Learn Biological Psychology 101

Biological psychology, or behavioral neuroscience or psychobiology, studies physiological processes and its effect on human behavior. Biological psychology believes that behavior is inextricably associated to somatic or physiological experiences resulting from the interpretation of sensory impingement by the brain. It is based on the presumption that the mind is interdependent from the body and behavior is fueled by sensory perceptions based on physiology.
The first physician to discern a connection between psychology and physiology was the Persian physician Avicenna. It counters the dualistic point of views of Plato and Aristotle and Rene Descartes. The latter believed that the mind was independent from the biological brain. While the former served as the center of emotions, Descartes believed that the latter was related to intelligence. The emotional phenomena, according to him, was not determined by the physical substance of brain matter.
Nineteenth century psychologist William James believed that psychology should be studied along with biology. This point of view gained much attention because aside from being a psychologist, James was also trained in the field of physiology. Likewise, Knight Dunlap, advanced biological psychology by writing An Outline of Psychobiology as well as the journal Psychobiology.
By studying biological psychology, neuroscientists as well as social scientists can boost the quality of life of people with cognitive disorders which is sometimes associated with physical deficits. Disorders such as autism and Alzheimer’s Disease can be attractive to biological psychologists. In autism, an individual undergoes severe and noticeable motor disturbances. On the other hand, Alzheimer’s Disease involves physical deterioration, cognitive and behavioral skills are becoming more impaired as the disease develops.
The field of biological psychology is likewise concerned with getting solutions to psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia and clinical depression. There is a general belief that emotions and behaviors are related to chemical imbalances in the brain as well as dysfunctional transmission of neurons.
There are three major approaches involved in the study of biological psychology. The physiological approach involves the study of neural mechanisms of behavior using surgical procedures and other interventions. With the psychophysiological approach, the relationship between physiological activity and psychological processes in human participants are studied. The third approach is psychopharmacology, which concentrates on the impact of drugs on neural activity as well as on behavior.
Biological psychology has been in prominence in Europe as well as in North America and is still a major field of research and instruction in many countries. Over the last two hundred years, it has developed new methods of answering old questions while addressing new ones. Well-designed behavioral experiments and innovative biomedical techniques have contributed to its development.
For more information on behavioral neuroscience, you can check out Psychology Fitness. The site has been an important resource for psychology online.

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