Unit 4 - Biological Bases of Behavior
Daily Agenda
AP Psychology
Unit 4: The Brain & Biological Processes
8 - 10 % of the AP Exam
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Agenda
Week 4: February 8-15
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Friday: Brain Books
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
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Unit Goals:
Check the box when you have mastered the goal. This will help you when you study for the unit assessment, AP exam, and complete the left hand side letter to yourself.
Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including parts of the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons .
Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g. reuptake mechanisms, agonists, antagonists) .
Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions: — central and peripheral nervous systems;
major brain regions, lobes, and cortical areas;
brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization .
Discuss the role of neuroplasticity in traumatic brain injury .
Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that support research (e .g ., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques) .
Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution work together to shape behavior .
Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value .
Identify key contributors (e .g ., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger Sperry, Carl Wernicke) .
Unit Overview: An effective introduction to the relationship between physiological processes and behavior — including the influence of neural function, the nervous system and the brain, and genetic contributions to behavior — is an important element in the AP course.​
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People:
Roger Sperry & Michael Gazzaniga
Carl Wernicke
Paul Broca
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Studies:
Gazzaniga, M.S. : The Split Brain in man
Rosenzweig, M.R: Brain changes in response to experience​
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