The ACC Course Catalog offers this description of PSYC 2330: 

An introduction to the biological bases of behavior. Topics include evolution, genetics, research methods in behavioral neuroscience, motivation and emotion, sensation and perception, learning and memory, lifespan development, cognition, psychological disorders, and other complex behaviors. 

Course Rationale:
The rationale for a course in Biological Psychology is to introduce students to psychobiology, comparative psychology, and neuroscience at the lower division level. This course will provide a solid introduction to this ongoing field of research and application. 

Prerequisites: PSYC 2301, Introduction to Psychology, with a grade of C or better.

Instructional Methodology: 

These Fall 2025 classes will be taught as pure lecture sections. Lecture/discussions will occur and actual physical attendance by students is required and expected. Students will be expected to learn the lecture material! They will also be expected to read and study the textbook for this class. Written learning objectives accompany this syllabus. These objectives inform the student as to what textbook material is likely to be covered on the exams. Although a Blackboard page will exist, no written assignments or exams will be administered in Blackboard, which will be used only for announcements and to provide a confidential grade book for students in this class. The standing homework assignment will be to study the chapters of the textbook thoroughly and in depth to prepare for the in-class exams.

Technology Support Services:

Austin Community College now provides free, secure drive-up WiFi to students and employees in the parking lots of all campus locations. WiFi can be accessed seven days a week, 7 am to 11 pm. Additional details are available at Drive-up Wifi.

The Student Affairs Help Desk can assist with questions you have about ACCmail, ACCeID, Admissions and Records, Financial Aid, and general Advising questions:

Email: helpdesk@austincc.edu

For Information & live chat visit austincc.edu/help

Students who submit the Student Technology Access Form and indicate they need help accessing their online learning environment to successfully complete their courses are eligible to check out an ACC iPad for use during the semester. You must be registered for a credit course, Adult Education, or Continuing Education course. 

Grades will be determined by four hour exams, which will be provided in class as scheduled. The exams will be multiple choice exams and will be taken within one class meeting, during time set aside for this purpose. The exams will be timed and allotted 60 minutes. Each exam will provide a score based on the percentage of correct answers. At the end of the semester, when all four exams will have been taken the average percentage score will be calculated. 

If the average score on the hour exams is 90.0 to 100% correct, the course grade will be A. 

If the average score on the hour exams is 80.0 - 89.9 %, the course grade will be a B. 

If the average score on the hour exams is 70.0 - 79.9%, the course grade will be a C. 

If the average score on the hour exams is 60.0 - 69.9 %, the course grade will be a D. 

If the average score on the hour exams is below 60.0, the course grade will be F. 

Note: There is no Extra Credit in this class.

Make-Up Exams will be provided in the Testing Center at the Round Rock Campus and are only for students who did not take the regularly scheduled in-class exam. (They are not re-tests.) The Make-Up Exams will be multiple choice exams which will produce a score as percentage correct. The Make-Up Exam score will replace the score of zero for the missed exam. Make-Up Exams must be taken before the next regularly scheduled hour exam is given in class. If not taken by the deadline, a score of ZERO will be permanently recorded for the missed exam. Note: There is no Make-Up Exam for the Fourth Exam because the semester ends the day of the Fourth Exam in class. 

Incomplete Grades 

An incomplete (grade of "I") will only be given in Fall of 2025 due to extenuating circumstances. What constitutes “extenuating circumstances” is left to the instructor’s discretion. If a grade of I is given, the remaining course work must be completed by a date set by the student and professor. This date may not be later than two weeks prior to the end of the Spring, 2026 semester. A grade of I also requires completion and submission of the Incomplete Grade form, to be signed by the faculty member (and student if possible) and submitted to the department chair.

If an Incomplete is not resolved by the deadline, the grade automatically converts to an “F.” Approval to carry an Incomplete for longer than the following semester or session deadline is not frequently granted. 

The textbook for this class is Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues v2.0
By: Martin S. Shapiro Published: 2024 ISBN (Digital): 979-8-88794-311-4 

This book may be purchased in a variety of formats at the FlatWorld Publisher's web page at this link. It is absolutely required for this class and students will be expected to read this book and learn from it for exam purposes. Although the ACC Bookstore will sell an access code to this book, the best price is available on the FlatWorld website. 

Course Learning Outcomes:

According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

1. Define and explain the biological foundations of behavior, including theories, history, and research
methods.
2. Describe the evolution and development of the nervous system – neuroanatomy, neurophysiology,
neurotransmission, and neuroendocrinology.
3. Identify the structures and function that underlie sensation, perception, and motor control.
4. Identify and discuss the regulation of behavior, including motivation and emotion, sexual behavior, and
biological rhythms.
5. Articulate the biological components of learning, memory, and language.
6. Describe the biological underpinnings of age-related changes in cognition and socioemotional functioning
over the lifespan.
7. Examine how biological processes impact health and well-being.

Psychology Program Level Student Learning Outcomes:

Understand psychological concepts and be able to recognize them in real-world contexts.

Acquire a basic understanding of major perspectives in the field.

Gain an awareness of the breadth of the academic discipline of psychology.

Understand the various research methods psychologists use and critically evaluate evidence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Biopsychology: Fundamentals and Contemporary Issues v2.0

By: Martin S. Shapiro

Published: August 2024

ISBN (Digital):   979-8-88794-311-4

Chapter 1:  History and Introduction

Chapter 1.2   History of Neuroscience

1. Describe significant contributions to neuroscience in ancient Egypt and Greece, during the Renaissance, during the Age of Enlightenment, and in the 1800s through the early 1900s. Who were some of the significant thinkers during these times?
2. Explain the practice of trepanation and what it was thought to accomplish. Describe a form of trepanation that occurred in the mid-1900s.
3. Describe the historical connection between artists and neuroanatomy by providing some examples.
4. Explain the difference between dualism and monism. Which of these philosophies is the way we address neuroscience today, and why?

Chapter 1.3   The Many Areas of Biopsychology

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between holism and reductionism, and give examples of each approach in psychology. Also, explain the concept of an emergent property and why this is important for scientists to understand.
2. Describe the difference between an applied approach and a basic approach to neuroscience.
3. List subdisciplines in neuroscience that are typically found in a psychology department, and give examples of the type of research people in these fields might conduct.
4. List subdisciplines in neuroscience that are more often found in biology, zoology, or medicine and some of their research and application interests.

1.4   Why Studying Biopsychology Is Important

Learning Objectives

1. List some ways that a course in biopsychology can be important to people with diverse interests in psychology and other majors.
2. Give an example of how neuroscience is the foundation of many subdisciplines in psychology.
3. Describe how an understanding of neuroscience can be beneficial to someone with interests in applied aspects of psychology.
4. List some myths and misunderstandings about the brain.
5. Provide some examples of how companies are selling products without proof of effectiveness that they claim are beneficial for the brain and can help with mental disorders.
6. Provide examples of why studying neuroscience can help prepare you to make sound ethical decisions about the future. What past events demonstrate the importance of moral thinking in neuroscience?

1.5 Contemporary Issues: The Future and Transhumanism

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of ways that humans are connecting to computers through their nervous system and techniques that might change in the future.
2. Describe the movement known as transhumanism. How are humans changing today, and what might the future hold?

Chapter Two: Functional Anatomy

2.1 Cells of the Nervous System

Learning Objectives

1. Diagram and label a typical neuron.
2. Describe the functions of the structures of a neuron.
3. Diagram types of neurons and how they differ from each other.
4. Diagram and label a reflex arc.
5. Describe different macro and microglial cells and their functions.

2.2 Anatomical Orientation and Directional Terms

Learning Objectives

1. Use orientation language to describe how one anatomical structure relates in space to other structures.
2. Describe different areas of the brain using directional terms such as dorsal, ventral, anterior, and posterior.
3. Be able to identify the three different planes (cuts) of the brain.

2.3 Basic Divisions and Structures of the Central Nervous System

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the basic divisions of the nervous system.
2. Diagram and label the basic anatomy of the spinal cord.
3. Be able to identify the different layers of the meninges.
4. Be able to identify the different ventricles in the brain and the function of the cerebral spinal fluid.

2.4 Brain Anatomy

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the five major embryological divisions of the brain and how they differ between mammals and other animals (e.g., sharks).
2. Label the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and be able to discuss each lobe’s basic function.
3. Describe the story of the frontal lobotomy.
4. Explain the functions of the basal ganglia and identify its major structures.
5. Describe the functions of the limbic system and identify its major structures.
6. Be able to identify the thalamus, hypothalamus, tectum, pons, and medulla of a sagittal section of a human brain. Describe each structure’s theoretical function.
7. Describe how the cells of the cerebellum are different from the cerebral cortex.

2.5 Contemporary Issues: Big Brain Projects

Learning Objectives

1. Identify some of the big brain projects happening around the world.
2. Describe the goals of these projects and some of their methodologies.

Chapter 3Neuron Communication

3.1 Neuron Membrane and Polarity

Learning Objectives

1. List the most critical ions in neuron communications.
2. Describe how the concentration of certain ions differs across a cell membrane.
3. Learn what neuron membranes are made of and what creates membrane potential.
4. Explain the difference between resting potential and threshold potential.
5. Describe the basic types of ion channels and how they work.

3.2   Action Potential

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how an action potential is created at the axon hillock or axon initial segment.
2. Describe what happens at different stages of an action potential regarding ion channels opening and closing.
3. Explain why an action potential is considered to be an “all-or-none” event.
4. Describe why myelin increases the speed of an action potential traveling down an axon.
5. Explain how Na⁺ ions are transported out of the neuron and K⁺ ions are transported in after an action potential. Describe why this process needs energy.

3.3  The Synapse

Learning Objectives

1. List the different ways that a neuron can connect by a synapse to another.
2. Explain the difference between a gap junction synapse and one with a synaptic cleft.
3. Describe the process of exocytosis and the voltage-gated ion channel involved.
4. List two different types of postsynaptic receptors and describe how they function.
5. Describe two ways that neurotransmitters can affect the polarity and ultimately the rate of action potentials of a postsynaptic neuron.
6. Explain the difference between a graded potential and an action potential.

3.4  Neurotransmitters

Learning Objectives

1. List the major neurotransmitters and describe some of their roles in the nervous system. Which are excitatory, inhibitory, or both?
2. Describe the difference between an agonist and antagonist, and give some examples for each type of neurotransmitter.
3. List the types of receptors for each neurotransmitter.
4. Describe how neurotransmitters are regulated in the synapse and repackaged by the presynaptic neuron.

3.5 Contemporary Issues: Connectomes

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the field of connectomics and how it is different from other ways of mapping the brain.
2. Explain why creating connectomes is so difficult.
3. List benefits that could come from mapping the nervous system with connectomes.

Chapter 4   Research Methods: Histology, Imaging, and Stimulating

4.1 Scientific Method and Animal Research

Learning Objectives

1. List the five stages of the scientific method and give examples of what happens at each stage.
2. Describe the difference between a hypothesis and a theory.
3. Provide reasons why animals are used in research in psychology and neuroscience.
4. List the types of animals most often used in research and provide reasons why.

4.2 Animal Surgical Techniques

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the different ways that microelectrodes are used in animal research.
2. Differentiate between lesions and cannulas in terms of their functions in research.
3. Explain how microelectrodes or cannulas are placed at specific locations in the brain using stereotaxic surgery.
4. Describe what a sham control group is and why it is needed.
5. Explain how slices of the brain are created using a microtome and why this technique is used.

4.3  Histology, Staining, and Tracing

Learning Objectives

1. Describe different methods of neurohistology and how they work, including Golgi staining, Nissl staining, and GFP.
2. Tell the story of Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Camillo Golgi. Who were they, and what did they contribute to neuroscience?
3. Explain how Brainbow transgenic mice are created.
4. Differentiate immunostaining from other types of neuron staining methods.
5. Describe the difference between anterograde and retrograde tracing and techniques used for neuron tracing.
6. Provide examples of how modern technologies are being used to help in the difficult task of tracing neurons in a three-dimensional space.

4.4  Scanning and Recording

Learning Objectives

1. List devices that measure physiological reactions such as heart rate, skin conductance, and muscle activity, and describe how they are used in research.
2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using CT scans, EEGs, fMRIs, PET scans, and MEG scans when researching neuroscience topics.
3. Differentiate between continuous and ERP research with EEGs.
4. Provide the basics of how MRIs and fMRIs produce brain images.
5. Describe the brain function information that DTI and tractography provide that other scanning devices do not.
6. Explain how PET scans are different from MRIs.
7. Describe how MEG uses magnetic fields to produce brain images and activities.

4.5  Brain Stimulation and Modification

Learning Objectives

1. Describe different methods for stimulating or dampening activity in the human brain.
2. Differentiate between tDCS and TMS, and describe ways they are used in research.
3. Provide examples of how deep brain stimulation is used with humans to alleviate neurological disorders.
4. Describe the biofeedback principles that enable people to change biological functions that are typically out of conscious control. Provide examples of how biofeedback is used.

4.6 Contemporary Issues: Brain-Computer Interface

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of technology that connects brain activity to control computers and machines.
2. Describe some limitations to BCI and BMI.
3. Provide examples of how BCI and BMI are used in computers and with people who have lost control of their limbs.
4. Describe how robots or machinery might be controlled by just nervous tissue.
5. Discuss how these technologies might be used in the future.

Chapter 5 Genetics and Evolution

5.1 DNA and Genetics

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the basic form and function of DNA.
2. Explain how an allele is related to a gene, and explain the difference between genotype and phenotype.
3. Describe sickle cell disorder as being caused by having homozygous recessive alleles. If two people are heterozygous for sickle cell (e.g., they are carriers), describe what would be the theoretical ratio genotype and phenotype of their children.
4. Explain what is meant by the “nature versus nurture” argument, and provide some examples of why this is not a good way to think about genetic influences on traits.
5. Describe how PKU is a good example of why nature and nurture work together.
6. Define epigenetics and provide specific ways it is thought to work on influencing the expression of genes.
7. Provide an example of epigenetics’ effect on behavior.

5.2 Methods for Studying Genetics in Neuroscience

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between DNA sequencing, genetic testing, and genetic engineering.
2. Describe ways that genetic testing is used in medicine and neuroscience.
3. Provide examples of genetically modified organisms in both plants and animals.
4. Describe how genome-wide association studies and SNPs are used to identify genetic markers for certain traits and psychological disorders. 
5. Explain how genetic engineering is used in neuroscience research.
6. Provide examples of how knockout mice are used in research.

5.3 Genes and Behaviors

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how heritability is understood by providing examples of differences between monozygotic and dizygotic twins.
2. Explain the difference between within-group and between-group comparisons of heritable characteristics. Explain why the distinction is important.
3. Provide specific examples of research relating complex behavior and thoughts to genetics. Explain how this research is conducted.
4. Define the reward deficiency hypothesis of sensation seeking and provide examples of how genetics could be involved.

5.4 Natural Selection and Evolution

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the five postulates of Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
2. List evidence to support the theory of natural selection and evolution, including evidence from research in genetics.
3. Describe how Darwin and his colleagues attempted to show mental or emotional similarities between different species, including humans.

5.5 Eugenics and Intelligence Testing

Learning Objectives

1. Describe some of the logical fallacies of attempts to use Darwin’s theory of natural selection to justify efforts to make humans “better.”
2. Explain the overall goals of the eugenics movement.
3. Define the differences between positive and negative eugenics and methods used to promote each.
4. Describe the history of intelligence tests and how they were used to justify racism, discrimination, and anti-immigration policies.
5. Explain why there are problems linking intelligence and heritability.
6. Describe some modern-day concerns about the ideas of eugenics.

5.6 Contemporary Issues: Optogenetics

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of how optogenetics is being used in research.
2. Describe how optogenetics could be used in the future with humans.

Chapter 6 Vision and Chemoreception

6.1 Light and the Eye

Learning Objectives

1. Define the basic properties of light.
2. Describe how the anatomy of the eye focuses light on the retina.
3. List the different cells in the retina and the basic role they play in vision.
4. Differentiate between scotopic and photopic vision.
5. List some major problems that occur in the eye, how they affect vision, and ways they can be corrected.

6.2 Visual Transduction

Learning Objectives

1. Briefly describe what is meant by transduction of light in the eye.
2. Describe how rhodopsin plays a role in transduction in the eye.
3. Define “dark current” and how it is changed when light strikes a rod.
4. List the similarities and differences between transduction in rods and cones.
5. Describe how both the trichromatic theory and opponent process theory are needed to explain color vision.

6.3 Receptive Fields

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how lateral inhibition works and what function it serves in facilitating perception.
2. Explain what receptive fields look like for ganglion cells and how they function in a center-surround manner.
3. Provide examples of how on-center and off-center ganglion cells work in their response to light.

6.4 Visual Pathway and the Thalamus

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how the ganglion cells in the retina send signals to the LGN, including what areas of the retina send their signals ipsilaterally and contralaterally.
2. Illustrate the different layers of the LGN and how each receives information from the retina of each eye.
3. Distinguish between the P-cells and M-cells, including what type of information they bring to the LGN and which areas of the LGN receive their signals.

6.5 Visual Cortex

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the receptive fields of simple cells in the primary visual cortex and how they are selectively activated by lines on the retina.
2. Distinguish between simple, complex, and hypercomplex cells in the visual cortex.
3. Starting at the LGN, describe the two major pathways of the visual system and their different roles in perception.
4. Define the selective perceptional problems associated with Akinetopsia, achromatopsia, and prosopagnosia. Label which areas of the brain are thought to be damaged for each of these disorders.
5. Provide specific examples of how certain neurons may be selectively activated with viewing specific objects, faces, and people. Describe experimental evidence that supports the idea of object-specific neurons.
6. Define the difference between the linear and parallel processing of information.

6.6 The Chemical Senses

Learning Objectives

1. List the major cells of the olfactory system and the pathway from olfactory receptor neurons to the mitral cells.
2. Describe transduction of chemical signals at the olfactory receptor neurons.
3. Provide examples of the type of work that scent-detecting dogs do.
4. Describe the areas of the tongue involved in converting tastants to nerve signals.
5. List the pathway from the tongue to gustatory cortex in the insula in the process of gustatory perception.

6.7 Contemporary Issues: Sensory Prosthetics—Artificial Retina and Cochlear Implants

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the two types of bionic eyes being developed and how they work.
2. Give examples of what smart contacts can do and what they may be able to do in the near future.
3. Describe how modern hearing aids work and are controlled.
4. Label the different components of cochlear implants, including where they are placed in and around the ear.
5. Describe how cochlear implants work.

Chapter 7 Hearing, Language, and Lateralization

7.1 Sound and the Outer and Middle Ear

Learning Objectives

1. Define the different components of a sound wave and how each affects human perception.
2. Label the structures of the outer and middle ear.
3. Describe how auditory ossicles deal with the problem of impedance mismatching.

7.2 The Inner Ear and Auditory Transduction

Learning Objectives

1. Label the different chambers and membranes of the cochlea.
2. Label the different structures of the organ of Corti.
3. Describe how transduction takes place at the hair cells in the organ of Corti, including how specific ion channels are opened and closed.

7.3 Auditory Perception

Learning Objectives

1. Define what is meant by the basilar membrane being a tonotopic map.
2. Describe von Bekesy’s place theory of hearing.
3. Illustrate the pathway between the cochlear nerve to the auditory cortex.
4. Describe the function of each major structure along the auditory pathway, including how signals go contralateral or stay ipsilateral.
5. Provide examples of how vision affects auditory perception.
6. Define synesthesia and how it relates to auditory and visual perception.

7.4 Neurobiology of Language

Learning Objectives

1. Define what is meant by the language acquisition device.
2. Identify Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area on the cerebral cortex, and identify the symptoms of aphasia associated with damage to these areas.
3. List the assumptions of the Wernicke-Geschwind, or Classical, model of the neurobiology of language.
4. Describe the symptoms of conduction aphasia and which area of the brain is damaged when this disorder occurs.
5. Provide examples of problems with the Classical model of language. What problems do some researchers and anatomists have with the labels of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas?
6. Describe the early work of Steven Petersen and his colleagues using PET scans.

7.5 Animal Communication and Animal Language Research

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of complex animal communication.
2. Describe the history of animal language research with great apes such as chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas.
3. Differentiate between Kanzi and Washoe research concerning their methodologies.
4. Describe research with sea lions that show understanding of novel relationships between nouns and verbs.
5. Explain how animals are unable to meet the criteria of language.

7.6 Brain Lateralization

Learning Objectives

1. Define what is meant by hemispheric lateralization.
2. Provide examples of lateralization in nonhuman animals.
3. Explain the theoretical reasons why lateralization is adaptive.
4. Summarize the specialized functions of the right cerebral hemisphere.
5. Describe the right-brain, left-brain personality myth.

7.7 Hemispatial Neglect, the Wada Test, and Split-Brain Surgery

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the symptoms and cause of hemispatial neglect syndrome.
2. Explain how the Wada test is conducted and why it is used.
3. Explain how and why someone gets split-brain surgery.
4. Provide examples of how someone with a split brain performs tasks differently than someone who has not received the surgery.

7.8 Contemporary Issues: Mind Reading

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how using neuroimaging and MVPA can enable, to a degree, mind reading.
2. Summarize the history of neural decoding.
3. Describe the work of neural decoding and brain mapping in Jack Gallant’s laboratory at Berkeley.
4. Provide examples of applications and ethical concerns of technologies in neural decoding.

Chapter 8 Somatosensory and Motor Movement

8.1 Vestibular Apparatus: Balance, Rotation, and Acceleration

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the roles played by the semicircular canals, utricle, and saccule in balance and motion detection.
2. Explain how the semicircular canals detect rotation in three planes and transduce that information into nerve signals.
3. Define the causes and symptoms of vertigo and provide examples of treatment.
4. Describe how the vestibular system and visual system are connected and why that is important.

8.2 Skin and the Sense of Touch

Learning Objectives

1. List the three layers of skin and their respective functions.
2. Differentiate between free nerve endings and mechanoreceptors.
3. List three mechanoreceptors and the type of sensory information for which they are most sensitive.
4. Describe the difference between the dorsal column system and the spinothalamic tract regarding the information they bring to the brain.
5. Explain why the primary somatosensory cortex is arranged as a cortical homunculus.
6. Define nociception and describe the different types of nociceptor fibers.
7. Explain the functional difference between ascending and descending pathways related to nociception.

8.3 The Cortex and Motor Movement

Learning Objectives

1. Summarize the different roles that the dorsolateral premotor cortex, the secondary motor cortex, the posterior parietal lobe, and the primary motor cortex play when it comes to voluntary motor movement.
2. Define motor homunculus and how it relates to the organization of the primary motor cortex.
3. Describe how the first experiments on mirror neurons were conducted.
4. Explain how mirror neurons are thought to play a role in the theory of mind.
5. Define the broken mirror hypothesis and why some researchers disagree with this idea.

8.4 Basal Ganglia and Cerebellum

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the role of the basal ganglia in voluntary motor movement.
2. Describe how nuclei of the basal ganglia work with excitatory and inhibitory pathways to facilitate motor movement.
3. Provide examples of how motor movement is affected by damage to the cerebellum.
4. List other vital functions of the cerebellum that are not related to motor movement.

8.5 Moving a Muscle

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the difference between α and γ motor neurons.
2. Illustrate a typical striated muscle, labeling the myofibrils, sarcomeres, and Z lines.
3. Describe how actin and myosin work together to contract a muscle.
4. Explain why Ca⁺⁺ is needed for the actin and myosin cross-bridge to work.
5. Explain the difference between a poison, venom, and toxicant.
6. Provide examples of how ACh agonists and antagonists can be dangerous and deadly.

8.6 Neuromuscular Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and how it affects the nervous system.
2. List the theoretical causes of ALS and describe the progression of the disease.
3. Provide examples of the symptoms of Huntington’s disease.
4. Explain how genetics and proteins are involved in Huntington’s disease.
5. Describe the symptoms and theoretical causes of Parkinson’s disease.
6. List the areas of the brain that degenerate in Parkinson’s disease and provide examples of treatments for this disorder.
7. List some side effects to treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
8. Tell the story of encephalitis lethargica and L-DOPA as described in Oliver Sacks’s book, Awakenings.

8.7 Contemporary Issues: Spinal Cord Injuries

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the difference in the Wallerian degeneration between nerves in the central nervous system and those in the peripheral nervous system.
2. Describe how an epidural electrical stimulator works.
3. Explain why EES works to restore complex motor movement in animal models with spinal cord injury, but not in humans.
4. Define antidromic collision, and explain how current work with EES and spinal cord injury in humans is showing promising results.

Chapter 9 Sleep, Dreaming, and Circadian Rhythms

9.1 Cycles and Circadian Rhythms

Learning Objectives

1. Define different types of circadian rhythms found in different animals.
2. Differentiate the areas of the brain involved in maintaining circadian rhythms.
3. Explain the experiment with hamsters that shows the suprachiasmatic nucleus is involved in circadian rhythms.
4. Describe some of the genes and proteins involved in circadian rhythms.

9.2 Measuring Sleep

Learning Objectives

1. Describe different physiological measures that are taken during sleep and what they represent.
2. Explain the characteristics of different brain waves and when they are recorded during sleep.
3. Describe the three stages of sleep and the brain waves associated with each stage.
4. Differentiate between REM and non-REM sleep.

9.3 Anatomy and Chemistry of Sleep

Learning Objectives

1. List the significant structures and neurotransmitters important in sleep.
2. Explain the function of each major structure in the sleep/wake cycle.
3. Describe the areas of the brain and neurotransmitters involved in REM sleep and atonia.

9.4 Why Do We Sleep and Dream?

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the glymphatic system and what functions it serves.
2. Explain the information processing theory of dreaming and the existing evidence for this theory.

9.5 Sleep Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the major sleep disorders and their theoretical causes.
2. Explain the health side effects of major sleep disorders.
3. Describe some non-pharmacological remedies for sleep disorders.
4. Explain how sleep aids and sleep-inhibiting drugs work and their possible side effects.

9.6 Contemporary Issues: Biofeedback and Wearables

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how biofeedback works.
2. Describe devices used to facilitate changes to brain waves using EEG and biofeedback.
3. Describe some wearables and apps that track daily activity, including sleep cycles.

Chapter 10 Homeostasis: Hunger, Thirst, and Temperature

10.1 Digestion, Hunger, and Satiety

Learning Objectives

1. Describe why a modern diet is problematic for how our “ancient” brain is affected by food.
2. Name the three basic types of nutrition.
3. Explain why having a constant level of glucose in the blood is essential.
4. Describe how glucose is stored and used, including the hormones involved in these processes.
5. Explain the ways that we break down and absorb fats.
6. Describe the theoretical roles of the ventromedial hypothalamus, lateral hypothalamus, and arcuate nucleus in hunger and satiety. What happens if these areas are lesioned?
7. Explain how the arcuate nucleus gets information about nutrients in the blood.
8. Define the glucostatic theory and describe how it is thought to work in the hypothalamus.
9. Differentiate between the lipostatic theory and the glucostatic theory.

10.2 Chemical Signals

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the role of leptin in appetite and areas of the hypothalamus that are sensitive to leptin.
2. Describe the function of PYY in digestion and its role in hunger and satiety.
3. Summarize how ghrelin is thought to increase appetite.
4. Explain the roles of insulin and CCK in digestion and how they are thought to decrease appetite.

10.3 Psychological and Social Factors and Appetite

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how classical conditioning can influence your appetite, including the influence of associative learning on the release of digestive hormones.
2. Discuss ways that stress affects your appetite for specific types of food.
3. List specific components of food and how they affect cognitive performance.

10.4 Problems with Food

Learning Objectives

1. Discuss how human consumption of sugars has changed in the past 150 years.
2. Provide evidence that sugar consumption is similar to other chemicals we associate with addiction.
3. Define obesity and provide some statistics on how obesity numbers have changed in the past 25 years.
4. List some health-related problems associated with obesity.
5. Describe the reasons why fad diets and crash diets tend not to work for losing weight and maintaining weight loss.
6. Explain how rapid weight loss affects resting metabolism.
7. List the suggestions given by the author for losing weight and keeping it off.
8. Describe how bariatric surgery works, and give two examples of procedures.
9. Provide examples of how the body changes after bariatric surgery.

10.5 Water Regulation and Thirst

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how water diffuses through cell membranes, including what are considered hypertonic, hypotonic, and isotonic environments.
2. Define the difference between osmotic and hypovolemic thirst.
3. Explain how the hypothalamus, posterior pituitary, and kidney work together to regulate water.
4. Describe how chemicals such as renin and angiotensin II affect osmoregulation in the body and work as feedback to the brain for thirst.
5. Define hyponatremia, explain why it is dangerous, and describe cases when it can occur.

10.6 Thermoregulation

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between endotherms and ectotherms and the advantages and disadvantages of each strategy.
2. Describe hypothermia and hyperthermia and problems that occur when the body is not kept at a homeostatic level.
3. Explain how the body and brain monitor and regulate body temperature.
4. Describe how the body creates a fever and what function a fever serves.

10.7 Contemporary Issues: Microbiome

Learning Objectives

1. Define what makes up your microbiome.
2. Describe how the microbiome might be involved in affecting behaviors and emotions.
3. Explain how the microbiome may be involved in neurological disorders such as autism and Parkinson’s disease.

Chapter 11 Hormones, Sex, and Love

11.1 Hormones

Learning Objectives

1. Define how hormones and endocrine glands work in the body.
2. Describe what behavioral endocrinologists study, and give some examples.
3. Differentiate between the three classes of hormones, and give examples of each.
4. Discuss the five major regulatory functions of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.
5. Describe how positive and negative feedback works to maintain homeostasis.
6. Differentiate between the anterior and posterior pituitary in how they get signals from the hypothalamus and which hormones they release or regulate.

11.2 Sexual Dimorphism and Development

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of sexual dimorphism and describe some reasons why there is sexual dimorphism in primates.
2. Describe the sequence of anatomical changes that occur in the typical development of the male (XY) and female (XX) human fetus.
3. Explain why an embryo will develop as a female by default and the role of the Y-chromosome in masculinizing the XY fetus.
4. Provide examples of primary and secondary sex characteristics, and when they develop.
5. Describe theories of how the male and female hypothalamus develop differently and how these areas are thought to influence sexual behavior.
6. Demonstrate the series of experiments by Levine and his colleagues on the influence of sex hormones on behavior in rats.
7. Define the difference between the male and female human adult brain, and explain why understanding these differences could be significant.

11.3 Atypical Development

Learning Objectives

1. Describe some sex chromosome disorders regarding their genetic, physical, and psychological characteristics.
2. Summarize how biology might contribute to cases of intersex development.

11.4 Attraction, Love, and Long-Term Bonding

Learning Objectives

1. List some of the neurological and genetic influences of sexual orientation.
2. List Helen Fisher’s stages of love and how they relate to different neurotransmitters and hormones.
3. Describe the research with voles and what the results tell us about the influence of vasopressin and oxytocin on attachment.
4. Make the argument for how the work with voles translates to human attachment.
5. Define how pheromones work as well as the role of the cranial nerve 0 and vomeronasal organ.

11.5 Contemporary Issues: Matchmaking

Learning Objectives

1. List Helen Fisher’s four types of personalities that relate to successful romantic partners, and describe how these groups are related to neurotransmitters or hormones.
2. Describe the sweaty T-shirt experiment and what the results tell us about human attraction, evolution, and the immune system.

Chapter 12 Emotions and Stress

12.1 Emotions

Learning Objectives

1. Provide evidence by Darwin and Ekman that emotional expressions are influenced by genetics.
2. List Paul Ekman’s original six basic and universal emotions.
3. Describe the functions of emotions and emotional expressions in people and other animals.
4. Describe the theoretical differences between the three most prominent theories of emotions, including the James-Lange theory, the Cannon-Bard theory, and the Schachter-Singer Two-Factor theory.
5. Provide evidence that supports each of the three theories of emotion.
6. Explain how emotions are tied to decision making according to the somatic marker hypothesis.

12.2 The Biology of Emotions

Learning Objectives

1. Describe a visible burrow system and how it is used to assess offensive and defensive aggression in rats.
2. Provide examples of how offensive and defensive aggression is different both in behavior and neurophysiology.
3. Describe the role of the amygdala and periaqueductal gray matter in learning about and reacting to aversive stimuli.
4. Explain how the role of the hippocampus is thought to be different than the amygdala in learning about fearful events.
5. Provide examples of how play behavior is thought to be important to animals.

12.3 Stress

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between acute and chronic stress and distress and eustress.
2. Describe the body’s fast and slow response to stress, including the anatomy and hormone release associated with each.
3. Describe the actions of cortisol on the body and brain.
4. Explain why humans get stomach ulcers in response to stress, but zebras don’t.
5. Provide examples of the effects of chronic stress on our body and brain.
6. Describe how the immune system responds to acute and chronic stress.
7. Provide examples of how chronic stress can damage the cardiovascular system.
8. Give examples of how stress and glucocorticoids help and hinder the formation and recall of memories.

12.4 Human Research on the Physiology of Emotions and Stress

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of physiological measures of sympathetic nervous system activity used in human research.
2. Explain how facial EMG recordings are used to assess positive and negative emotional expressions.
3. Give examples of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), and describe how it is used in research on emotions.
4. Describe methods for stressing people in research and the types of physiological responses that are measured.
5. Define heart rate variability (HRV) and describe the effect stress can have on it.

12.5 Contemporary Issues: Health Psychology and Exercise

Learning Objectives

1. Describe some of the interests of a health psychologist.
2. Explain how exercise can boost cell growth and replication.
3. Describe ways that exercise counteracts the negative effects of stress.
4. Provide examples of ways that stress can help with symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders

Chapter 13 Learning and Memory

13.1 Learning

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of stimuli and responses used in learning research with animals.
2. Describe the two basic types of nonassociative learning: habituation and sensitization.
3. Differentiate between classical and instrumental conditioning in terms of procedure and why they are considered to be “associative” learning.
4. Identify conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and responses in a classical conditioning experiment.
5. Describe an instrumental conditioning experiment that is associated with Thorndike’s theoretical law of effect.
6. Provide reasons why nonhuman animals are used in learning research.

13.2 Biology of Learning

Learning Objectives

1. Provide reasons why Eric Kandel uses a sea slug as the animal model for simple nonassociative and associative learning.
2. Describe the chemical changes at the synapse to account for habituation and sensitization.
3. Explain what happens at the cellular level after long-term habituation and sensitization.
4. Describe how classical conditioning is done in the Aplysia and the chemical changes that occur in the synapse, including what is meant by activity-dependent facilitation.
5. Explain how eyeblink conditioning with rabbits is used to investigate the neurophysiology underlying classical conditioning in vertebrates.

13.3 Memory

Learning Objectives

1. Differentiate between sensory, short-term, and long-term memory.
2. Provide examples of how working memory and short-term memory are different.
3. Describe an experimental design that is used to investigate short-term memory.

13.4 Memory Consolidation

Learning Objectives

1. Label the different areas of the hippocampus and surrounding cortices.
2. Define Hebb’s rule.
3. Define long-term potentiation (LTP) and describe the research used to investigate LTP.
4. Explain how AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors work and how they are each involved in LTP.
5. Describe calcium’s role in LTP.
6. Explain the physical changes that occur at the synapse that produces LTP.
7. Describe the similarities and differences between LTP and LTD (long-term depression).

13.5 Long-Term Memory Storage

Learning Objectives

1. Define the term engram and how Karl Lashley searched for it and then ultimately suggested the concept of equipotentiality.
2. Define episodic memory and describe research that looks at the areas of the brain involved.
3. Define semantic memory and how it is similar and different from episodic memory in terms of areas of the brain thought to play a role.
4. Describe experimental methods used to research spatial memories.
5. Explain the difference between place cells and grid cells.
6. Describe how the hippocampus is thought to be important in spatial memory, including research examples from work with humans and birds.

13.6 Problems with Learning and Memory

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia, and some of their causes.
2. Tell the story of H.M., including what areas of the brain were removed and why.
3. Describe what H.M. could and could not do with regards to memory after his surgery.

13.7 Contemporary Issues: Enhancing Memories

Learning Objectives

1. Provide some examples of psychostimulants and how they are thought to facilitate memory.
2. Describe some of the concerns about taking psychostimulants without a prescription.
3. Tell the story of the transgenic Doogie mouse. What was changed genetically, and how is its memory different than other mice?
4. Describe some ethical concerns about the future of technology and pharmaceuticals that can enhance memory.

Chapter 14 Psychopharmacology, Recreational Drugs, Tolerance, and Sensitization

14.1 Routes of Drug Administration and the Synapse

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a drug.
2. Describe what is meant by low or high drug affinity and efficacy.
3. Describe different routes of drug administration.
4. Illustrate ways that drugs affect actions at the synapse.
5. Explain the difference between direct and indirect agonists and antagonists.

14.2 Recreational Psychoactive Drugs: Alcohol and Nicotine

Learning Objectives

1. Describe specific ways that excessive alcohol consumption can be harmful to one’s health.
2. List the sequence of symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS).
3. Describe how alcohol affects the nervous system and increases dopamine in the reward center of the brain.
4. Provide statistics about how cigarette and vaping use has changed in the United States.
5. Give examples of how companies market e-cigarettes to adolescents and those already smoking cigarettes.
6. Describe how nicotine acts on the nervous system.

14.3 Cocaine and Amphetamines

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the difference between cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine in terms of how they are made, routes of administration, and the effects on the nervous system.
2. Describe some of the physiological and psychological effects of cocaine and crack cocaine on the nervous system. Also, describe the risks that come with high doses and habitual use.
3. Differentiate between cocaine and amphetamine in the way they affect presynaptic neurons.

14.4 Opioids

Learning Objectives

1. List different types of opioid drugs and how they were developed.
2. Provide the primary function of opioids and describe the physiological and psychological effects of taking opioid drugs.
3. Summarize the story of opioid use and distribution from the Civil War to the present day.
4. Describe why the story of oxycodone is so tragic, including issues of greed, misinformation, and a spike in opioid-related overdoses.
5. Explain how opioid drugs such as heroin or oxycodone work on the nervous system.

14.5 Hallucinogens and Cannabis

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the effects of taking hallucinogens.
2. Provide examples of some similarities and differences between psychedelic hallucinogens and dissociative hallucinogens.
3. Describe how psychedelics such as LSD or psilocybin affect the nervous system.
4. Explain how ketamine and PCP affect the synapse.
5. Describe some of the psychological effects of taking (smoking, eating, etc.) marijuana.
6. Explain the difference between THC and CBD regarding their effect on the cannabinoid receptors, as well as their effects on behaviors.
7. Describe some of the medical benefits as well as the potential harm of taking marijuana.

14.6 Drug Tolerance and Sensitization

Learning Objectives

1. Explain two ways the body and brain become physiologically tolerant to the effects of drugs.
2. Differentiate between up and down regulation and how they affect tolerance.
3. Describe psychological tolerance and explain why people addicted to drugs tend to overdose in unfamiliar environments.
4. Describe the mechanism of drug sensitization and provide examples of motor and behavioral changes due to sensitization.

14.7 Contemporary Issues: Opioid Epidemic and Naloxone

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how naloxone prevents opioid overdose.
2. Provide examples of possible problems with the easy availability of naloxone.
3. Describe smartphone apps created to help with overdoses.

Chapter 15 Addiction, Developmental Disorders, Anxiety, and Affective Disorders

15.1 Addiction

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why drug addiction is considered a learning disorder and a developmental disorder.
2. Provide examples of risk factors for developing a drug addiction.
3. Describe the rat park study and what the results tell us about drug addiction.
4. Summarize the negative and positive reinforcement theories of addiction and provide reasons why these are not strong theories.
5. List the structures that make up the mesotelencephalic dopamine system (MTDS).
6. Explain how the MTDS is activated and why it should not be considered the brain’s “pleasure” center.
7. Describe the roles of CREB and ΔFosB in addiction.
8. Describe the incentive sensitization theory of addiction. In this theory, what is being sensitized?
9. Explain the importance of the principles of associative learning in addiction.

15.2 Developmental Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the causes and symptoms of cerebral palsy.
2. List characteristics of someone on the autism spectrum.
3. Summarize the theoretical causes of autism.
4. Provide examples of the neurological differences between someone with autism compared with someone without the diagnosis.
5. List behavioral and medical treatments for autism.
6. Describe the symptoms of someone diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
7. Describe research showing neurological differences between someone with ADHD and a “neurotypical” person.
8. List some psychostimulants and describe how they are thought to work in the brain of someone with ADHD.

15.3 Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the symptoms of major depressive disorder.
2. Explain the theoretical causes of depression, including a definition of the monoamine hypothesis.
3. List three categories of antidepressants and how they are thought to work to increase monoamines.
4. Describe some controversies of the prescription and use of antidepressants.
5. List some alternative treatments for depression that do not involve medication.
6. Describe the symptoms of bipolar disorder and differentiate between bipolar I and bipolar II disorders.
7. List some medications used to treat bipolar disorder.
8. Provide some examples of how the brains of people with bipolar disorder differ from control groups.

15.4 Anxiety and Stress Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the common symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic disorder (PD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
2. Describe the difference between specific and social phobias.
3. Explain why agoraphobia often occurs with panic disorder.
4. Provide some examples of what happens in the brain as well as glucocorticoid levels of people with PTSD.
5. Provide examples of pharmacological treatments for anxiety disorders.
6. Explain how benzodiazepines work on the nervous system.

15.5 Contemporary Issues: Hallucinogens as Possible Treatments

Learning Objectives

1. Explain why researchers are investigating hallucinogenic drugs as possible treatments for depression.
2. Describe how hallucinogenic drugs differ from antidepressants in how they reduce symptoms of depression.
3. Explain how ketamine works in the nervous system and why it is thought to relieve symptoms of depression.
4. Describe how psilocybin works on the nervous system and give an example of research with psilocybin and depression.
5. List other recreational drugs being tested for their possible treatment for depression.
6. List other neurological disorders that are thought to be helped by hallucinogens and other recreational drugs.

Chapter 16 Other Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Brain Injuries, and Brain Pathologies

16.1 Schizophrenia

Learning Objectives

1. Differentiate between positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.
2. List some of the risk factors for schizophrenia.
3. Define the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia and give examples that support this hypothesis, as well as evidence that this is an incomplete theory.
4. Describe how glutamate might play a role in schizophrenia.
5. Give examples of typical and atypical antipsychotics and how they are thought to work on the brain. Provide examples of side effects associated with each type of medication.

16.2 Neurodegenerative Diseases of Memory

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the difference between senility and dementia.
2. List the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
3. Describe amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
4. Provide examples of theoretical causes that contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
5. Describe the FINGER project in Finland and give examples of some of their findings.

16.3 Seizure Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the symptoms and differences between types of seizures, including simple partial, Jacksonian, complex, generalized, absence, and tonic-clonic.
2. List causes of epilepsy and precipitating factors for epileptic seizures.
3. Describe techniques for diagnosing epilepsy.
4. Explain how antiepileptic drugs act on the brain to reduce seizures.

16.4 Tumors and Strokes

Learning Objectives

1. Describe different types of tumors and risk factors.
2. Describe what causes different types of strokes and risk factors.

16.5 Brain Injury

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the difference between open-head and closed-head injuries.
2. Describe a subdural hematoma, and why older people are particularly at risk.
3. Describe the causes and symptoms of a concussion and post-concussion syndrome.
4. Explain what happens in the brain due to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and why it is hard to diagnose.

16.6 Brain Injury Diagnosis

Learning Objectives

1. Describe why quick and accurate assessments of concussions are so important.
2. Describe some new innovative blood tests for assessing concussions, the biomarkers they are testing for, and why.
3. Describe some new imaging techniques that might show promise in diagnosing CTE before a person dies.

16.7 At Risk for Brain Injuries

Learning Objectives

1. Describe some of the leading causes of concussions and TBI.
2. Describe what sports produce the most head injuries and some of the reasons why.
3. Why might brain injuries be more severe in women and teenagers?

16.8 Head Injuries and Psychology

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with TBI and CTE, and why there is evidence of a link.
2. Describe other psychological, cognitive, temperament, and mood problems associated with concussions and TBI.
3. Relate psychological problems associated with brain injury to returning soldiers. Why are TBI and PTSD considered invisible wounds?

16.9 Brain Pathologies

Learning Objectives

1. Provide examples of the causes and symptoms of meningitis.
2. Explain what a prion is and how it can spread.
3. Provide examples of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies found in humans and nonhuman animals.
4. Describe the story of Kuru and how it spreads.

16.10 Contemporary Issues: The Immune System and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Learning Objectives

1. Define an autoimmune disorder.
2. Describe the immunological hypothesis and how it applies to schizophrenia.
3. Explain the roles that microglia might play in Alzheimer’s disease.
4. Provide examples of neuropsychiatric disorders that are likely influenced by dysfunctions in the immune system.