, and act.
• To understand the elements of psychology affected by biological factors.
• To understand the interaction of psychological and biological factors in our experience of life.

Learning Outcomes:

• Be able to discuss various sides of the mind-body problem.
• Know the structure and function of the nervous system.
• Understand the research methods of neuroscience.
• Describe the physiological basis of perception, especially vision.
• Understand the physiological basis of appetitive behaviors.
• Understand the physiological variables associated with sleep.
• Understand the role of reward circuits in learning and addiction.
• Understand the physiological basis of certain mental disorders.

Course Arrangement

• Historical background and philosophical issues
• Methods and their logic or illogic
• Cellular physiology
• Neuroanatomy
• Biochemistry of behavior
• Reception, transduction, projection, and sensation: The sensory systems
• Reflex and voluntary movement and the mind-body problem
• Physiological bases of representative normal phenomena
• Sleep and waking
• Reproductive behavior
• Emotion and stress
• Eating and drinking
• Complex human behaviors and how they go wrong, from a physiological perspective

Textbook : Carlson, Neil R. (2005). Foundations of Physiological Psychology, 6e.  Boston: Allyn & Bacon.  (Includes Neuroscience animations CD.)

Explanation of Assignments

1. Three examinations:

Examinations are essay format, and include terms and concepts to identify, define or explain. You may be asked questions about lab material as well as class content and assigned research.

30 September .....................................15%

2 November .......................................15%

13 December, 10:30 a.m. ...................20%

2. Term paper or project ........................20%

Choose a topic on which you wish to become expert. You may get ideas from the table of contents in the textbook, or any other relevant source.

Research the topic thoroughly, and present your findings in a scholarly fashion:

• A traditional term paper, in APA format, with citations and references.
• A Website, with citations and references.
• A class presentation, with handout references as an annotated bibliography.

You may work individually, or in groups. If you choose to work in groups, consult with me to determine how the expectations about the complexity of your project will change.

Due: 2 December.

3. Lab reports .........................................30%

A written report on each week's lab work is due by the following Monday. Your report should

• Describe the observations you made in the lab exercise
• Connect the lab exercise to the related material in the textbook
• Answer the questions in the lab handout.

PowerPoint Slides

Set 1. Mind-body problem. Biological and physiological roots of physiological psychology.
Set 2. Cells of the nervous system. Structure, types, and action.
Set 3. Synaptic transmission.
Set 4. Psychopharmacology.
Set 5. Vision I
Set 6. Vision II
Set 8. Sleep
Set 9. Sexuality
Set 10. Emotion
Set 11. Eating and drinking
Set 12. Communication and communication disorders
Set 13. Neurological disorders
Set 14. Schizophrenia and other mental disorders

E-discussion

At http://synapse.houghton.edu you will find this course. On the Synapse site under Forums is a Topical Discussion that I have prepared. Read the description of the discussion, and enter a message to show that you have found it. I encourage you to use the forum to continue class discussions or to raise questions not covered in class.

Remember that items you post to the discussion forum may be read by any member of the class, including the teacher. However, nobody outside the class has access to your contributions.