2

The Brain and

Behavior
The Empathic Brain

H uman beings are the most social creatures on earth. We need each other to survive and living in groups we
show each other incredible levels of trust. When we experience difficulties, failures, or profound losses, we
turn to each other for support. When we think about the face of our beloved family members or friends
expressing concern for our problems, we may not realize that behind and just above those caring faces lies
the source of that concern: The brain, an intricate 3-pound organ where all of our actions originate. In fact,
research shows that the human brain is a wellspring of empathy. When people see another person suffering,
the brains of those observers react automatically as if they themselves are suffering (Haaker, Yi, Petrovic, &
Olsson, 2017). You might think of the brain as a kind of computer, but in truth the brain is social organ, one
that comes into the world ready to relate to other people (Callaghan & Corbit, 2018; Sliwa & Freiwald, 2017).
Our brains are involved in every aspect of our lives. Every behavior, every thought, is an event in the brain.
Imagine: Even as you are reading about the brain, the brain is the engine that is doing the work of reading
itself. The brain is also the structure responsible for the research presented here. The brain is at once the
object of study and the reason we are able to study it.

©ViewStock/Getty Images
© Philip and Karen Smith/The Image Bank/Getty Images
PREVIEW
In this chapter, our focus is the nervous system and its command center—the brain. We
will study the essentials of what the brain has come to know about itself, including the
biological foundations of human behavior and the brain’s extraordinary capacity for
adaptation and repair. The chapter concludes with a look at how genes influence behavior.

1 The Nervous System

The nervous system is the body’s electrochemical communication circuitry. The field that nervous system
studies the nervous system is called neuroscience, and the people who study it are neuro- The body’s elec-
trochemical com-
scientists. munication
The human nervous system is made up of billions of communicating cells, and it circuitry.
is likely the most intricately organized aggregate of matter on the planet. A
One cubic centimeter of single cubic centimeter of the human brain consists of well over 50 million
brain = 50 million nerve cells. That's nerve cells, each of which communicates with many other nerve cells in
about the size of a snack cube of cheese. information-processing networks that make the most elaborate computer
seem primitive.

Characteristics of the Nervous System

The brain and nervous system guide our interactions with the world, moving the body
and directing our adaptation to our environment. Several extraordinary characteristics
allow the nervous system to direct our behavior: complexity, integration, adaptability, and
electrochemical transmission.

COMPLEXITY The human brain and nervous system are enormously complex. The
orchestration of all the billions of nerve cells in the brain—to allow you to sing, dance,
write, talk, and think—is an awe-inspiring achievement. Right now, your brain is carrying
out a multitude of tasks, including seeing, reading, learning, and breathing. Extensive
assemblies of nerve cells participate in each of these activities, all at once.

INTEGRATION The brain is the “great integrator” (Hyman, 2001), meaning that the
brain does a wonderful job of pulling information together. Sounds, sights, touch, taste,
smells—the brain integrates all of these as we function in the world.
The brain and the nervous system have different levels and many different parts. Brain
activity is integrated across these levels through countless interconnections of brain cells
and extensive pathways that link different parts of the brain. Each nerve cell can make
connections with thousands of others, making an astronomical number of connections.
The evidence for these connections is observable, for example, when a loved one takes
your hand. How does your brain know, and tell you, what has happened? Bundles of
interconnected nerve cells relay information about the sensation in your hand through
the nervous system in an orderly fashion, all the way to the areas of the brain involved
in recognizing that someone you love is holding your hand. Then the brain might
send a reply back and prompt your hand to give him or her a little squeeze.
Adaptation, adaptability, and
adapt: Psychologists use these terms ADAPTABILITY The world around us is constantly changing. To sur-
when referring to the ability to vive, we must change, or adapt to new conditions. Our brain and nervous
function in a changing world. system together serve as our agent in adapting to the world. Although nerve

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 cells reside in certain brain regions, they are not fixed, unchanging structures. They have
a hereditary, biological foundation, but they are constantly adapting to changes in the
body and the environment.
plasticity The term plasticity denotes the brain’s special capacity for change. You might believe
The brain’s special that thinking is a mental process, not a physical one. Yet thinking is a physical event,
capacity for
because your every thought is reflected in physical activity in the brain. Moreover, the
change.
brain can be changed by experience. London cab drivers who have developed a familiar-
ity with the city show increases in the size of the brain area thought to be responsible for
reading maps (Maguire & others, 2000). Think about that: When you change the way you
think, you are literally changing the brain’s physical processes and even its shape. Experi-
ences throughout life can have long lasting impact on the brain. For example, studies have
shown that individuals who have managerial experience, especially those who supervised
a large number of employees, are likely to show less age-related decreases in the size of
the hippocampus later in life (Suo & others, 2017). As we will see later, the hippocampus
is a brain structure that plays an important role in memory. Your experiences contribute
to the wiring or rewiring of your brain (Cirstea & others, 2017; Hoekzema & others, 2017;
Maitre & others, 2017; Mooneyham & others, 2017), just as the experiences of those
London cab drivers did.

ELECTROCHEMICAL TRANSMISSION The brain and the rest of the nervous

system work as an information-processing system, powered by electrical impulses and chem-
ical messengers (Takmakov, 2017). When an impulse travels down a nerve cell, or neuron,
it does so electrically. When that impulse gets to the end of the line, it communicates with
the next neuron using chemicals, as we will consider in detail later in this chapter.

Pathways in the Nervous System

As we interact with and adapt to the world, the brain and the nervous system receive
and transmit sensory input (like sounds, smells, and flavors), integrate the informa-
tion received from the environment, and direct the body’s motor activities. Infor- Afferent and efferent are hard to
mation flows into the brain through input from our senses, and the brain
makes sense of that information, pulling it together and giving it meaning. In
keep straight. It might be helpful to
turn, information moves out of the brain to the rest of the body, directing remember that afferent nerves arrive at
afferent nerves all of the physical things we do. the brain and spinal cord, while efferent
Also called sen- The nervous system possesses specialized pathways that are adapted for nerves exit the brain and spinal cord—A
sory nerves; different functions. These pathways are made up of afferent nerves, efferent
nerves that carry for afferent and arrive, and E for
information about
nerves, and neural networks. Afferent nerves, or sensory nerves, carry information efferent and exit.
the external envi- to the brain and spinal cord. These sensory pathways com-
ronment to the municate information about the external environment (for
brain and spinal example, seeing a sunrise) and internal body processes (for
cord via sensory example, feeling tired or hungry) from sensory receptors to
receptors.
the brain and spinal cord. Efferent nerves, or motor nerves,
efferent nerves carry information out of the brain and spinal cord—that is,
Also called motor they carry the nervous system’s output. These motor path-
nerves; nerves that ways communicate information from the brain and spinal
carry information cord to other areas of the body, including muscles and
out of the brain
and spinal cord to
glands, telling them to get busy. Efferent neurons are called
other areas of the motor neurons because they tell our muscles what to do as
body. we move.
Most information processing occurs through neural
neural networks networks. These are interconnected groups of nerve cells
Networks of nerve When we touch or gaze at an object, electrical charges and chemical
cells that integrate
that integrate sensory input and motor output (He, Qian, &
messages pulse through our brain, knitting the cells together into
sensory input and Cao, 2017; Senan & others, 2017). For example, as you read pathways and networks for processing the information.
motor output. your class notes, the input from your eyes is transmitted to ©Eric Herchaft/SuperStock

Th e N ervou s Sys t em // 43
 Human Nervous System

Central Nervous System Peripheral Nervous System

Spinal Cord Brain

Hindbrain
Cerebellum
Pons
Medulla

Somatic Autonomic
Nervous System Nervous System

Parasympathetic
branch (calms
Sensory
nerves the body)
Midbrain
Reticular
formation Motor
nerves

Forebrain
Limbic system
Thalamus
Basal ganglia
Hypothalamus
Sympathetic
Cerebral cortex
branch (arouses
the body)

FIGURE 1 Major Divisions of the Human Nervous System The nervous system has two main divisions. One is the central nervous system (left),
which comprises the brain and the spinal cord. The nervous system’s other main division is the peripheral nervous system (right), which itself has two parts—
the somatic nervous system, which controls sensory and motor neurons, and the autonomic nervous system, which monitors processes such as breathing,
heart rate, and digestion. These complex systems work together to help us successfully navigate the world.
©Photoplay/Media Bakery

your brain and then passed through many neural networks, which translate the characters
on the page into neural codes for letters, words, associations, and meanings. Some of the
information is stored in the neural networks, and if you read aloud, some is passed on as
messages to your lips and tongue. Neural networks make up most of the brain. Working
in networks amplifies the brain’s computing power.
somatic nervous

Divisions of the Nervous System system

The body system
consisting of the
This truly elegant system is highly ordered and organized for effective function. Figure 1 sensory nerves,
shows the two primary divisions of the human nervous system: the central nervous system whose function is to
convey information
and the peripheral nervous system.
from the skin and
central nervous system (CNS) The central nervous system (CNS) is the brain and spinal cord. More than 99 percent muscles to the cen-
The brain and spinal cord. of all our nerve cells are located in the CNS. The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is the tral nervous system
network of nerves that connects the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body. The about conditions
peripheral nervous system functions of the peripheral nervous system are to bring information to and from the brain such as pain and
(PNS) temperature, and
and spinal cord and to carry out the commands of the CNS to execute various muscular
The network of nerves that the motor nerves,
connects the brain and spinal and glandular activities. whose function is
cord to other parts of the The peripheral nervous system has two major divisions: the somatic nervous system and the to tell muscles what
body. autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system consists of sensory nerves (afferent), to do.

44 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
 whose function is to convey information from the skin and muscles to the CNS about Sympathetic, parasympathetic—
conditions such as pain and temperature, and motor nerves (efferent), whose function how to distinguish these? Remember
autonomic is to tell muscles what to do. The function of the autonomic nervous system is to
nervous system
that the sympathetic nervous system
take messages to and from the body’s internal organs, monitoring such processes
The body system as breathing, heart rate, and digestion. The autonomic nervous system also is feels "sympathy" for you when you're
that takes mes- stressed out, and prompts you to take
sages to and from
divided into two parts. The first part, the sympathetic nervous system, arouses the
the body’s internal body to mobilize it for action and thus is involved in the experience of stress; the action to address the stressor, and that
organs, monitoring second part, the parasympathetic nervous system, calms the body. the parasympathetic nervous system
such processes as Stress is the body’s response to stressors, which are the circumstances and
breathing, heart
helps you to "rest and digest."
events that threaten individuals and tax their coping abilities. When we experience
rate, and digestion.
stress, our body readies itself to handle the assault of stress; a number of physiological
sympathetic changes take place. You certainly know what stress feels like. Imagine, for example, that parasympathetic nervous
nervous system you show up for class one morning, and it looks as if everyone else knows that there is system
The part of the au- a test that day. You hear others talking about how much they have studied, and you ner- The part of the autonomic
tonomic nervous nervous system that calms
vously ask yourself: “Test? What test?” You start to sweat, and your heart thumps fast in the body.
system that
arouses the body
your chest. Sure enough, the instructor shows up with a stack of exams. You are about
to mobilize it for to be tested on material you have not even thought about, much less studied. stress
action and thus is The stress response begins with a fight-or-flight reaction, one of the functions of the The responses of individuals
involved in the ex- sympathetic nervous system. This reaction quickly mobilizes the body’s physiological to environmental stressors.
perience of stress. resources to prepare the organism to deal with threats to survival. Clearly, an unexpected stressors
exam is not literally a threat to your survival, but the human stress response is such that Circumstances and events
it can occur in reaction to any threat to personally important motives (Sapolsky, 2004). that threaten individuals and
When you feel your heart pounding and your hands sweating under stress, those experiences tax their coping abilities and
reveal the sympathetic nervous system in action. If you need to run away from a stressor, the that cause physiological
changes to ready the body to
sympathetic nervous system sends blood out to your extremities to get you ready to take off. handle the assault of stress.
When we undergo stress, we also experience the release of corticosteroids, which are
powerful stress hormones (Ives & Bertke, 2017). Corticosteroids in the brain allow us to
focus our attention on what needs to be done now. For example, in an emergency, people
sometimes report feeling strangely calm and doing just what has to be done, whether it
is calling 911 or applying pressure to a serious cut. Such experiences reveal the benefits
of corticosteroids for humans in times of emergency (Jafari, Kolb, & Mohajerani, 2017).
Acute stress is the momentary stress that occurs in response to life experiences. When the
stressful situation ends, so does acute stress.
However, we are not in a live-or-die situation most of the time when we experience stress.
Indeed, we can even “stress ourselves out” just by thinking. Chronic stress—that is, stress that
goes on continuously—may lead to persistent autonomic nervous system arousal (McKewan,
2017). While the sympathetic nervous system is working to meet the demands of whatever is
stressing us out, the parasympathetic nervous system is not getting a chance to do its job of
maintenance and repair, of digesting food, or of keeping our organs in good working order.
Thus, over time, chronic autonomic nervous system activity can break down the immune system.
Chronic stress is clearly best avoided, although this objective is sometimes easier said than done.
Yet the brain, an organ that is itself powerfully affected by chronic stress, can be our
ally in preventing such continuous stress. Consider that when you face a challenging situ-
ation, you can use the brain’s abilities and interpret the experience in a less stressful way.
For example, you might approach an upcoming exam or an audition for a play not so
much as a stressor but as an opportunity to shine. When we reinterpret potentially stress-
ful situations as challenges rather than threats, we can avoid the experience of stress.
Many cognitive therapists believe that changing the way people think about their life
opportunities and experiences can help them live less stressfully (Williams & others,
2017). By changing the way we think about potentially stressful events, we can reduce
stress. Coming up with ways to consider potential stressors as challenges (not threats)
can help to reduce the body’s stress response.
At the beginning of this chapter, you learned how changing the way you think can
produce physical changes in the brain. In light of this remarkable capacity, it is reason-
able to conclude that you can use your brain’s powers to change how you look at life
experiences—and maybe even deploy the brain as a defense against stress.

Th e N ervou s Sys t em // 45
 1. The characteristics that allow the ner- 3. When you are in danger, the part of traffic accident—at the moment he sees
vous system to direct behavior are its the nervous system that is responsi- the truck coming at him, his body tenses
complexity, integration, electrochemi- ble for an increase in your heart rate up, his heart races, and he experiences
cal transmission, and is the extreme panic. Which answer most ac-
A. constancy. A. central nervous system. curately identifies the individual who is
B. adaptability. B. peripheral nervous system. most likely to catch the cold that is going
C. sensitivity. C. sympathetic nervous system. around their dorm this semester?
D. fight-or-flight response. D. parasympathetic nervous system. A. Shannon, who is experiencing
chronic stress
2. Neural networks are networks of APPLY IT! 4. Shannon and Terrell are B. Terrell, who is experiencing acute
nerve cells that integrate sensory two college students. Shannon is in a
stress
input and constant state of low-level stress. She
C. Shannon, who is experiencing
A. the fight-or-flight response. spends a lot of time worrying about what
acute stress
B. electrochemical transmission. might happen, and she gets herself
D. Terrell, who is experiencing
C. bodily processes such as heart worked up about imagined catastrophes.
chronic stress
rate and digestion. Terrell is more easygoing, but on his way
D. motor output. to class one day he is in a near-miss

2 Neurons
Within each division of the nervous system, much is happening at the cellular level. Nerve
cells, chemicals, and electrical impulses work together to transmit information at speeds
of up to 330 miles per hour. As a result, information can travel from your brain to your
hands (or vice versa) in just milliseconds.
That's fast! Most of us will There are two types of cells in the nervous system: neurons and glial cells.
never experience driving a car that fast. Neurons are the nerve cells that handle the information-processing function. neurons
The supersonic rocket car that holds the The human brain contains about 100 billion neurons. The average neuron is One of two types
a complex structure with as many as 10,000 physical connections with other of cells in the
world record can drive over 700 miles nervous system;
per hour. Its British developers are cells. Researchers have been especially interested in a special type of neuron neurons are the
called mirror neurons. Mirror neurons seem to play a role in imitation and nerve cells that
shooting for over 1,000 miles per hour. are activated (in primates and humans) when we perform an action but also handle the
Now, the wisdom of driving a car faster when we watch someone else perform that same task (Linkovski, Katzin, & information-
than we can think is another story. . . Salti, 2017). In addition to imitation, these neurons may play a role in empathy processing
function.
and in our understanding of others.
Glial cells (or glia) provide support, nutritional benefits, and other functions in the glial cells
nervous system (Kettenmann & Verkhratsky, 2016). Glial cells are the most common The second of two
cells in the nervous system. In fact, for every neuron there are about 10 glial types of cells in
You might think of glial cells as cells. They have many functions. Glial cells keep neurons running smoothly. the nervous sys-
tem; glial cells
the pit crew of the nervous system. These cells are not specialized to process information in the way that neu- (also called glia)
rons are. provide support,
nutritional benefits,
and other func-
Specialized Cell Structure tions and keep
neurons running
smoothly.
cell body Not all neurons are alike, as they are specialized to handle different information-
The part of the neuron that processing functions. However, all neurons do have some common characteristics.
contains the nucleus, which
Most neurons are created very early in life, but their shape, size, and connections can
directs the manufacture of
substances that the neuron change throughout the life span. The way neurons function reflects the major charac-
needs for growth and teristic of the nervous system described at the beginning of the chapter: plasticity.
maintenance. Neurons can and do change.
Every neuron has a cell body, dendrites, and an axon (Figure 2). The cell body contains
dendrites
the nucleus, which directs the manufacture of substances that the neuron needs for growth
Treelike fibers projecting
from a neuron, which receive and maintenance. Dendrites, treelike fibers projecting from a neuron, receive information
information and orient it to- and orient it toward the neuron’s cell body. Most nerve cells have numerous dendrites,
ward the neuron’s cell body. which increase their surface area, allowing each neuron to receive input from many other

46 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a n d Beh avi or
 Cell body

Dendrites

Nucleus Direction of
nerve impulse
Axon

Axon

Axon

Myelin sheath
surrounding the axon

Sending Neuron

Receiving Neuron

FIGURE 2 The Neuron The drawing shows the parts of a neuron and the connection between one neuron and another. Note the cell body, the
branching of dendrites, and the axon with a myelin sheath.

axon neurons. The axon is the part of the neuron that carries information away from the cell
The part of the body toward other cells. Although extremely thin (1/10,000th of an inch—a human hair
neuron that carries
by comparison is 1/1,000 of an inch), axons can be very long, with many branches. Some
information away
from the cell body extend more than 3 feet—from the top of the brain to the base of the spinal cord.
toward other cells. Covering all surfaces of neurons, including the dendrites and axons, are very thin cel-
lular membranes that are much like the surface of a balloon. The neuronal membranes
are semipermeable, meaning that they contain tiny holes, or channels, that allow only
certain substances to pass into and out of the neurons.
myelin sheath A myelin sheath, consisting of a layer of cells containing
A layer of fat cells fat, encases and insulates most axons. By insulating axons,
that encases and myelin sheaths speed up transmission of nerve impulses.
insulates most
axons.
Glial cells provide myelination (Logan & others, 2017).
Numerous disorders are associated with problems in either
the creation or the maintenance of this vital insulation. One
of them is multiple sclerosis (MS), a degenerative disease of
the nervous system in which myelin hardens, disrupting the
flow of information through the neurons. Symptoms of MS
include blurry and double vision, tingling sensations through-
out the body, and general weakness.
The myelin sheath developed as the nervous system
evolved. As brain size increased, it became necessary for infor-
mation to travel over longer distances in the nervous system. ©Mark Hunt/Huntstock/Corbis
Axons without myelin sheaths are not very good conductors
of electricity. With the insulation of myelin sheaths, axons transmit electrical impulses and
convey information much more rapidly (Stange-Marten & others, 2017). We can compare
the myelin sheath’s development to the evolution of interstate highways as cities grew.
Highways keep fast-moving, long-distance traffic from getting snarled by slow local traffic.

The Neural Impulse

To transmit information to other neurons, a neuron sends brief electrical impulses (let’s
call them “blips”) through its axon to the next neuron. As you navigate down this page
while you read, hundreds of such impulses will stream down the axons in your arm to tell

N eu ron s // 47
 The rate of the blips determines your muscles when to flex and how quickly. By changing the rate of the signals,
the intensity of the impulse. So, if you or blips, the neuron can vary its message. Those impulses traveling down the
are dying of suspense while reading about axon are electrical. How does a neuron—a living cell—generate electricity? To
answer this question, we need to examine the axon.
neural impulses (and who isn't?), the blips The axon is a tube encased in a membrane. The membrane has hun-
are happening faster as you rush down dreds and thousands of tiny gates in it. These gates are generally closed,
each screen or turn each page. but they can open. We call the membrane semipermeable because fluids
can sometimes flow in and out of these gates. Indeed, there are fluids both
inside and outside the axon. Floating in those fluids are electrically charged particles
called ions.
Some of these ions, notably sodium and potassium, carry positive charges. Nega-
tively charged ions of chlorine and other elements also are present. The membrane
surrounding the axon prevents negative and positive ions from randomly flowing into
or out of the cell. The neuron creates electrical signals by moving positive and negative
ions back and forth through its outer membrane. How does the movement of ions
across the membrane occur? Those tiny gates mentioned above, called ion channels,
open and close to let the ions pass into and out of the cell. Normally when the neuron
is resting, or not transmitting information, the ion channels are closed, and a slight
negative charge is present along the inside of the cell membrane. On the outside of
the cell membrane, the charge is positive. Because of the difference in charge, the
membrane of the resting neuron is said to be polarized, with most negatively charged
ions on the inside of the cell and most positively charged ions on the outside. This
polarization creates a voltage between the inside and the outside of the axon wall
resting potential (Figure 3). That voltage, called the neuron’s resting potential, is between −60 and −75
The stable, negative charge millivolts. (A millivolt is 1/1,000 of a volt.)
of an inactive neuron. For ions, it is true that opposites attract. The negatively charged ions inside the mem-
brane and the positively charged ions outside the membrane will rush to each other if
given the chance. Impulses that travel down the neuron do so by opening and closing ion
channels, allowing the ions to flow in and out.
A neuron becomes activated when an incoming impulse—a reaction to, say, a pinprick
or the sight of someone’s face—raises the neuron’s voltage, and the sodium gates at the

Axon
+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
– – – – – – – – – – – – –

– – – – – – – – – – – – –
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
+
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ + 0 mV
Axon + +
+ + –70 mV
+ +
+ +
+ +
+ + + Polarity
+
+
+ + +

FIGURE 3 The Resting Potential An oscilloscope measures the difference in electrical potential
between two electrodes. When one electrode is placed inside an axon at rest and one is placed outside, the
electrical potential inside the cell is −70 millivolts (mV) relative to the outside. This potential difference is
due to the separation of positive (+) and negative (−) charges along the membrane.

48 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
 Movement
of impulse
Axon Axon Axon
+ + + – + + + + + + + Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+
– – – + – – – – – – – K+ K+ K+ K+ K+
Na + Na +
– – – + – – – – – – – K+ K+ K+ K+ K+
+ + + – + + + + + + + Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+

+40 mV +40 mV +40 mV

0 mV 0 mV 0 mV
–70 mV –70 mV –70 mV

Upswing Downswing

(a) Action potential generated by an (b) Movement of sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+)
impulse within a neuron ions responsible for the action potential

FIGURE 4 The Action Potential An action potential is a brief wave of positive electrical
charge that sweeps down the axon as the sodium channels in the axon membrane open and close.
(a) The action potential causes a change in electrical potential as it moves along the axon. (b) The
movements of sodium ions (Na+) and potassium ions (K+) into and out of the axon cause the
electrical changes.

base of the axon open briefly. This action allows positively charged sodium ions to flow
into the neuron, creating a more positively charged neuron and depolarizing the membrane
by decreasing the charge difference between the fluids inside and outside the neuron. Then
potassium channels open, and positively charged potassium ions move out through the
neuron’s semipermeable membrane. This outflow returns the neuron to a negative charge.
Then the same process occurs as the next group of channels flips open briefly. So it goes
all the way down the axon, like a long row of cabinet doors opening and closing in
sequence. It is hard to imagine, but this simple system of opening and closing tiny doors
is responsible for the fluid movements of a ballet dancer and the flying fingers of a pianist
playing a concerto.
The term action potential describes the brief wave of positive electrical charge that action potential
sweeps down the axon (Figure 4). An action potential lasts only about 1/1,000 of a sec- The brief wave of positive
electrical charge that sweeps
ond, because the sodium channels can stay open for only a very brief time. They quickly
down the axon.
close again and become reset for the next action potential. When a neuron sends an action
potential, it is commonly said to be “firing.”
The action potential abides by the all-or-nothing principle: Once the electrical impulse all-or-nothing principle
reaches a certain level of intensity, called its threshold, it fires and moves all the way down The principle that once the
electrical impulse reaches a
the axon without losing any of its intensity. The impulse traveling down an axon can be
certain level of intensity (its
compared to the burning fuse of a firecracker. Whether you use a match or blowtorch to threshold), it fires and moves
light the fuse, once the fuse has been lit, the spark travels quickly and with the same all the way down the axon
intensity down the fuse. without losing any intensity.

Synapses and Neurotransmitters

The movement of an impulse down an axon may be compared to a crowd’s “wave”
motion in a stadium. With the wave, there is a problem, however—the aisles. How does
the wave get across the aisle? Similarly, neurons do not touch each other directly, and
electricity cannot travel over the space between them. Yet somehow neurons manage
to communicate. This is where the chemical part of electrochemical transmission
comes in. Neurons communicate with each other through chemicals that carry mes-
sages across the space. This connection between one neuron and another is one of the

N eu ron s // 49
 A The neural impulse travels down the
axon toward dendrites of the next neuron. Dendrites

Direction of
nerve impulse

Axon

Terminal
button

C At a receptor site on the dendrite of the receiving

neuron, the neurotransmitter causes channels to
open and creates an action potential.

Neurotransmitters
Terminal button Axon of sending
neuron

Synaptic vesicle
containing
neurotransmitters

Synaptic gap
Receptor with
binding site

Dendrite of Channel
receiving neuron
B In the terminal button, the impulse triggers the release Synaptic vesicle releases Neurotransmitters attach at
of neurotransmitters into the synaptic gap. neurotransmitters. the receptor binding site;
channel opens.

FIGURE 5 How Synapses and Neurotransmitters Work (A) The axon of the presynaptic (sending) neuron meets dendrites of the postsynaptic
(receiving) neuron. (B) This is an enlargement of one synapse, showing the synaptic gap between the two neurons, the terminal button, and the synaptic
vesicles containing a neurotransmitter. (C) This is an enlargement of the receptor site. Note how the neurotransmitter opens the channel on the receptor site,
triggering the neuron to fire.

most intriguing and highly researched areas of contemporary neuroscience (Badin,

synapses Fermani, & Greenfield, 2017). Figure 5 gives an overview of how this connection
Tiny spaces between neu- between neurons takes place.
rons; the gaps between neu-
rons are referred to as
synaptic gaps.
SYNAPTIC TRANSMISSION Synapses are tiny spaces between neurons; the
gap between neurons is referred to as a synaptic gap. Most synapses lie between the axon
neurotransmitters of one neuron and the dendrites or cell body of another neuron. Before an impulse can
Chemical substances that are cross the synaptic gap, it must be converted into a chemical signal.
stored in very tiny sacs within Each axon branches out into numerous fibers that end in structures called terminal
the neuron’s terminal buttons
and involved in transmitting
buttons. Stored in very tiny synaptic vesicles (sacs) within the terminal buttons are
information across a synaptic chemical substances called neurotransmitters. As their name suggests, neurotransmit-
gap to the next neuron. ters transmit, or carry, information across the synaptic gap to the next neuron. When

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a nerve impulse reaches the terminal button, it triggers
the release of neurotransmitter molecules from the synap-
tic vesicles. The neurotransmitter molecules flood the
synaptic gap. Their movements are random, but some of
them bump into receptor sites in the next neuron.
The neurotransmitters are like pieces of a puzzle, and the
receptor sites on the next neuron are differently shaped
spaces. If the shape of the receptor site corresponds to the
shape of the neurotransmitter molecule, the neurotransmit-
ter acts like a key to open the receptor site, so that the
neuron can receive the signals coming from the previous
neuron. After delivering its message, some of the neurotrans-
mitter is used up in the production of energy, and some of
it is reabsorbed by the axon that released it to await the next
The neurotransmitter-like venom of the black widow spider does
neural impulse. This reabsorption is termed reuptake. Essen-
its harm by disturbing neurotransmission.
tially, a message in the brain is delivered across the synapse Source: Centers for Disease Control
by a neurotransmitter, which pours out of the terminal but-
ton just as the message approaches the synapse.

NEUROCHEMICAL MESSENGERS There are many different neurotransmit-

ters. Each plays a specific role and functions in a specific pathway. Whereas some neu-
rotransmitters stimulate or excite neurons to fire, others can inhibit neurons from firing
(Cash & others, 2017). Some neurotransmitters are both excitatory and inhibitory (Li &
others, 2017).
As the neurotransmitter moves across the synaptic gap to the receiving neuron, its
molecules might spread out, or they might be confined to a small space. The molecules
might come in rapid sequence or might be spaced out. The receiving neuron integrates
this information before reacting to it.
Neurotransmitters fit into the receptor sites like keys in keyholes. Other substances,
such as drugs, can sometimes fit into those receptor sites as well, producing a variety of
effects. Similarly, many animal venoms, such as that of the black widow spider, are neu-
rotransmitter-like substances that act by disturbing neurotransmission.
Most neurons secrete only one type of neurotransmitter, but often many different
neurons are simultaneously secreting different neurotransmitters into the synaptic gaps of
a single neuron. At any given time, a neuron is receiving a mixture of messages from the
neurotransmitters. At its receptor sites, the chemical molecules bind to the membrane and
do one of two things: They can either excite the neuron, bringing it closer to the thresh-
old at which it will fire, or they can inhibit the neuron from firing. Usually the binding
of an excitatory neurotransmitter from one neuron will not be enough to trigger an action
potential in the receiving neuron. Triggering an action potential often takes a number of
neurons sending excitatory messages simultaneously or fewer neurons sending rapid-fire
excitatory messages.
The precise number of neurotransmitters that exist is unknown. Scientists have identi-
fied more than 100 neurotransmitters in the brain alone, each with a unique chemical
makeup. In organisms ranging from snails to whales, neuroscientists have found the same
neurotransmitter molecules that our own brains use. To get a better sense of what neu-
rotransmitters do, let’s consider seven that have major effects on behavior.

Acetylcholine Acetylcholine (ACh) usually stimulates the firing of neurons and is

involved in the action of muscles, learning, and memory (Yoder, Chan, & Taube,
2017). ACh is found throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. Botox injections contain botulin,
The venom of the black widow spider causes ACh to gush out of the synapses
a poison that, by destroying ACh, blocks
between the spinal cord and skeletal muscles, producing violent spasms.
Individuals with Alzheimer disease, a degenerative brain disorder that the recipient's facial muscles from moving.
involves a decline in memory, have an acetylcholine deficiency (Johannsson Wrinkles, as well as many genuine facial
& others 2015; Polverino & others, 2017; Sultzer & others, 2017). Some expressions, are thereby prevented.

N eu ron s // 51
 medications used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer disease do so by compensating
for the loss of the brain’s supply of acetylcholine (Howes, Fang, & Houghton, 2017;
Wong & others, 2017).

GABA GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) is found throughout the central nervous sys-
tem. It is believed to be the neurotransmitter in as many as one-third of the brain’s
synapses. GABA is important in the brain because it keeps many neurons from
firing (Cheng & others, 2017). In this way, it helps to control the precision
You can think of GABA as the of the signal being carried from one neuron to the next. Low levels of
brain's brake pedal. GABA are linked with anxiety. Antianxiety drugs increase the inhibiting
effects of GABA.

Glutamate Glutamate has a key role in exciting many neurons to fire and is especially
involved in learning and memory (Matott, Kline, & Hasser, 2017). Too much glutamate
can overstimulate the brain and trigger migraine headaches or even seizures. Researchers
have recently proposed that glutamate also is a factor in anxiety, depression, schizophre-
nia, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease (Jasaui & others, 2017; Litim, Morissette,
& Di Paolo, 2017; Posporelis & others, 2017). Because of the widespread expression of
glutamate in the brain, glutamate receptors have increasingly become the targets of drug
treatment for a number of neurological and psychological disorders (Lahti & others, 2017).

Norepinephrine Norepinephrine inhibits the firing of neurons in the central nervous

system, but it excites the heart muscle, intestines, and urogenital tract. Stress stimulates
the release of norepinephrine (Wood & Valentino, 2017; Wong & others, 2012). This
neurotransmitter also helps to control alertness. Too little norepinephrine is associated
with depression, and too much triggers agitated, manic states. For example, amphetamines
and cocaine cause hyperactive, manic states of behavior by rapidly increasing brain levels
of norepinephrine (Schmidt & others, 2017).
Recall from the beginning of the chapter that one of the most important characteristics
of the brain and nervous system is integration. In the case of neurotransmitters, they may
work in teams of two or more. For example, norepinephrine works with acetylcholine to
regulate states of sleep and wakefulness.

Dopamine Dopamine helps to control voluntary movement and affects sleep, mood,

attention, learning, and the ability to recognize rewards in the environment (Schultz,
Stauffer, & Lak, 2017; Zald & Treadway, 2017). Dopamine is related to the personality
trait of extraversion (being outgoing and gregarious), as we will see when we look at
personality. Stimulant drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines pro-
duce excitement, alertness, elevated mood, decreased fatigue, and
sometimes increased motor activity mainly by activating dopamine
receptors (Ashok & others, 2017).
Low levels of dopamine are associated with Parkinson disease, in
which physical movements deteriorate (Dirkx & others, 2017; Dunn &
others, 2017). Problems regulating dopamine are associated with
schizophrenia (Abi-Dargham, 2017), a severe psychological disorder
that we will examine when we look at psychological disorders.

Serotonin Serotonin is involved in the regulation of sleep, mood,

attention, and learning. In regulating states of sleep and wakefulness,
it teams with acetylcholine and norepinephrine. Serotonin is also a key
to maintaining the brain’s neuroplasticity, that is, allowing the brain
to change with experience (Kraus & others, 2017). Lowered levels of
FIGURE 6 Serotonin Pathways Each of serotonin are associated with depression (Cha & others, 2017). The
the neurotransmitters in the brain has specific antidepressant drug Prozac works by slowing down the reuptake of
pathways in which it functions. Shown here are serotonin into terminal buttons, thereby increasing brain levels of sero-
the pathways for serotonin. tonin (James & others, 2017). Figure 6 shows the brain pathways for

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serotonin. There are 15 known types of serotonin receptors in the brain (Hoyer, Hannon,
& Martin, 2002; Worth, Holst, & Ponimaskin, 2017) and each type of antidepressant drug
has its effects on different receptors.

Endorphins Endorphins are natural opiates that mainly stimulate the firing of neurons.
Endorphins shield the body from pain and elevate feelings of pleasure. A long-distance
runner, a woman giving birth, and a person in shock after a car wreck all have elevated
levels of endorphins (Brito, Rasmussen, & Sluka, 2017; Misra & others, 2017; Weinstein
& Weinstein, 2014).
As early as the fourth century B.C.E., the Greeks used wild poppies to induce euphoria.
More than 2,000 years later, the magical formula behind opium’s addictive action was finally
discovered. In the early 1970s, scientists found that opium plugs into a sophisticated system
of natural opiates that lie deep within the brain’s pathways (Pert, 1999; Pert & Snyder, 1973).
Morphine (the most important narcotic of opium) mimics the action of endorphins by stim-
ulating receptors in the brain involved with pleasure and pain (Bruehl & others, 2017). This
means that morphine, like natural endorphins in the brain, reduces the experience of pain.

Oxytocin Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotrans-

mitter that plays an important role in the experience
of love and social bonding. A powerful surge of oxy-
tocin is released in mothers who have just given birth,
and oxytocin is related to the onset of lactation and
breast feeding (Augustine & others, 2017). Oxytocin,
however, is not only involved in a mother’s ability to
provide nourishment for her baby. It is also a factor
in the experience of parents who find themselves “in
love at first sight” with their newborn (Eldred, 2017).
Although oxytocin release is stimulated by birth and
lactation in mothers, might it also be released in
fathers? Oxytocin is secreted in males. In one study,
oxytocin levels were checked in fathers when their
babies were 6 weeks old and when they were 6 months Research has linked the hormone oxytocin to bonding between parents
old; when fathers engaged in more stimulating contact and their newborn.
©Vetta/Getty Images
with the babies, encouraged the babies’ exploration,
and directed the babies’ attention to objects, the fathers’
oxytocin levels increased (Feldman & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2017; Gordon & others,
2010). One study found that when fathers were administered oxytocin, their parenting behav-
ior improved as evidenced in increased positive affect, social gaze, touch, and vocal syn-
chrony when interacting with their infants (Weisman, Zagoory-Sharon, & Feldman, 2014).
Oxytocin is released as part of the sexual orgasm and is thought to play a role in the
human tendency to feel pleasure during orgasm and to form emotional bonds with roman-
tic partners (Caruso & others, 2017; Schneiderman & others, 2014). Provocative research
has related oxytocin to the way that women respond to stress. According to Shelley Taylor
(2001, 2007, 2011a, 2011b, 2014a, 2014b), women under stress do not experience the classic
fight-or-flight response—rather, the influx of oxytocin suggests that women may seek bonds
with others when under stress. Research supports the idea that oxytocin is associated with
this “tend and befriend” stress response in women (Nickels, Kubicki, & Maestripieri, 2017).

DRUGS AND NEUROTRANSMITTERS Most drugs that influence behavior

do so mainly by interfering with the work of neurotransmitters. Drugs can mimic or agonist
increase the effects of a neurotransmitter, or they can block those effects. An agonist is A drug that mimics or
a drug that mimics or increases a neurotransmitter’s effects. For example, the drug mor- increases a neurotransmit-
phine mimics the actions of endorphins by stimulating receptors in the brain and spinal ter’s effects.
cord associated with pleasure and pain. An antagonist is a drug that blocks a neurotrans- antagonist
mitter’s effects. For example, drugs used to treat schizophrenia interfere with the activity A drug that blocks a
neurotransmitter’s effects.
of dopamine.

N eu ron s // 53
 FIGURE 7 An Example of a
Neural Network Inputs (information
from the environment and from sensory
receptors, such as the details of a
Inputs Outputs person’s face) become embedded in
extensive connections between neurons
in the brain. This embedding process
leads to outputs such as remembering
the person’s face.

Neural Networks
So far, we have focused mainly on how a single neuron functions and on how a nerve
impulse travels from one neuron to another. Now let’s look at how large numbers of
neurons work together to integrate incoming information and coordinate outgoing
There's a big hint here for how information. Figure 7 shows a simplified drawing of a neural network, or path-
to study successfully. When your goal is way. This diagram gives you an idea of how the activity of one neuron is linked
to remember something, the best way is to with that of many others.
build a neural network. That means making Some neurons have short axons and communicate with other, nearby
connections between the material and other neurons. Other neurons have long axons and communicate with circuits of
things in your life—experiences, family, neurons some distance away. These neural networks are not static (He, Qian,
& Cao, 2017). They can be altered through changes in the strength of syn-
everyday habits. Actively engaging aptic connections. Any piece of information, such as a name, might be
with the material will create neural embedded in hundreds or even thousands of connections between neurons
networks to help you remember. (Senan & others, 2017; Wickersham & Feinberg, 2012). In this way, human
activities such as being attentive, memorizing, and thinking are distributed over a
wide range of connected neurons. The strength of these connected neurons deter-
mines how well you remember the information.

1. The part of the neuron that carries in- C. the neural impulse. circumstances—in this case, getting a
formation away from the cell body to- D. the all-or-nothing principle. painful electrical shock—they did not
ward other cells is the “fight” and they did not “flee.” Instead,
3. The chemical substances that carry
A. dendrite. they asked for a friend to sit by them
information across the synaptic gap
B. synapse. during the shocks. Which of the follow-
to the next neuron are called
C. nucleus. ing helps to explain this “misery loves
A. neurotransmitters.
D. axon. company” effect?
B. synapses.
A. The participants were all men.
2. The law stating that once the electri- C. endorphins.
B. The participants were all women.
cal impulse reaches its threshold, it D. hormones.
C. The participants had faulty auto-
fires and moves down the axon with-
out losing intensity is called
APPLY IT! 4. Many years ago some nomic nervous systems.
researchers found that when people D. The participants had serious psy-
A. neurotransmission.
were experiencing stressful, threatening chological disorders.
B. the action potential.

Structures of the Brain

3 and Their Functions
Of course, the human body’s extensive networks of neurons are not visible to the naked
eye. Fortunately technology is available to help neuroscientists form pictures of the struc-
ture and organization of neurons and the larger structures they make up without harming
the organism being studied. This section explores techniques that scientists use in brain

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research and discusses what these tools reveal about the brain’s structures and functions.
We pay special attention to the cerebral cortex, the region of the brain that is most rel-
evant to the topics in Experience Psychology.

How Researchers Study the Brain and

Nervous System
Early knowledge of the human brain came mostly from studies of individuals who had
suffered brain damage from injury or disease or who had brain surgery to relieve another
condition. Modern discoveries have relied largely on technology that enables researchers
to “look inside” the brain while it is at work. Let’s examine some of these innovative
techniques.

BRAIN LESIONING Brain lesioning is an abnormal disruption in the tissue

of the brain resulting from injury or disease (Karnath & Rennig, 2017). In a lab Do you know anyone who has
setting, neuroscientists produce lesions in laboratory animals to determine the experienced a stroke or brain-damaging
effects on the animal’s behavior (Grayson & others, 2017). They create the
head injury? These experiences create
lesions by surgically removing brain tissue, destroying tissue with a laser, or
eliminating tissue by injecting it with a drug (Wang & others, 2017). Examining lesioned areas in the brain.
the person or animal that has the lesion gives the researchers a sense of the func-
tion of the part of the brain that has been damaged.

ELECTRICAL RECORDING The electroencephalo-

graph (EEG) records the brain’s electrical activity. Elec-
trodes placed on the scalp detect brain-wave activity, which
is recorded on a chart known as an electroencephalogram
(Figure 8). This device can assess brain damage, epilepsy (a
condition that produces seizures, caused by abnormal elec-
trical surges in the brain), and other problems. In research,
it can be used to assess brain activity associated with spe-
cific stimuli (Oliver & others, 2017). An advantage of EEG
recordings is the electrical activity measured is very rapid
and can be measured very precisely so that it is very clear
how various stimuli affect the brain.
Paul Ekman, Richard Davidson, and Wallace Friesen
(1990) measured EEG activity during emotional experi- FIGURE 8 An EEG Recording
ences provoked by film clips. Individuals in this study The electroencephalograph (EEG) is widely used in
watched amusing film clips (such as a puppy playing with psychological research.
©annedde/Getty Images
flowers, and monkeys taking a bath) as well as clips likely
to provoke fear or disgust (a leg amputation and a third-
degree burn victim). How does the brain respond to such stimuli? The researchers found
that while watching the amusing clips, people tended to exhibit more left than right
prefrontal activity, as shown in EEGs. In contrast, when the participants viewed the fear-
provoking films, the right prefrontal area was generally more active than the left.
Do these differences generalize to overall differences in feelings of happiness? They
just might. Heather Urry and her colleagues (2004) found that individuals who have
relatively more left than right prefrontal activity (what is called prefrontal asymmetry) tend
to rate themselves higher on a number of measures of well-being, including self-acceptance,
positive relations with others, purpose in life, and life satisfaction.
Not every recording of brain activity is made with surface electrodes that are attached
to the scalp. In single-unit recording, which provides information about a single neuron’s
electrical activity, a thin probe is inserted in or near an individual neuron. The probe
transmits the neuron’s electrical activity to an amplifier so that researchers can “see”
the activity.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 55
 BRAIN IMAGING For years, medical practitioners have used X rays to reveal dam-
age inside and outside the body, both in the brain and in other locations. A single X ray
of the brain is hard to interpret, however, because it shows only a two-dimensional image
of the three-dimensional interior of the brain. An improved technique, computerized axial
tomography (CAT scan or CT scan), produces a three-dimensional image obtained from X
rays of the head that are assembled into a composite image by a computer. The CT scan
provides valuable information about the location and extent of damage involving stroke,
language disorder, or loss of memory (Königs & others, 2017). The capacity to provide a
three-dimensional image of the brain is what makes CT scans superior to single X rays.
Positron-emission tomography (PET scan) is based on metabolic changes in the brain
related to activity (Hayama & others, 2016). PET measures the amount of glucose in
various areas of the brain and then sends this information to a computer for analysis.
Neurons use glucose for energy, so glucose levels vary with the levels of activity through-
out the brain. Tracing the amounts of glucose generates a picture of activity levels through-
out the brain.
An interesting application of the PET technique is the work of Stephen Kosslyn and
colleagues (1996) on mental imagery, the brain’s ability to create perceptual states in the
absence of external stimuli. For instance, if you were to think of your favorite song right
now, you could “hear” it in your mind’s ear; or if you reflected on your mother’s face, you
could probably “see” it in your mind’s eye. Research using PET scans has shown that often
the same area of the brain—a location called Area 17—is activated when we think of seeing
something as when we are actually seeing it. However, Area 17 is not always activated for
all of us when we imagine a visual image. Kosslyn and his colleagues asked their participants
to visualize a letter in the alphabet and then asked those individuals to answer some yes or
no questions about the letter. For instance, a person might be thinking of the letter C and
have to answer the question “Does it have curvy lines?” The answer would be yes. If
the person was thinking of F, the answer would be no. The fascinating result of
So, although human brains are this work was that individuals who showed brain activation on the PET scan
similar to one another in some ways, in in Area 17 while engaged in the visualization task answered the questions
other ways, all brains are unique. faster than those who were not using Area 17.
Another technique, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), involves creating a
magnetic field around a person’s body and using radio waves to construct images
of the person’s tissues and biochemical activities. The magnetic field of the magnet used
to create an MRI image is extremely powerful, many times more
powerful than the earth’s magnetic field. MRI generates very clear
pictures of the brain’s interior, does not require injecting the brain
with a substance, and (unlike X rays) does not pose a problem of
radiation overexposure. Getting an MRI scan involves lying still in a
large metal barrel-like tunnel. MRI scans provide an excellent picture
of the architecture of the brain and allow us to see if and how expe-
rience affects brain structure. For example, a number of studies have
shown how training motor skills can affect brain structure (Sale &
others, 2017). Consider, for instance, how learning to play the piano
or to dance can involve forging new connections in the brain (Alluri
& others, 2017; Karpati & others, 2017). In one of the first MRI
studies on this topic, Katrin Amunts and colleagues (1997) docu-
mented a link between the number of years a person has practiced
musical skills (playing the piano, for example) and the size of the
brain region that is responsible for controlling hand movements.
Although MRI reveals considerable information about brain struc-
ture, it cannot portray brain function. Other techniques, however, can
serve as a window on the brain in action. One such method, func-
FIGURE 9 Functional Magnetic Resonance
tional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, allows scientists literally
Imaging (fMRI) Through fMRI, scientists can
literally see what areas of the brain are active during
to see what is happening in the brain while it is working (Figure 9).
a task by monitoring oxygenated blood levels. Like the PET scan, fMRI rests on the idea that mental activity is
©Stegerphoto/Getty Images associated with changes in the brain. While PET is about the use of

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glucose as fuel for thinking, fMRI exploits changes in blood oxygen that occur in asso-
ciation with brain activity. When part of the brain is working, oxygenated blood rushes
into the area. This oxygen, however, is more than is needed. In a sense, fMRI is based
on the fact that thinking is like running sprints. When you run the 100-yard dash, blood
rushes to the muscles in your legs, carrying oxygen. Right after you stop, you might feel
a tightness in your leg, because the oxygen has not all been used. Similarly, if an area of
the brain is hard at work—for example, solving a math problem—the increased activity
leads to a surplus of oxygenated blood. This “extra” oxygen allows the brain activity to
be imaged.
Getting an fMRI involves reclining in the same large metal barrel as does an
MRI, but in the case of fMRI, the person can be doing something—listening to fMRI is also used to study
audio signals sent by the researcher through headphones or watching visual the brain AT REST! It can tell us
images that are presented on a screen mounted overhead. Pictures of the brain
are taken, both while the brain is at rest and while it is engaging in an activ-
what the brain is doing, even when it is
ity such as listening to music, looking at a picture, or making a decision. By resting. Such research tells us about
comparing the at-rest picture to the active picture, scientists can identify what what is called the "default network."
specific brain activity is associated with the mental experience being studied. fMRI
technology is one of the most exciting methodological advances to hit psychology in a
long time.
Note that saying that fMRI tells us about the brain activity associated with
a mental experience is a correlational statement. Correlations point to the
association between variables, not to the potential causal link between Sorry, lefties! Most fMRI studies
them. Although, for example, identifying a picture as a cat may relate to include only right-handed people. As we
activation in a particular brain area, we do not know if recognizing the cat will see later, handedness can influence
caused the brain activity (Schlinger, 2017). brain structure.
Earlier in this chapter, we reviewed how experience can affect the brain.
Research using fMRI has tracked the way that spending time in nature can help us
and help our brains to cope with stress. To read about this research, see the Intersection.
An additional method for studying brain functioning, and one that does allow for causal
inferences, is transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) (He, Fan, & Li, 2017; Kawasaki &
others, 2014). TMS is often combined with brain-imaging techniques to establish causal
links between brain activity and behavior, to examine neuronal functioning following brain-
injuring events such as accidents and strokes, and even to treat some neurological and
psychological disorders.
In the TMS procedure, magnetic coils are placed over the person’s head and directed
at a particular brain area. TMS uses a rapidly changing magnetic field to induce brief
electric current pulses in the brain, and these pulses trigger action potentials in
neurons (Siebner & others, 2009). Immediately following this burst of action It sounds kinda scary, huh?
potentials, activity in the targeted brain area is inhibited, causing what is But it's not. TMS is also used to
known as a virtual lesion. Completely painless, this technique, when used with treat some psychological
brain imaging, allows scientists to examine the role of various brain regions. If
a brain region is associated with a behavior, as demonstrated using fMRI or PET,
disorders.
then the temporary disruption of processing in that area should disrupt that behavior as
well. So, for instance, if researchers were doing a study involving the cat recognition
example described above, they might use TMS to disrupt the brain area that was associ-
ated with cat recognition and see whether the study’s participants are temporarily unable
to identify a picture of the feline.

How the Brain Is Organized

As a human embryo develops inside its mother’s womb, the nervous system begins form-
ing as a long, hollow tube on the embryo’s back. At 3 weeks or so after conception, cells
making up the tube differentiate into a mass of neurons, most of which then develop into
three major regions of the brain: the hindbrain, which is adjacent to the top part of the

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 57
 INTERSECTION
Neuroscience and Environmental Psychology: How
Does Spending Time in Nature Affect the Brain?

O
ne way that human beings stress themselves out is by Just as time spent in nature rejuvenates the brain, it might also
ruminating on negative events. Rumination, or brood- lay a foundation for environmental engagement (Lambert & oth-
ing, involves prolonged, self-focused, negative think- ers, 2016). Another study showed that individuals who spent time
ing. Rumination can involve replaying the same in nature not only showed lower activation in the brain’s fear cen-
problem or personal mistake over and over. ters, they were more likely to endorse more pro-environmental at-
The remedy for rumination is pretty obvious: Think about titudes. Finally, we often stress out because we feel like we lack
something else. But, in order for those other thoughts to truly the time to do all that needs to be done. Interestingly, research
combat rumination, they must be shows when we spend time in
compelling. Might nature provide nature, time itself appears to slow
an excellent distraction from nega- down (Davydenko & Peetz, 2017).
tive thoughts? Gregory Bratman Perhaps after a nature walk, we
and his colleagues (2015) con- can breathe a sigh of relief, know-
ducted a study to explore this very ing that we will be able to finish all
question. of those commitments.
The researchers randomly as- The brain can also benefit from
signed participants to take a spending time in beautiful environ-
90-minute walk either in an urban ments, even if these are created.
setting or in a natural environment. The new field of neuroarchitecture
The dependent variables exam- is concerned with understanding
ined the effects of nature in two how buildings and natural spaces
ways. First, participants rated how can be designed to promote
much their thoughts involved rumi- human functioning (Coburn,
nation, before and after the walk. Vartanian, & Chatterjee, 2017).
Second, fMRI was used to mea- ©Colin Anderson/Blend Images LLC Our brains are marvelously
sure brain activation in a brain re- adaptable, but we might want to
gion called the subgenual prefrontal cortex. This area of the brain bear in mind the environments within which our brains evolved.
is active during negative emotional states, such as sadness and Taking your brain back to nature may be just the remedy for what-
stress. The results showed that after the nature walk, participants ever is on your mind.
showed declines in rumination and in activation in the subgenual
prefrontal cortex. Among those who walked in the urban setting, \\ Where have you taken
no differences were found. your brain lately?

spinal cord; the midbrain, which rises above the hindbrain; and the forebrain, which is
the uppermost region of the brain (Figure 10).

hindbrain HINDBRAIN The hindbrain, located at the skull’s rear, is the lowest portion of the
Located at the skull’s rear, brain. The three main parts of the hindbrain are the medulla, cerebellum, and pons.
the lowest portion of the
brain, consisting of the me-
Figure 11 locates these structures.
dulla, cerebellum, and pons. The medulla begins where the spinal cord enters the skull. This structure controls many
vital functions, such as breathing and heart rate. It also regulates our reflexes.
The cerebellum extends from the rear of the hindbrain, just above the medulla. It con-
sists of two rounded structures thought to play important roles in motor coordination
(Tedesco & others, 2017). Leg and arm movements are coordinated by the cerebellum,
for example. When we play golf, practice the piano, or learn a new dance, the cerebellum
is hard at work. If another portion of the brain commands us to write the number 7, it
is the cerebellum that integrates the muscular activities required to do so. Damage to the
cerebellum impairs the performance of coordinated movements. When this damage occurs,
people’s movements become awkward and jerky. Extensive damage to the cerebellum
makes it impossible even to stand up.

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 Forebrain

Midbrain

Hindbrain

Spinal cord

FIGURE 10
Embryological Development of the Nervous System The photograph shows the primitive tubular
appearance of the nervous system at 6 weeks in the human embryo. The drawing shows the major brain
regions and spinal cord as they appear early in the development of a human embryo.
©Petit Format/Science Source

Cerebral cortex Thalamus

Extensive, wrinkled outer layer Relays information between
of the forebrain; governs higher lower and higher brain centers
brain functions, such as thinking,
learning, and consciousness
Hypothalamus
Governs eating, drinking,
and sex; plays a role in
emotion and stress

Pituitary gland
Reticular formation
Diffuse collection of neurons
involved in arousal and
stereotyped patterns, such
Eye
as walking

Amygdala Medulla (green)

Involved in fear and the Governs breathing and
discrimination of objects reflexes
necessary for organism’s Hippocampus
survival Involved in memory Cerebellum
Rounded structure involved in
Pons
motor coordination
Governs sleep and Spinal cord
arousal

FIGURE 11 Structure and Regions in the Human Brain To get a feel for where these structures are in your own brain, use the eye (pictured on the
left of the figure) as a landmark. Note that structures such as the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, pituitary gland, pons, and reticular formation reside
deep within the brain.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 59
 The pons is a bridge in the hindbrain that connects the cerebellum and the brain stem.
It contains several clusters of fibers involved in sleep and arousal (Scammell, Arrigoni, &
Lipton, 2017).
brain stem A region called the brain stem includes much of the hindbrain (it does not include the
The stemlike brain area that cerebellum) and the midbrain (which we examine below) and gets its name because it looks
includes much of the hind- like a stem. Embedded deep within the brain, the brain stem connects at its lower end with
brain (excluding the cerebel-
lum) and the midbrain;
the spinal cord and then extends upward to encase the reticular formation in the midbrain.
connects with the spinal cord The most ancient part of the brain, the brain stem evolved more than 500 million years ago
at its lower end and then (Carter, 1998). Clumps of cells in the brain stem determine alertness and regulate basic
extends upward to encase survival functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure (Yeomans, 2012).
the reticular formation in the
midbrain.
MIDBRAIN The midbrain, located between the hindbrain and forebrain, is an area in
midbrain which many nerve-fiber systems ascend and descend to connect the higher and lower portions
Located between the hind- of the brain (Peterson & others, 2017). In particular, the midbrain relays information between
brain and forebrain, an area the brain and the eyes and ears. The ability to attend to an object visually, for example, is
in which many nerve-fiber linked to one bundle of neurons in the midbrain. Parkinson disease, a deterioration of move-
systems ascend and de-
scend to connect the higher
ment that produces rigidity and tremors, damages a section near the bottom of the midbrain.
and lower portions of the Two systems in the midbrain are of special interest. One is the reticular formation (see
brain; in particular, the Figure 11), a diffuse collection of neurons involved in stereotyped patterns of behavior
midbrain relays information such as walking, sleeping, and turning to attend to a sudden noise. The other system con-
between the brain and the sists of small groups of neurons that use the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, and
eyes and ears.
norepinephrine. Although these groups contain relatively few cells, they send their axons
reticular formation to a remarkable variety of brain regions, an operation that perhaps explains their involve-
A system in the midbrain ment in complex, integrative functions.
comprising a diffuse collec-
tion of neurons involved in FOREBRAIN You try to understand what all of these terms and parts of the brain
stereotyped patterns of
behavior such as walking,
mean. You talk with friends and plan a party for this weekend. You remember that it has
sleeping, and turning to been 6 months since you went to the dentist. You are confident you will do well on the
attend to a sudden noise. next exam in this course. All of these experiences and millions more would not be pos-
sible without the forebrain, the brain’s largest division and its most forward part.
forebrain Before we explore the structures and function of the forebrain, let’s stop for a moment
The brain’s largest division
and its most forward part.
and examine how the brain evolved. The brains of the earliest vertebrates were smaller
and simpler than those of later animals. Genetic changes during the evolutionary process
were responsible for the development of more complex brains with more parts and more
interconnections (Brooker & others, 2015; Simon, 2015). Figure 12 compares the brains
of a rat, cat, chimpanzee, and human. In both the chimpanzee’s brain and (especially)
the human’s brain, the hindbrain and midbrain structures are covered by a forebrain
structure called the cerebral cortex. The human hindbrain and midbrain are similar to those
of other animals, so it is the relative size of the forebrain that mainly differentiates the
human brain from the brains of animals such as rats, cats, and chimps. The human fore-
brain’s most important structures are listed below with brief descriptions of their locations.
■ The limbic system: A network of structures under the cerebral cortex.
■ The thalamus: A structure that sits on top of the brain stem, in the central core of the
brain.
■ The basal ganglia: A cluster of neurons that sits below the cerebral cortex and atop
the thalamus.
■ The hypothalamus: A small structure just below the thalamus.
■ The cerebral cortex: The outer layer of the brain.
We will take a look at these first four structures before we embark on an exploration
of the last. Remember that these are all parts of the forebrain.
limbic system
A set of subcortical brain
structures central to
Limbic System The limbic system, a loosely connected network of structures under
emotion, memory, and the cerebral cortex, is important in both memory and emotion (LeDoux, 2012). Its two
reward processing. principal structures are the amygdala and the hippocampus (see Figure 11).

60 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
 PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY
Cerebral
cortex

Cerebral cortex
Cerebellum Cerebellum Cerebral cortex

Brain Cerebral cortex

stem Cerebellum
Brain stem

Cerebellum
Brain stem
Brain stem

Rat Cat Chimpanzee Human

FIGURE 12 The Brain in Different Species This figure compares the brain of a rat, a cat, a chimpanzee, and a human being. As you examine the
illustrations, remember that each organism’s brain is adapted to meet different environmental challenges.
> What structures are similar across the species? > Why do you think there are some common features, and what does this commonality tell us
about these brain structures? > Why don’t rats have a large cerebral cortex? > How might life be different for a rat or a cat with a human brain?

amygdala The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure located inside the brain toward the base.
An almond-shaped In fact, there is an amygdala on each side of the brain. The amygdala is involved in the
structure within the
base of the tempo-
discrimination of objects that are necessary for the organism’s survival, such as appro-
ral lobe that is priate food, mates, and social rivals. Neurons in the amygdala often fire selectively Our amygdala responds
involved in the at the sight of such stimuli, and lesions in the amygdala can cause animals to automatically to stimuli—to cute
discrimination of engage in inappropriate behavior such as attempting to eat, fight, or even mate puppies, scary dogs, and attractive
objects that are with an object like a chair. In Experience Psychology, you will encounter the
necessary for the potential romantic partners—without
organism’s survival,
amygdala whenever we investigate intense emotions such as fear and rage (Nich-
olson & others, 2017). The amygdala also is involved in emotional awareness and our ever noticing.
such as appropriate
food, mates, and expression through its many connections with a variety of brain areas (Morawetz,
social rivals. Alexandrowicz, & Heekeren, 2017).
The hippocampus has a special role in the storage of memories. Individuals who hippocampus
suffer extensive hippocampal damage cannot retain any new conscious memories after The structure in the limbic
the damage. It is fairly certain, though, that memories are not stored “in” the limbic system that has a special role
in the storage of memories.
system. Instead, the limbic system seems to determine what parts of the information
passing through the cortex should be “printed” into durable, lasting neural traces in
the cortex.

thalamus Thalamus The thalamus is a forebrain structure that sits at the top of the brain stem
The forebrain in the central core of the brain (see Figure 11). It serves as an essential relay station,
structure that sits functioning much like a server in a computer network. That is, an important function
at the top of the
brain stem in the
of the thalamus is to sort information and send it to the appropriate places in the
brain’s central core forebrain for further integration and interpretation (Stafford & Huberman, 2017). For
and serves as an example, one area of the thalamus receives information from the cerebellum and proj-
important relay sta- ects it to the motor area of the cerebral cortex (Dirkx & others, 2017). Indeed, most
tion. neural input to the cerebral cortex goes through the thalamus. Whereas one area of the
thalamus works to orient information from the sense receptors (hearing, seeing, and so basal ganglia
on), another region seems to be involved in sleep and wakefulness, having ties with the Large neuron clusters lo-
reticular formation. cated above the thalamus
and under the cerebral cor-
tex that work with the cere-
Basal Ganglia Above the thalamus and under the cerebral cortex lie large clusters, or bellum and the cerebral
ganglia, of neurons called basal ganglia. The basal ganglia work with the cerebellum and cortex to control and coordi-
the cerebral cortex to control and coordinate voluntary movements. Basal ganglia enable nate voluntary movements.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 61
 people to engage in habitual behaviors such as riding a bicycle and typing a text message.
Individuals with damage to basal ganglia suffer from either unwanted movement, such as
constant writhing or jerking of limbs, or too little movement, as in the slow and deliberate
movements of people with Parkinson disease (Zhai & others, 2018).
Hypothalamus The hypothalamus, a small forebrain structure just below the thalamus, hypothalamus
monitors three pleasurable activities—eating, drinking, and sex—as well as emotion, stress, A small forebrain
and reward (see Figure 11 for the location of the hypothalamus). As we will see later, the structure, located
just below the
hypothalamus also helps direct the endocrine system. thalamus, that
Perhaps the best way to describe the function of the hypothalamus is as a regulator of monitors three
the body’s internal state. It is sensitive to changes in the blood and neural input, and pleasurable
it responds by influencing the secretion of hormones and neural outputs. For activities—eating,
Pleasure center receptors can example, if the temperature of circulating blood near the hypothalamus is drinking, and sex—
as well as emotion,
become inactive after the use of drugs increased by just 1 or 2 degrees, certain cells in the hypothalamus start increas- stress, and reward.
such as Ecstasy and methamphetamine. ing their rate of firing. As a result, a chain of events is set in motion. Increased
circulation through the skin and sweat glands occurs immediately to release
The damaging effects of these drugs on
this heat from the body. The cooled blood circulating to the hypothalamus
the brain's reward system are what slows down the activity of some of the neurons there, stopping the process
seduce individuals into a hopeless when the temperature is just right—37.1 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahr-
pursuit of the same feelings they had enheit). These temperature-sensitive neurons function like a finely tuned ther-
during their first high—but they will mostat in maintaining the body in a balanced state.
never feel that high again. The hypothalamus also is involved in emotional states, playing an important
role as an integrative location for handling stress. Much of this integration is accom-
plished through the hypothalamus’s action on the pituitary gland, an important endo-
crine gland located just below it.
If certain areas of the hypothalamus are electrically stimulated, a feeling of pleasure
results. In a classic experiment, James Olds and Peter Milner (1954) implanted an electrode
in the hypothalamus of a rat’s brain. When the rat ran to a corner of an enclosed area, a
mild electric current was delivered to its hypo-
50,000 thalamus. The researchers thought the electric
current would cause the rat to avoid the corner.
Much to their surprise, the rat kept returning to
the corner. Olds and Milner believed they had
40,000 discovered a pleasure center in the hypothala-
mus. Olds (1958) conducted further experiments
and found that rats would press bars until they
Cumulative bar presses

dropped over from exhaustion just to continue to

30,000 receive a mild electric shock to their hypothala-
mus. One rat pressed a bar more than 2,000
times an hour for a period of 24 hours to receive
the stimulation to its hypothalamus (Figure 13).
20,000
Today researchers agree that the hypothalamus is
involved in pleasurable feelings but that other
areas of the brain, such as the limbic system and
10,000 a bundle of fibers in the forebrain, are also impor-
tant in the link between the brain and pleasure.
The Olds studies have implications for drug
addiction. The rat pressed the bar mainly because
0 this action produced a positive, rewarding effect
12:00 6:00 P.M. 12:00 6:00 A.M. 12:00 (pleasure), not because it wanted to avoid or
Noon Midnight Noon
escape a negative effect (pain). Cocaine users talk
Time
about the drug’s ability to heighten pleasure in
FIGURE 13 Results of the Experiment on the Role of the food, sex, and a variety of activities, highlighting
Hypothalamus in Pleasure The graphed results for one rat show that it the reward aspects of the drug. We will look into
pressed the bar more than 2,000 times an hour for a period of 24 hours to the effects of drugs on the brain’s reward centers
receive stimulation to its hypothalamus. when we talk about consciousness and learning.
©Digital Vision Ltd./SuperStock

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 The Cerebral Cortex
cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex is part of the forebrain and is the most recently devel-
Part of the fore- oped part of the brain in the evolutionary scheme. The word cortex means
brain, the outer “bark” (as in the bark of a tree) in Latin, and the cerebral cortex is in fact
layer of the brain,
responsible for the
the outer layer of the brain. It is in the cerebral cortex that the most com-
most complex plex mental functions, such as thinking and planning, take place.
mental functions, The neocortex (or “new bark”) is the outermost part of the cerebral
such as thinking cortex. In humans, this area makes up 80 percent of the cortex (compared
and planning. with just 30 to 40 percent in most other mammals). The size of the neo-
neocortex
cortex in mammals is strongly related to the size of the social group in
The outermost part which the organisms live. Some scientists theorize that this part of the
of the cerebral human brain, which is responsible for high-level thinking, evolved so that
cortex, making up we could understand one another (Dunbar & Schultz, 2007).
80 percent of the The neural tissue that makes up the cerebral cortex covers the lower
human brain’s
cortex.
portions of the brain like a sheet that is laid over the brain’s surface. In
humans the cerebral cortex is greatly convoluted with lots of grooves and FIGURE 14 The Human Brain’s
bulges, and these considerably enlarge its surface area (compared with a Hemispheres The two halves (hemispheres)
brain with a smooth surface). The cerebral cortex is highly connected with of the human brain can be seen clearly in
other parts of the brain. Millions of axons connect the neurons of the this photograph.
©A. Glauberman/Science Source
cerebral cortex with those located elsewhere in the brain.

LOBES The wrinkled surface of the cerebral cortex is divided into two halves called
hemispheres (Figure 14). Each hemisphere is subdivided into four regions, or lobes—
occipital, temporal, frontal, and parietal (Figure 15).
occipital lobes The occipital lobes, located at the back of the head, respond to visual stimuli. Connec-
Structures located tions among various areas of the occipital lobes allow for the processing of information
at the back of the about such aspects of visual stimuli as their color, shape, and motion. A person can have
head that respond
to visual stimuli.
perfectly functioning eyes, but the eyes only detect and transport information. That infor-
mation must be interpreted in the occipital lobes for the viewer to “see it.” A stroke or a
wound in an occipital lobe can cause blindness or wipe out a portion of the person’s
visual field.

Lobes of the Brain Functional Regions Within the Lobes

Parietal lobe Somatosensory cortex
Motor cortex
Sensory association cortex
Frontal lobe
Motor association
cortex

Occipital Visual cortex

lobe

Prefrontal Visual association

cortex cortex
Auditory
association cortex
Auditory cortex
(mostly hidden from view)
Temporal lobe

FIGURE 15 The Cerebral Cortex’s Lobes and Association Areas The cerebral cortex (left) is roughly divided into four lobes: occipital, temporal,
frontal, and parietal. The cerebral cortex (right) also consists of the motor cortex and somatosensory cortex. Further, the cerebral cortex includes association
areas, such as the visual association cortex, auditory association cortex, and sensory association cortex.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 63
 The temporal lobes, the part of the cerebral cortex just above the ears, temporal lobes
are involved in hearing, language processing, and memory. The temporal Structures in the
cerebral cortex
lobes have a number of connections to the limbic system. For this reason, that are located
people with damage to the temporal lobes cannot file experiences into long- just above the ears
term memory. and are involved in
The frontal lobes, the portion of the cerebral cortex behind the forehead, hearing, language
are involved in personality, intelligence, and the control of voluntary muscles. processing, and
memory.
A fascinating case study illustrates how damage to the frontal lobes can
significantly alter personality. Phineas T. Gage, a 25-year-old foreman who frontal lobes
worked for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, was the victim of a terrible The portion of the
accident in 1848. Phineas and several co-workers were using blasting powder cerebral cortex be-
to construct a roadbed. The crew drilled holes in the rock and gravel, poured hind the forehead,
involved in person-
in the blasting powder, and then tamped down the powder with an iron rod. ality, intelligence,
While Phineas was still tamping it down, the powder exploded, driving the and the control of
iron rod up through the left side of his face and out through the top of his voluntary muscles.
head. Although the wound in his skull healed in a matter of weeks, Phineas
had become a different person. Previously he had been a mild-mannered,
hardworking, emotionally calm individual, well liked by all who knew him.
A computerized reconstruction of Phineas
Afterward he was obstinate, moody, irresponsible, selfish, and incapable of
T. Gage’s accident, based on measurements
taken of his skull.
participating in any planned activities. Damage to the frontal lobe area of
©Patrick Landmann/Science Source his brain had dramatically altered Phineas’s personality.
Without intact frontal lobes, humans are emotionally shallow, distract-
ible, listless, and so insensitive to social contexts that they may belch with
abandon at dinner parties. Individuals with frontal lobe damage become so distracted by
irrelevant stimuli that they often cannot carry out some basic directions. In one such case,
an individual, when asked to light a candle, struck a match correctly, but instead of light-
ing the candle, he put it in his mouth and acted as if he were smoking it (Luria, 1973).
The frontal lobes of humans are especially large when compared with those of other
animals. For example, the frontal cortex of rats barely exists; in cats, it occupies a paltry
3.5 percent of the cerebral cortex; in chimpanzees, 17 percent; and in humans, approxi-
mately 30 percent.
prefrontal cortex An important part of the frontal lobes is the prefrontal cortex, which is at the front of
An important part of the the motor cortex (see Figure 15) and is involved in higher cognitive functions such as
frontal lobes that is involved
planning, reasoning, and self-control (Miller & Cummings, 2017). The prefrontal cortex
in higher cognitive functions
such as planning, reasoning, functions as an executive control system. It plays a role in monitoring and organizing
and self-control. thinking (Duverne & Koechlin, 2017).
The parietal lobes, located at the top and toward the rear of the head, are involved in
parietal lobes registering spatial location, attention, and motor control (Sokolowski & others, 2017).
Structures at the top and
Thus, the parietal lobes are at work when you are judging how far you have to throw a
toward the rear of the head
that are involved in register- ball to get it to someone else, when you shift your attention from one activity to another
ing spatial location, attention, (turn your attention away from the TV to a noise outside), and as you continue to read.
and motor control. The brilliant physicist Albert Einstein said that his reasoning often was best when he
imagined objects in space. It turns out that his parietal lobes were 15 percent larger than
average (Witelson, Kigar, & Harvey, 1999; Shi & others, 2017).
A word of caution is in order about going too far in localizing function within a par-
ticular lobe or brain region. Although this discussion has attributed specific functions to a
particular lobe (such as spatial location, attention, and motor control in the parietal lobe),
integration and connection are extensive between any two or more lobes and between lobes
and other parts of the brain. In addition, no two brains are exactly alike (Vanderwal &
others, 2017). We generalize about the brain’s structures and functions, but it is important
to bear in mind that people’s brains are different and a brain area might not serve the
somatosensory cortex function that is typically associated with it in all people (O’Connor & others, 2017).
A region in the cerebral
cortex that processes infor-
mation about body sensa-
SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX AND MOTOR CORTEX Two other
tions, located at the front of important regions of the cerebral cortex are the somatosensory cortex and the motor cor-
the parietal lobes. tex (see Figure 15). The somatosensory cortex processes information about body sensations.

64 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a n d Beh avi or
motor cortex It is located at the front of the parietal lobes. The motor cortex, at the rear of the Penfield's technique has influence
A region in the frontal lobes, processes information about voluntary movement.
cerebral cortex, to this day. Specifically, during brain
The map in Figure 16 shows which parts of the somatosensory and motor
located just behind surgery, patients are often awake. The
the frontal lobes, cortexes are associated with different parts of the body. It is based on
that processes research done by Wilder Penfield (1947), a neurosurgeon at the Montreal brain cannot feel pain, so keeping
information about Neurological Institute. Penfield worked with patients who had severe epi- patients awake allows surgeons to ask
voluntary lepsy, and he often performed surgery to remove portions of the epileptic about what they are feeling, hearing,
movement.
patients’ brains. However, he was concerned that removing a portion of the and seeing, to be sure that the surgery
brain might impair some of the individuals’ functions. Penfield’s solution does not damage brain areas that are
was to map the cortex during surgery by stimulating different cortical areas
crucial for consciousness, speech, and
and observing the responses of the patients, who were given a local anesthetic
so they would remain awake during the operation. He found that when he other important functions.
stimulated certain somatosensory and motor areas of the brain, patients reported
feeling different sensations, or different parts of a patient’s body moved. For both
somatosensory and motor areas, there is a point-to-point relation between a part of the
body and a location on the cerebral cortex. In Figure 16, the face and hands are given
proportionately more space than other body parts because the face and hands are capable
of finer perceptions and movements than are other body areas and therefore need more
cerebral cortex representation.

Motor Cortex Upper Pelvis Trunk Somatosensory Cortex

Lower arm Neck
Trunk Upper
arm Upper
leg
arm
Thumb, Lower
fingers, and arm
hand Pelvis Lower leg Hand,
fingers, and
Upper leg thumb
Facial Foot
expression Lower leg and toes Upper face
Foot
Genitals Lips
and toes
Salivation Teeth and
Vocalization gums
Mastication
Tongue
Swallowing and pharynx
Frontal lobes

Motor cortex Somatosensory cortex

Parietal lobes

Occipital lobes
Top view of the brain

FIGURE 16 Disproportionate Representation of Body Parts in the Motor and Somatosensory Areas of the Cortex The amount of cortex
allotted to a body part is not proportionate to the body part’s size. Instead, the brain has more space for body parts that require precision and control. Thus,
the thumb, fingers, and hand require more brain tissue than does the arm.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 65
 The point-to-point mapping of somatosensory fields onto the cortex’s surface is the
basis of our orderly and accurate perception of the world (Chen & others, 2011). When
something touches your lip, for example, your brain knows what body part has been
touched because the nerve pathways from your lip are the only pathways that project to
the lip region of the somatosensory cortex.

ASSOCIATION CORTEX Embedded in the brain’s lobes, the association cortex

makes up 75 percent of the cerebral cortex (see Figure 15). Association cortex (sometimes association cortex
called association areas) refers to regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate sensory and Sometimes called
association areas,
motor information. The highest intellectual functions, such as thinking and problem solv-
the region of the
ing, occur in association cortex. There are association areas throughout the brain, and cerebral cortex
each sensory system has its own association area in the cerebral cortex. that is the site of
Interestingly, damage to a specific part of the association cortex often does not result the highest intel-
in a specific loss of function. With the exception of language areas (which are local- lectual functions,
such as thinking
ized), loss of function seems to depend more on the extent of damage to the
and problem
The term association cortex applies association cortex than on the specific location of the damage. By observing solving.
to cortical material that is not brain-damaged individuals and using a mapping technique, scientists have
somatosensory or motor cortex, but is found that the association cortex is involved in linguistic and perceptual
NOT filler space! functioning.
The largest portion of the association cortex is located in the frontal lobes,
directly under the forehead. Damage to this area does not lead to somatosensory
or motor loss but rather to problems in planning and problem solving or what are called
executive functions (Fleming, Heintzelman, & Bartholow, 2016; Parsons & others, 2017).
Personality also may be linked to the frontal lobes. Recall the misfortune of Phineas Gage,
whose personality radically changed after he experienced frontal lobe damage.

Broca’s area The Cerebral Hemispheres

and Split-Brain Research
Recall that the cerebral cortex is divided into two halves—left
and right (see Figure 14). Do these hemispheres have different
functions? In 1861, French surgeon Paul Broca saw a patient
who had received an injury to the left side of his brain about
30 years earlier. The patient became known as Tan because
tan was the only word he could speak. Tan suffered from apha-
sia, a language disorder associated with brain damage. Tan
died several days after Broca evaluated him, and an autopsy
revealed that the injury was to a precise area of the left hemi-
sphere. Today we refer to this area of the brain as Broca’s area,
and we know that it plays an important role in the production
Wernicke’s area of speech. Another area of the brain’s left hemisphere that
significantly figures in language is Wernicke’s area, which, if
damaged, causes problems in comprehending language. Figure 17
locates Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area. Today there contin-
ues to be considerable interest in the degree to which the
FIGURE 17 Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area brain’s left hemisphere or right hemisphere is involved in
Broca’s area is located in the brain’s left hemisphere, and various aspects of thinking, feeling, and behavior (Trivedi & corpus callosum
Bhargava, 2017). The large bundle
it is involved in the control of speech. Individuals with
of axons that con-
damage to Broca’s area have problems saying words
nects the brain’s
correctly. Also shown is Wernicke’s area, the portion of two hemispheres,
the left hemisphere that is involved in understanding THE ROLE OF THE CORPUS CALLOSUM For
responsible for re-
language. Individuals with damage to this area cannot many years, scientists speculated that the corpus callosum, the laying information
comprehend words; they hear the words but do not know large bundle of axons connecting the brain’s two hemispheres, between the two
what they mean. has something to do with relaying information between the two sides.

66 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
sides (Figure 18). Roger Sperry (1974) Corpus callosum
confirmed this in an experiment in which
he cut the corpus callosum in cats. He
also severed certain nerves leading from
the eyes to the brain. After the operation,
Sperry trained the cats to solve a series of
visual problems with one eye blindfolded.
After a cat learned the task—say, with only
its left eye uncovered—its other eye was
blindfolded, and the animal was tested
again. The “split-brain” cat behaved as if it
had never learned the task. It seems that
the memory was stored only in the left
hemisphere, which could no longer directly
communicate with the right hemisphere.
Further evidence of the corpus callo-
sum’s function has come from studies of
patients with severe, even life-threatening,
FIGURE 18 Corpus Callosum
forms of epilepsy. Epilepsy is caused by elec- The corpus callosum is a thick band of
trical “brainstorms” that flash uncontrollably about 80 million axons that connects
across the corpus callosum. In one famous the brain cells in one hemisphere to
case, neurosurgeons severed the corpus cal- those in the other. In healthy brains,
losum of an epileptic patient, now known as the two sides engage in a continuous Plane of cut
W. J., in a final attempt to reduce his unbear- flow of information via this neural
able seizures. Sperry (1968) examined W. J. bridge.
and found that the corpus callosum func-
tions the same in humans as in animals—cutting the corpus callosum seemed to leave the patient
with “two separate minds” that learned and operated independently.
As it turns out, the right hemisphere receives information only from the left side of the
body, and the left hemisphere receives information only from the right side of the body.
When you hold an object in your left hand, for example, only the right hemisphere Figure 19 is tricky. Notice that,
of your brain detects the object. When you hold an object in your right hand, only unlike the hand, each eye is actually
the left hemisphere of the brain detects it (Figure 19). In individuals with a nor- split in half, so that half of the information
mally functioning corpus callosum, both hemispheres receive this information that each eye sees goes to a different
eventually, as it travels between the hemispheres through the corpus callosum. In
fact, although we might have two minds, we usually use them in tandem.
hemisphere. The information on the
You can appreciate how well and how rapidly the corpus callosum inte- same side of the eye as the nose
grates your experience by thinking about the challenge of doing two things at crosses over, and the information
once. Recall, for example, when you were a kid and you tried to tap your head that is on the outside of each
and rub your stomach at the same time. Even with two separate hands controlled eye stays put.
by two separate hemispheres, such dual activity is very difficult.

HEMISPHERIC DIFFERENCES IN FUNCTIONING In people with intact

brains, specialization of function, or what is sometimes called lateralization, occurs in
some areas. Researchers have uncovered evidence for hemispheric differences in function
by sending different information to each ear. Remember, the left hemisphere gets its
information (first) from the right ear, and the right hemisphere hears what is going on
(first) in the left ear. This research has shown that the brain tends to divide its function-
ing into one hemisphere or the other as follows:
■ Left hemisphere: The most extensive research on the brain’s two hemispheres has
focused on language. Speech and grammar are localized to the left hemisphere (Tussis
& others, 2017). Although it is a common misconception that all language processing
occurs in the left hemisphere, much language processing and production does come
from this hemisphere (Regal & others, 2017). For example, in reading, the left hemi-
sphere comprehends syntax (rules for combining words into phrases and sentences)

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 67
 FIGURE 19 Information Pathways from
Fixation point the Eyes to the Brain Each of our eyes receives
Left visual field Right visual field sensory input from both our left and our right
field of vision. Information from the left half of
our visual field goes to the brain’s right
hemisphere (which is responsible for simple
comprehension), and information from the right
half of our visual field goes to the brain’s left
hemisphere (the brain’s main language center,
which controls speech and writing). The input
received in either hemisphere passes quickly to
the other hemisphere across the corpus callosum.
When the corpus callosum is severed, however,
this transmission of information cannot occur.
©Nukul Chanada/Shutterstock

Optic nerve

and grammar, but the right hemisphere does

Speech
not. The left hemisphere is also keenly involved
R L in singing the words of a song.
■ Right hemisphere: The right
Writing hemisphere dominates in The right hemisphere is expert
processing nonverbal at recognizing faces. Researchers have
Main language Simple information such as spa- asked people to watch images on a
center comprehension tial perception, visual
recognition, and emo-
computer screen and to press a button
tion (Carter & others, when they see a face. Even right-handed
2017; Gamond & others, people are much faster at this task
Visual Visual 2017). For example, one when they use their left hand because
half field half field part of the right hemisphere, the information goes directly from the
R L
the fusiform face area in the right hemisphere to the hand that
Corpus callosum severed right hemisphere, is mainly at work
when we process information about peo-
hemisphere controls.
ple’s faces (Kanwisher, 2006; Schalk & others, 2018).
■ The right hemisphere also may be more involved than the left hemisphere in processing
information about emotions, both when we express emotions ourselves and when we
recognize others’ emotions (Schirmer & Adolphs, 2017). People are more likely to remem-
ber emotion words if they hear them in the left ear. Much of our sense of humor resides
in the right hemisphere (Kovarski & others, 2017; Marinkovic & others, 2011). In fact, if
you want to be sure that someone laughs at your joke, tell it to the person’s left ear.
■ The right hemisphere is also adept at interpreting story meanings and
voice intonations (Tang, Hamilton, & Chang, 2017). Further, the
right hemisphere excels at picking up a song melody. Importantly, Could this be why women, even
though, it is difficult to learn exactly what the right hemisphere right-handed women (but not men),
can do, because it cannot just tell us. We have to come up with automatically carry a baby in
a way for the right hemisphere to communicate what it knows. The the left hand?
right hemisphere certainly has some verbal abilities, for instance,
because people with split brains can draw (with their left hand) pictures
of words that have been spoken to them (in the left ear).
Because differences in the functioning of the brain’s two hemispheres are known to
exist, people commonly use the phrases left-brained (meaning logical and rational) and
right-brained (meaning creative or artistic) as a way of categorizing themselves and oth-
ers. Such generalizations have no scientific basis, and that is a good thing. We have
both hemispheres because we use them both. Regardless of how much fun it might be
to label ourselves “right-brained” or “left-brained,” we are fortunate to be whole-brained,

68 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a n d Beh avi or
The brain’s left hemisphere is intricately involved in speech and language, and so it plays a role when we recall song lyrics. The fusiform face area of the brain’s
right hemisphere is dominant when we process information about people’s faces.
(first) ©Image Source/Getty Images; (second) ©Comstock Images/Getty Images

period. The reality is that most day-to-day activities involve a complex interplay between
the brain’s two hemispheres. Furthermore, of course, our brains can adapt to changes,
such as injuries, and each hemisphere can adapt by taking on other functions (Hope &
others, 2017).

Integration of Function in the Brain

How do all of the regions of the brain cooperate to produce the wondrous complexity of
thought and behavior that characterizes humans? Neuroscience still does not have answers
to questions such as how the brain solves a murder mystery or composes a poem or an
essay. Even so, we can get a sense of integrative brain function by using a real-world
scenario, such as the act of escaping from a burning building.
Imagine that you are sitting at your computer, writing an email, when a fire breaks out
behind you. The sound of crackling flames is relayed from your ear through the thalamus,
to the auditory cortex, and on to the auditory association cortex. At each stage, the
stimulus is processed to extract information, and at some stage, probably at the association
cortex level, the sounds are finally matched with something like a neural memory repre-
senting sounds of fires you have heard previously. The association “fire” sets new machin-
ery in motion. Your attention (guided in part by the reticular formation) shifts to the
auditory signal being held in your association cortex and on to your auditory association
cortex, and simultaneously (again guided by reticular systems) your head turns toward the
noise. Now your visual association cortex reports in: “Objects matching flames are pres-
ent.” In other regions of the association cortex, the visual and auditory reports are syn-
thesized (“We have things that look and sound like fire”), and neural associations
representing potential actions (“flee”) are activated. However, firing the neurons that code
the plan to flee will not get you out of the chair. The basal ganglia must become engaged,
and from there the commands will arise to set the brain stem, motor cortex, and cerebel-
lum to the task of transporting you out of the room. All of this happens in mere seconds.
Which part of your brain did you use to escape? Virtually all systems had a role. By
the way, you would probably remember this event because your limbic circuitry would
likely have started memory formation when the association “fire” was triggered. The next
time the sounds of crackling flames reach your auditory association cortex, the associa-
tions triggered would include this most recent escape. In sum, considerable integration of
function takes place in the brain (Strother & others, 2017). All of the parts of the nervous
system work together as a team to keep you safe and sound.

Stru c tu re s of the B ra i n a n d Th ei r Fu n ct i on s // 69
 Challenge YOUR THINKING
Could Neuroscience Help Identify the Right Brain for the Job?

O
rganizations seek to hire individuals who have the more active amygdalae be a good bet for the posi-
right skills for every position. Many employers tion of air traffic controller? Might someone with
use various tests that assess personality, greater brain volume in those areas associated with
cognitive ability, and other relevant skills to understanding other people be well-suited to posi-
make hiring decisions. However, such tests can tions as therapists or journalists?
be inaccurate if people can fake characteris- Measuring actual brain processes in order to
tics they think an employer is looking for, re- select employees may never be common. How-
porting themselves as more motivated or ever, using such measures, employers might be
reliable than they actually are. In addition, able to assess job applicants for the very specific
consider that hiring decisions can be biased abilities required for an occupation.
by what applicants look like, their gender,
race/ethnicity, age, and so forth. Is there a ©Phovoir/Shutterstock What Do You Think?
solution?
Of course, the abilities and characteristics that employers hope to iden- ■ Do you think it would be ethical to use brain

tify are products of brain processes. Consider some of the associations we scans to make hiring decisions? Would such
decisions be more or less fair than current
have reviewed in this chapter. The prefrontal cortex is associated with plan-
practices?
ning and engaging in self-control. Might someone with a relatively well-
developed prefrontal cortex be well suited to an occupation requiring hard ■ How does your understanding of brain

work and a great deal of planning? The amygdalae are related to recogniz- plasticity relate to this issue?
ing survival-relevant cues in the environment. Could someone with larger or

1. Four ways that researchers study the C. forebrain. technique, researchers present a picture
brain and the nervous system are D. temporal lobes. of a flower to Miles’s right brain and a
electrical recording, imaging, stain- picture of a bumblebee to Miles’s left
3. The most recently developed level of
ing, and brain. When Miles is asked to say out
the human brain is the
A. biopsy. loud what he sees, he is likely to answer
A. midbrain.
B. lesioning. A. “A flower.”
B. forebrain.
C. lobotomy. B. “I don’t know.”
C. reticular formation.
D. neurosurgery. C. “A bee.”
D. brain stem.
D. There is no way to know.
2. The brain’s three major regions are
the hindbrain, the midbrain, and the APPLY IT! 4. Because Miles suffers
A. brain stem. from extreme seizures, a surgeon severs
B. reticular formation. his corpus callosum. Using a special

4 The Endocrine System

The endocrine system consists of a set of glands that regulate the activities of certain
endocrine system organs by releasing their chemical products into the bloodstream. Glands are organs or glands
The body system consisting Organs or tissues
tissues in the body that create chemicals that control many bodily functions. Neuroscien-
of a set of glands that regu- in the body that
late the activities of certain tists have discovered that the nervous system and endocrine system are intricately inter- create chemicals
organs by releasing their connected. They know that the brain’s hypothalamus connects the nervous system and that control many
chemical products into the the endocrine system and that the two systems work together to control the body’s bodily functions.
bloodstream.

70 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
 activities. Yet the endocrine system differs sig-
nificantly from the nervous system in a variety
of ways. For one thing, the parts of the endo- Hypothalamus
crine system are not all connected in the way
that the parts of the nervous system are. For Pituitary gland
another thing, the endocrine system works more
slowly than the nervous system, because the
Thyroid gland
chemicals released by the endocrine glands are
transported through the circulatory system, in Parathyroid gland
the blood. The heart does a mind-boggling job
of pumping blood through the body, but blood
moves far more slowly than neural impulses do.
The chemical messengers produced by the
hormones endocrine glands are called hormones. The Pancreas
Chemical messen- bloodstream carries hormones to all parts of the Adrenal gland
gers that are pro- body, and the membrane of every cell has recep-
duced by the
endocrine glands
tors for one or more hormones.
and carried by the The endocrine glands consist of the pitu-
bloodstream to all itary gland, the thyroid and parathyroid
parts of the body. glands, the adrenal glands, the pancreas, the
ovaries in women, and the testes in men Ovary
(Figure 20). In much the same way that the (in females)
brain’s control of muscular activity is con-
Testis
stantly monitored and altered to suit the infor- (in males)
mation received by the nervous system, the
action of the endocrine glands is continuously
monitored and changed by nervous, hormonal,
and chemical signals (Jessen & others, 2017).
Recall from earlier in the chapter that the
autonomic nervous system regulates processes
such as respiration, heart rate, and digestion.
FIGURE 20 The Major Endocrine Glands The pituitary gland
The autonomic nervous system acts on the releases hormones that regulate the hormone secretions of the other
endocrine glands to produce a number of glands. The pituitary gland is regulated by the hypothalamus.
important physiological reactions to strong ©Laurence Mouton/Getty Images
emotions, such as rage and fear.
pituitary gland The pituitary gland, a pea-sized gland just beneath the hypothalamus, controls
A pea-sized gland growth and regulates other glands (Figure 21). The anterior (front) part of the
just beneath the
pituitary is known as the master gland because almost all of its hormones direct
hypothalamus that
controls growth the activity of target glands elsewhere. In turn, the anterior pituitary gland is
and regulates controlled by the hypothalamus.
other glands. The adrenal glands, located at the top of each kidney, regulate mood, energy
level, and the ability to cope with stress. Each adrenal gland secretes epinephrine
adrenal glands
(also called adrenaline) and norepinephrine (also called noradrenaline). Unlike
Glands at the top
of each kidney that most hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine act quickly. Epinephrine helps
are responsible for a person get ready for an emergency by acting on smooth muscles, the heart,
regulating moods, stomach, intestines, and sweat glands. In addition, epinephrine stimulates the
energy level, and reticular formation, which in turn arouses the sympathetic nervous system, and
the ability to cope
this system subsequently excites the adrenal glands to produce more epinephrine.
with stress.
Norepinephrine also alerts the individual to emergency situations by interacting
with the pituitary gland and the liver. You may remember that norepinephrine FIGURE 21
pancreas functions as a neurotransmitter when it is released by neurons. In the adrenal The Pituitary Gland The pituitary
A dual-purpose glands, norepinephrine is released as a hormone. In both instances, norepineph- gland, which hangs by a short stalk
gland under the rine conveys information—in the first case, to neurons; in the second case, to from the hypothalamus, regulates the
stomach that per- hormone production of many of the
forms both diges-
glands.
body’s endocrine glands. Here it is
tive and endocrine The pancreas, located under the stomach, is a dual-purpose gland that per- enlarged 30 times.
functions. forms both digestive and endocrine functions. The part of the pancreas that ©MedicalRF.com

Th e En d ocrin e Sys t em // 71
 serves endocrine functions produces a number of hormones, including insulin. This part testes
of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, turns out hormones like a little factory. Insulin Sex-related endo-
crine glands in the
is an essential hormone that controls glucose (blood sugar) levels in the body and is scrotum that pro-
related to metabolism, body weight, and obesity. duce hormones
ovaries The ovaries, located in the pelvis on either sides of the uterus in women, and testes, involved in men’s
Sex-related endocrine glands located in the scrotum in men, are the sex-related endocrine glands that produce hor- sexual develop-
that produce hormones in- mones related to sexual development and reproduction. These glands and the hormones ment and
volved in women’s sexual de- reproduction.
velopment and reproduction.
they produce play important roles in developing sexual characteristics such as breasts in
women and a beard in men. They are also involved in other characteristics and behaviors,
as you will see as you learn more about psychology.

1. The endocrine glands produce chem- 3. The adrenal glands regulate energy diabetes must inject themselves with in-
icals called level, the ability to deal with stress, sulin. The endocrine system gland that is
A. hormones. and involved in diabetes is the
B. neurotransmitters. A. appetite. A. pituitary.
C. endocrine secretions. B. digestion. B. ovaries.
D. bile. C. motor coordination. C. pancreas.
D. mood. D. adrenal.
2. The endocrine glands include all of
the following except the APPLY IT! 4. Diabetes, a common dis-
A. pituitary. order worldwide, involves problems in the
B. pancreas. body’s regulation of glucose, or blood
C. liver. sugar. This disorder is often treated by
D. thyroid. diet, but sometimes individuals with

5 Brain Damage, Plasticity, and Repair

Recall from earlier in this chapter that plasticity is an example of the brain’s remarkable
adaptability. Neuroscientists have studied plasticity, especially following brain damage, and
have charted the brain’s ability to repair itself (Cheng, 2017). Brain damage can produce
horrific effects, including paralysis, sensory loss, memory loss, and personality deteriora-
tion. When such damage occurs, can the brain recover some or all of its functions?
Recovery from brain damage varies considerably, depending on the age of the individual,
the extent of the damage, and the characteristics of the person (Haller & others, 2017;
Jackson & others, 2017).

The Brain’s Plasticity and

Capacity for Repair
For much of the twentieth century, it was generally concluded that the younger children
are, the better their recovery will be from a traumatic brain injury. However, age alone is
often not a good indicator of the brain’s ability to recover from a traumatic injury (Max-
well, 2012; Mayer, Quinn, & Master, 2017). Although the young child’s brain has more
plasticity than an older child’s, because of its immaturity it also is more vulnerable to
insults (Anderson & others, 2009). Thus, assessing outcomes of brain insults based on
age alone can be misleading. A research review concluded that children’s outcomes fol-
lowing injury to their brain depend on factors related to the injury (nature, severity, and
timing of insult), physical factors (age, cognitive capacity, and genetic makeup), and

72 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a nd Beh avi or
environmental influences (intervention and quality of rehabilitation, family functioning,
and social status) (Gomez-Nicola & Perry, 2014). Regarding age, in general, a more severe
insult is more damaging to the young child’s brain than the older child’s brain (Anderson
& others, 2005).
A significant factor in recovery is whether some or all of the neurons in an affected
area are just damaged or are completely destroyed (Huang & Chang, 2009). If the neurons
have not been destroyed, brain function often becomes restored over time as the brain
repairs itself.
There are three ways that such repair might take place:
1. Collateral sprouting, in which the axons of some healthy neurons adjacent to dam-
aged cells grow new branches (Arkadir, Bergman, & Fahn, 2014; Cobianchi, de
Cruz, & Navarro, 2014).
2. Substitution of function, in which the damaged region’s function is taken over by
another area or areas of the brain.
3. Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are generated. Researchers have
found that neurogenesis occurs in mammals such as mice. It is now accepted that
neurogenesis can occur in humans (Goritz & Frisén, 2012; Sailor, Schinder, &
Lledo, 2017). However, to date, the presence of new neurons has been documented
only in the hippocampus, which is involved in memory (Paul, Chaker, & Doetsch,
2017; Xu & others, 2013). Neurogenesis in other mammals has been found in the
olfactory bulb (involved in the sense of smell), but few if any of such cells are newly
formed in adult humans (Bergman & others, 2012). Researchers are exploring how
the grafting of neural stem cells to various regions of the brain, such as the hypo-
thalamus, might increase neurogenesis (Sailor, Schinder, & Lledo, 2017). If research-
ers can discover how new neurons are generated, possibly the information can be
used to fight degenerative diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer disease and
Parkinson disease.

Brain Tissue Implants

The brain naturally recovers some functions that are lost following damage, but not all.
Recent research has generated excitement about brain grafts—implants of healthy tissue
into damaged brains (Tornero & others, 2017). The potential success of brain grafts is
much better when brain tissue from the fetal stage (an early stage in prenatal development)
is used (Monni & others, 2014; Southwell & others, 2014). The neurons of the fetus are
still growing and have a much higher probability of making connections with other neu-
rons than do the neurons of adults. In a number of studies, researchers have damaged
part of an adult rat’s brain, waited until the animal recovered as much as possible by itself,
and assessed its behavioral deficits. Then they take the corresponding area of a fetal rat’s
brain and transplant it into the damaged brain of the adult rat. In these studies, the rats
that receive the brain transplants demonstrate considerable behavioral recovery (Tajiri &
others, 2014; Tang & others, 2014).
Might such brain grafts be successful with humans suffering from brain damage?
Research suggests that they might, but finding donors is a problem (Glaw & others, 2009).
Aborted fetuses are a possibility, but using them as a source of graft tissue raises ethical
issues. Another type of treatment has been attempted with individuals who have Parkinson
disease. Parkinson disease impairs coordinated movement to the point that just walking
across a room can be a major ordeal. Fetal dopamine cells are transplanted into the basal
ganglia of the individual with Parkinson disease in an effort to improve motor performance.
Results for such studies have been limited but encouraging (Björklund & Lindvall, 2017).
stem cells
The human body contains more than 220 different types of cells, but stem cells are Unique primitive cells that
unique because they are primitive cells that have the capacity to develop into most types have the capacity to develop
of human cells. Stem cells were first harvested from embryos by researchers at the into most types of human cells.

Brai n Dam age, Pla s t ic it y, an d Repair // 73

PSYCHOLOGY IN OUR WORLD

Protecting the Athlete’s Brain

I n his first two games as a professional American football player, Jahvid Best scored a
remarkable 5 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions. His NFL career seemed to be on a fast
track to greatness. However, he suffered a concussion during a preseason game the follow-
ing year. This injury was only one of multiple serious head injuries leading to concussions he
had experienced as a football player in high school and college (Laird, 2016). And this one
ended his football career. Best was puzzled by the gravity of the situation: How could his life
be upended by experiences he could not even remember happening?
A concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a head injury that leads to temporary loss of
brain function (Finkel & others, 2017; Khurana & Kaye, 2012). Symptoms include headache, dizziness,
nausea, unequal pupil size, and lack of memory for events surrounding the trauma. Importantly,
these symptoms may not be immediately apparent, and contrary to common
belief, concussions do not necessarily lead to a lack of consciousness.
MTBIs are an increasing concern among health professionals who
work with athletes at every level. Among high school athletes, MTBIs are
thought to make up at least 15 percent of sports injuries (Hollis & others,
2014; Wallace & others, 2017). Although concussions can occur in any
sport, head injuries are a special concern for youth football players,
because of the risk of tackles. A review of deaths among high school
football players, spanning 2010 to 2014, found that 24 deaths occurred
due to catastrophic brain and spinal cord injuries (Kucera & others, 2017).
©John Mersits/CSM/REX/Shutterstock Treatment for concussion involves rest and careful monitoring (Wallace
& others, 2017). The brain requires time to recover from injury. When the
brain has not had time to recover from a concussion, a second injury can cause rapid swelling
of the brain, leading to brain stem failure and eventual coma or death (Cobb & Battin, 2004).
Of course, for a concussion to be treated properly, someone must first notice that it has
occurred and then must respond appropriately. This responsibility ought not to fall on the
injured athlete. Indeed, an individual suffering from a concussion may not recognize his or
her own injury, because the trauma has damaged the very organ that would provide the
person with insight on the injury.
Psychologists know that motivation can influence perception (Balcetis & Dunning, 2010).
Our motives can shape what we see and how we interpret that evidence. Teams, individual
players, and their fans want to win, and having star players on the field is seen as crucial to
victory. In this context, a coach might reason that an injured player is well enough to return
to the field because he or she “seems” normal. And the player, even if suffering from a pow-
erful headache, might choose not to complain because he or she is so motivated to win, to
show team loyalty, and to avoid appearing weak.
The dangers of not accurately diagnosing and treating concussions are great. In a recent study,
researchers examined 111 brains that were donated by former NFL players (Mez & others, 2017).
Among these individuals, all but 1 showed signs of a condition called chronic traumatic encepha-
lopathy (or CTE). CTE is a degenerative condition of the brain that is caused by repeated injuries.
Symptoms of CTE include difficulty thinking, memory loss, depression, and suicidal thoughts.
Fortunately for Jahvid Best, the end of his football career was not the end of his life as an ath-
lete. He ran in the 2016 Olympics as a member of the San Lucia National track team (Laird, 2016).
He was ultimately defeated by Usain Bolt, but the experience was one he will never forget.

74 // C H A P T E R 2 // T h e B r a i n a n d Beh avi or
 University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Johns Hopkins University in 1998. Because of
their amazing plasticity, stem cells might potentially replace damaged cells in the human
body, including cells involved in spinal cord injury and brain damage.
Typically, researchers have harvested the stem cells from frozen embryos left over from
in vitro fertilization procedures. In these procedures, a number of eggs, or ova, are collected
from a woman’s ovaries in order to be fertilized in a lab (rather than in the woman’s
body). In successful in vitro fertilization, the ova are brought together with sperm,
producing human embryos. Because the procedure is difficult and delicate, doc- Do you support or oppose stem
tors typically fertilize a large number of eggs with the hope that some will survive cell research? Why?
when implanted in the woman’s uterus. In the typical procedure, there are leftover
embryos. These embryos are in the blastocyst stage, which occurs five days after con-
ception. At this stage the embryo has not yet attached to the uterus. The blastocyst has
no brain, no central nervous system, and no mouth—it is an undifferentiated ball of cells.
Supporters of stem cell technology emphasize that using these cells for research and
treatment might relieve a great deal of human suffering. Opponents of abortion disapprove
of the use of stem cells in research or treatment on the grounds that the embryos die
when the stem cells are removed. (In fact, leftover embryos are likely to be destroyed in
any case.) In 2009, President Barack Obama removed restrictions on stem cell research.

1. Repair of the damaged brain might C. collateral sprouting. to be talkative, seems to be unable to
take place by all of the following D. dendritic branching. speak. Which of the following would
except best predict that Taylor is likely to regain
3. The primitive cells that have the ca-
A. substitution of function. the ability to talk?
pacity to develop into most types of
B. psychotherapy. A. Taylor is male.
human cells are called
C. collateral sprouting. B. Taylor is under 5 years old.
A. stem cells.
D. neurogenesis. C. Taylor is over the age of 21.
B. blastocysts.
D. Taylor is female.
2. The process by which the axons of C. collateral cells.
healthy neurons adjacent to dam- D. neurogenetic cells.
aged cells grow new branches is
called APPLY IT! 4. Taylor is injured in a se-
A. substitution of function. rious car accident, suffering head inju-
B. neurogenesis. ries. After the accident, Taylor, who used

6 Genetics and Behavior

In addition to the brain and nervous system, other aspects of our physiology also have
consequences for psychological processes. Genes are one important contributor to these
processes. The particular influences of nature (genetic endowment) and of nurture (expe-
rience) on psychological characteristics have long fascinated psychologists. Here we begin
by examining the central agent of nature: our genetic heritage.

chromosomes
Chromosomes, Genes, and DNA In the human cell, threadlike
structures that come in 23
pairs, one member of each
genes Within the human body are literally trillions of cells. The nucleus of each human cell contains pair originating from each
The units of hered- 46 chromosomes, threadlike structures that come in 23 pairs, one member of each pair origi- parent, and that contain DNA.
itary information, nating from each parent. Chromosomes contain the remarkable substance deoxyribonucleic
consisting of short deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
segments of chro-
acid (DNA), a complex molecule that carries genetic information. Genes, the units of heredi- A complex molecule in the
mosomes com- tary information, are short segments of chromosomes composed of DNA. What do genes do? cell’s chromosomes that car-
posed of DNA. Their main function is to manufacture the proteins that are necessary for maintaining life. ries genetic information.

G e n et ic s an d B eh avior // 75
 Chromosome

Cell

DNA

Nucleus

FIGURE 22 Cells, Chromosomes, Genes, and DNA (Left) The body contains trillions of cells, which are the basic structural units of life. Each cell
contains a central structure, the nucleus. (Middle) Chromosomes and genes are located in the nucleus of the cell. Chromosomes are made up of threadlike
structures composed mainly of DNA molecules. (Right) A gene is a segment of DNA that contains the hereditary code. The structure of DNA resembles a
spiral ladder.

It is not the case that each gene is translated into one and only one protein; moreover,
a gene does not act independently. Indeed, rather than being a group of independent
genes, the human genome (genome refers to an organism’s complete genetic material)
consists of many genes that collaborate both with one another and with nongenetic factors
inside and outside the body (Moore, 2013). The cellular machinery mixes, matches, and
links small pieces of DNA to reproduce the genes, and that machinery is influenced by
what is going on around it. Figure 22 illustrates the relationship among cells, chromo-
somes, genes, and DNA.
An international research program called the Human Genome Project is dedicated to
documenting the human genome. Initially, it was thought that humans have approximately
100,000 genes. However, more recently, the number of human genes has been revised
substantially downward to approximately 20,500 (Ensembl Human, 2010; Lopez & others,
2017). When the genes from one parent combine at conception with the same number of
genes from the other parent, the number of possibilities is staggering. Although scientists
are still a long way from unraveling all the mysteries of the way genes work, some aspects
of this process are well understood, starting with the fact that multiple genes interact to
give rise to observable characteristics.

The Study of Genetics

Historically speaking, genetics is a relatively young science. Its origins
go back to the mid-nineteenth century, when an Austrian monk named
Gregor Mendel studied heredity in generations of pea plants. By cross-
breeding plants with different characteristics and noting the characteristics of
the offspring, Mendel discovered predictable patterns of heredity and laid the founda-
©Danny Smythe/Shutterstock tion for modern genetics.

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 Mendel noticed that some genes seem to be more likely than others to show up in the
physical characteristics of an organism. In some gene pairs, one gene is dominant over the
other. If one gene of a pair is dominant and one is recessive, according to the dominant-
dominant-
recessive genes
recessive genes principle, the dominant gene overrides the recessive gene. A recessive gene
exerts its influence only if both genes of a pair are recessive. If you inherit
Do It!
principle
a recessive gene from only one parent, you may never know you carry the Search the web for information about
The principle that if
one gene of a pair gene. In the world of dominant-recessive genes, brown eyes, farsightedness, a happiness gene. How would you
is dominant and and dimples rule over blue eyes, nearsightedness, and freckles. If you evaluate research on such a gene
one is recessive, inherit a recessive gene for a trait from both of your parents, you will show given what you have read so far in
the dominant gene Experience Psychology? What (if
the trait. That is why two brown-eyed parents can have a blue-eyed child:
overrides the anything) would the existence of such
Each parent would have a dominant gene for brown eyes and a recessive a gene mean for your ability to find
recessive gene. A
recessive gene gene for blue eyes. Because dominant genes override recessive genes, the happiness in your life?
exerts its influence parents have brown eyes. However, the child can inherit a recessive gene
only if both genes for blue eyes from each parent. With no dominant gene to override them,
of a pair are the recessive genes make the child’s eyes blue.
recessive.
Unlike eye color, complex human characteristics such as personality and intelligence
are likely influenced by many different genes. Scientists use the term polygenic inheritance
to describe the influences of multiple genes on behavior. The term gene-gene interaction
is used to describe the ways two or more genes combine to influence characteristics,
behavior, diseases, and development (Power, Parkhill, & de Oliveira, 2017).
Today researchers continue to apply Mendel’s methods, as well as modern technology,
in their quest to expand knowledge about genetics. This section discusses three ways to
study genetics: molecular genetics, selective breeding, and behavior genetics.

MOLECULAR GENETICS The field of molecular genetics involves the manipula-

tion of genes using technology to determine their effect on behavior. Researchers who study
molecular genetics are trying to discover the specific locations on genes that determine an
individual’s susceptibility to many diseases and other aspects of health and well-being.

SELECTIVE BREEDING Selective breeding is a genetic method in which organisms

are chosen for reproduction based on how much of a particular trait they display. Mendel
developed this technique in his studies of pea plants. A more recent example involving
behavior is the classic selective breeding study conducted by Robert Tryon (1940).
He chose to study maze-running ability in rats. After he trained a large number Psychologists have learned a lot
of rats to run a complex maze, he then mated the rats that were the best at maze from studying rats in mazes.
running (“maze bright”) with each other and the ones that were the worst (“maze
dull”) with each other. He continued this process with 21 generations of rats. After
several generations, the maze-bright rats significantly outperformed the maze-dull rats.
Selective breeding studies have demonstrated that genes are an important influence on
behavior, but that does not mean that experience is unimportant. For example, in another
study, maze-bright and maze-dull rats were reared in one of two environments: (1) an
impoverished environment that consisted of a barren wire-mesh group cage or (2) an
enriched environment that contained tunnels, ramps, visual displays, and other stimulating
objects (Cooper & Zubek, 1958). When they reached maturity, only the maze-dull rats
that had been reared in an impoverished environment made more maze-learning errors
than the maze-bright rats.

GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION METHOD Completion of the Human

Genome Project has led to use of the genome-wide association method to identify genetic
variations linked to a particular disease, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, or Alzheimer
disease (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2012; Zillikens & others, 2017). To
conduct a genome-wide association study, researchers obtain DNA from individuals who have
the disease under study and from those who do not. Then, each participant’s complete set
of DNA, or genome, is scanned on machines to determine markers of genetic variation. If
certain genetic variations occur more frequently in people who have the disease, the variations
point to the region in the human genome where the disease-causing problem exists.

G en et ic s an d B eh avior // 77
 Genes that are close to one another in our DNA are more likely to be inherited
together. This link between genes is used in what is called linkage analysis. This analysis
may help identify the location of certain genes by referring to those genes whose position
is already known. This strategy is often used to search for genes associated with risk for
a disease. Gene linkage studies are now being conducted on a wide variety of disorders
and health issues. A key challenge with genome wide association and linkage studies is
that results from these do not consistently replicate. That means that one study might
produce a set of conclusions that other studies do not find. As such, it is important for
researchers to combine information from many of these studies to insure conclusions are
reproducible (Wang & others, 2017).

BEHAVIOR GENETICS Behavior genetics is the study of the degree and nature
of heredity’s influence on behavior. Behavior genetics is less invasive than molecular genet-
ics and selective breeding. Using methods such as the twin study, behavior geneticists
examine the extent to which individuals are shaped by their heredity and their environ-
mental experiences (McGue, Rustichini, & Iacono, 2017). In the most common type of
twin study, researchers compare the behavioral similarity of identical twins with the behav-
ioral similarity of fraternal twins. Identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg that
splits into two genetically identical embryos, each of which becomes a person. Fraternal
twins develop from separate eggs and separate sperm, and so they are genetically no more
similar than nontwin siblings. They may even be of different sexes.
By comparing groups of identical and fraternal twins, behavior geneticists capitalize
on the fact that identical twins are more similar genetically than are fraternal twins. In
one twin study, researchers compared 7,000 pairs of Finnish identical and fraternal twins
with respect to the personality traits of extraversion (which, as we have seen, means being
outgoing) and neuroticism (being psychologically unstable) (Rose & others, 1988). The
identical twins were much more alike than the fraternal twins on both of these personal-
ity traits, and this result suggests that genes influence both traits.
One problem with twin studies is that adults might stress the similarities of identical
twin children more than those of fraternal twins, and identical twins might perceive
themselves as a “set” and play together more than fraternal twins do. If so, observed
similarities in identical twins might be more strongly influenced by environmental factors
than usually thought.
In another type of twin study, researchers evaluate identical twins who have been reared
in separate environments. If their behavior is similar, the assumption is that heredity has
played an important role in shaping their behavior. This strategy is the basis for the Min-
nesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, directed by Thomas Bouchard and his colleagues
(1996). They bring identical twins who have been reared apart to Minneapolis from all
over the world to study their behavior. They ask thousands of questions about their fam-
ily, childhood, interests, and values. Detailed medical histories are obtained, including
information about diet, smoking, and exercise habits.
One pair of twins in the Minnesota study, Jim Springer and Jim Lewis, were separated
at 4 weeks of age and did not see each other again until they were 39 years old. They
had an uncanny number of similarities, even though they had lived apart for decades. For
example, they both worked as part-time deputy sheriffs, had vacationed in Florida, had
owned Chevrolets, had dogs named Toy, and had married and divorced women named
Betty. Both liked math but not spelling. Both were good at mechanical drawing. Both put
on 10 pounds at about the same time in their lives, and both started suffering headaches
at 18 years of age. They did have a few differences. For example, one expressed himself
better orally, and the other was more proficient at writing. One parted his hair over his
forehead; the other wore his hair slicked back with sideburns.
Critics argue that some of the separated twins in the Minnesota study had been together
several months prior to their adoption, that some had been reunited prior to testing (in
certain cases, for a number of years), that adoption agencies often put identical twins in
similar homes, and that even strangers are likely to have some coincidental similarities
(Joseph, 2006). To think critically about this issue, see the Psychological Inquiry.

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Genes and the PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY
Environment
So far, we have talked a lot about genes, and
you are probably getting the picture that genes
are a powerful force in an organism. The role
of genetics in some characteristics may seem
obvious; for instance, how tall you are depends
to a large degree on how tall your parents are.
However, imagine a person growing up in a
severely impoverished environment—with poor
nutrition, inadequate shelter, little or no medi-
cal care, and a mother who had received no
prenatal care. This individual may have genes
that call for the height of an NBA or a WNBA
center, but without environmental support for
this genetic capacity, he or she may never Identical Twins. We’ve all heard stories about identical twins who were
reach that genetically programmed height. separated at birth. When these twins meet up in adulthood, people often
Thus, the relationship between an individual’s find the similarities between them to be uncanny. Are these similarities
genes and the actual person we see before us evidence of the extraordinary power of genes? Let’s take a closer look.
©Kenneth Sponsler/Getty Images
is not a perfect one-to-one correspondence.
Even for a characteristic such as height, genes > Imagine that you did not see the photo of twins above and were
do not fully determine where a person will simply asked how similar two people of the same gender, ethnicity,
appearance, and age might be. > How might even very different
stand on this variable. We need to account for
environments respond to these individuals similarly? > How many people
the role of nurture, or environmental factors, of this same gender, age, and ethnicity might enjoy similar hobbies?
in the actual characteristics we see in the fully Have similar jobs? > What does this Psychological Inquiry tell you about
grown person. the power of vivid and unusual cases in the conclusions we reach?
If the environment matters for an apparently
simple characteristic such as height, imagine
the role it might play in complex characteristics such as being outgoing or intelligent. For
these psychological characteristics, genes are, again, not directly reflected in the charac-
teristics of the person. Indeed, genes cannot tell us exactly what a person will be like.
Genes are simply related to some of the characteristics we see in a person.
To account for this gap between genes and actual observable characteristics, scientists
distinguish between a genotype and a phenotype. A genotype is a person’s genetic heritage, genotype
his or her actual genetic material. A phenotype is the individual’s observable characteris- An individual’s genetic
tics. The relationship between a genotype and phenotype is not always obvious. Recall heritage; his or her actual
genetic material.
that some genetic characteristics are dominant and others are recessive. Seeing that a
person has brown eyes (his or her phenotype) tells us nothing about whether the person phenotype
might also have a gene for blue eyes (his or her genotype) hiding out as well. The phe- An individual’s observable
notype is influenced by the genotype but also by environmental factors. characteristics.
The term phenotype applies to both physical and psychological characteristics. Consider
a trait such as extraversion, the tendency to be outgoing and sociable. Even if we knew
the exact genetic recipe for extraversion, we still could not perfectly predict a per-
son’s level of (phenotypic) extraversion from his or her genes, because at least
some of this trait comes from the person’s experience. We will revisit the Environmental influences can affect
concepts of genotype and phenotype throughout Experience Psychology. things like hair color. Just because Mom
How does the process from genotype to phenotype work? It’s very complex, has dark brown hair doesn't mean she's
but at a very basic level in a cell, DNA information is transcribed to RNA genetically a brunette! Only her
(ribonucleic acid), which in turn is translated into amino acids that will hairdresser knows for sure.
become proteins. Once assembled, proteins become capable of producing char-
acteristics in the phenotype.
Whether a gene is “turned on”—working to assemble proteins—is also a matter of col-
laboration. The activity of genes (genetic expression) is affected by their environment. For
example, hormones that circulate in the blood make their way into the cell where they can

G e n et ic s an d B eh avior // 79
 turn genes on and off. The flow of hormones, too, can be
affected by environmental conditions, such as light, day
length, nutrition, and behavior. Factors such as stress,
radiation, and temperature can influence gene expression
(Mangino & others, 2017).
Studies are exploring how interactions between hered-
ity and environment influence development, including
interactions that involve specific DNA sequences (Davies
& Cicchetti, 2014). These studies are concerned with
how individuals with the same genetic characteristics
can, because of environmental factors, differ from one
another in important ways. For instance, research has
found that variations in dopamine-related genes interact
with supportive or unsupportive family environments to
influence children’s aggressive behavior (Bakermans-
Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2011). Children with a
particular genetic characteristic were more likely to
behave aggressively if their parents were harsh and insen-
sitive. This type of research concerns gene × environment gene ×
(G × E) interaction—the interaction of a specific mea- environment
sured variation in DNA and a specific measured aspect (g × e) interaction
The interaction of
of the environment. G × E interactions can be tricky to a specific measured
understand. They simply tell us that just because two variation in DNA
people share genetic similarities, they are still likely to be and a specific
different. Even when a gene has a strong relationship to measured
a particular phenotypic characteristic, that characteristic aspect of the
environment.
may not show itself in a person if the person’s experi-
ences do not lead the gene to express itself. You may
know someone with a family history of a particular con-
Our height depends significantly on the genes we inherit. However, dition, such as alcoholism. A family history might suggest
even if we have genes that call for the stature of a basketball genetics is involved. Yet, that person may or may not
center, we may not reach that genetically programmed height if we develop the condition if he or she never drinks or does
lack good nutrition, adequate shelter, and medical care. not encounter experiences that promote drinking.
©Ron Waite/CSM/REX/Shutterstock
The biological foundations of psychology are in evi-
dence across the entire nervous system, including the
brain, the intricately working neurotransmitters, the endocrine system, and the genes.
These physical realities of the body work in amazing concert to produce behaviors,
thoughts, and feelings. The activities you do each day, from large to small, are all signs
of the spectacular success of this physical system. Your mastery of the material in this
chapter is but one reflection of the extraordinary capabilities of this biological feat.

1. The threadlike structures that are and environmental factors, are called the phenotype, not necessarily
present in the cell nucleus and con- the Sarah’s and Jack’s genotypes.
tain genes and DNA are called A. genome. B. Jack should not be worried be-
A. genomes. B. genotype. cause Trent’s hair color is part of
B. polygenic markers. C. phenotype. his genotype, not necessarily his
C. chromosomes. D. prototype. phenotype.
D. stem cells. C. Jack should be worried because
2. Researchers study genetics through APPLY IT! 4. Sarah and Jack both there is no way for two brunettes
have brown hair. When their son Trent is to have a baby with red hair.
all of the following methods except
born, he has bright red hair. Family and Sarah’s been up to no good.
A. twin studies.
friends start making jokes about any D. Jack should be worried because
B. selective breeding.
male friends of Sarah’s who have red Trent’s phenotype should match
C. environmental impact studies.
hair. Should Jack be worried that he is his parents’ exactly.
D. molecular genetics.
not Trent’s father?
3. The individual’s observable charac- A. Jack should not be worried be-
teristics, influenced by both genetic cause brown hair color is part of

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