Behavioral neuroscience

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Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, [1] biopsychology, or psychobiology, [2] is part of the broad, interdisciplinary field of neuroscience, with its primary focus being on the biological and neural substrates underlying human experiences and behaviors, as in our psychology. Derived from an earlier field known as physiological psychology, [3] behavioral neuroscience applies the principles of biology to study the physiological, genetic, and developmental mechanisms of behavior in humans and other animals. [4] Behavioral neuroscientists examine the biological bases of behavior through research that involves neuroanatomical substrates, environmental and genetic factors, effects of lesions and electrical stimulation, developmental processes, recording electrical activity, neurotransmitters, hormonal influences, chemical components, and the effects of drugs. Important topics of consideration for neuroscientific research in behavior include learning and memory, sensory processes, motivation and emotion, as well as genetic and molecular substrates concerning the biological bases of behavior. Subdivisions of behavioral neuroscience include the field of cognitive neuroscience, which emphasizes the biological processes underlying human cognition. Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience are both concerned with the neuronal and biological bases of psychology, with a particular emphasis on either cognition or behavior depending on the field. [3]

Contents

History

Behavioral neuroscience as a scientific discipline emerged from a variety of scientific and philosophical traditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. René Descartes proposed physical models to explain animal as well as human behavior. Descartes suggested that the pineal gland, a midline unpaired structure in the brain of many organisms, was the point of contact between mind and body. Descartes also elaborated on a theory in which the pneumatics of bodily fluids could explain reflexes and other motor behavior. This theory was inspired by moving statues in a garden in Paris. [5]

Other philosophers also helped give birth to psychology. One of the earliest textbooks in the new field, The Principles of Psychology by William James, argues that the scientific study of psychology should be grounded in an understanding of biology. [6]

1907 image of a brain 1907 image of a brain (Labour and Childhood).png
1907 image of a brain

The emergence of psychology and behavioral neuroscience as legitimate sciences can be traced from the emergence of physiology from anatomy, particularly neuroanatomy. Physiologists conducted experiments on living organisms, a practice that was distrusted by the dominant anatomists of the 18th and 19th centuries. The influential work of Claude Bernard, Charles Bell, and William Harvey helped to convince the scientific community that reliable data could be obtained from living subjects. [7]

Even before the 18th and 19th centuries, behavioral neuroscience was beginning to take form as far back as 1700 B.C. [8] The question that seems to continually arise is: what is the connection between the mind and body? The debate is formally referred to as the mind-body problem. There are two major schools of thought that attempt to resolve the mind–body problem; monism and dualism. [5] Plato and Aristotle are two of several philosophers who participated in this debate. Plato believed that the brain was where all mental thought and processes happened. [8] In contrast, Aristotle believed the brain served the purpose of cooling down the emotions derived from the heart. [5] The mind-body problem was a stepping stone toward attempting to understand the connection between the mind and body.

William James Wm james.jpg
William James

Another debate arose about localization of function or functional specialization versus equipotentiality which played a significant role in the development in behavioral neuroscience. As a result of localization of function research, many famous people found within psychology have come to various different conclusions. Wilder Penfield was able to develop a map of the cerebral cortex through studying epileptic patients along with Rassmussen. [5] Research on localization of function has led behavioral neuroscientists to a better understanding of which parts of the brain control behavior. This is best exemplified through the case study of Phineas Gage.

The term "psychobiology" has been used in a variety of contexts, emphasizing the importance of biology, which is the discipline that studies organic, neural and cellular modifications in behavior, plasticity in neuroscience, and biological diseases in all aspects, in addition, biology focuses and analyzes behavior and all the subjects it is concerned about, from a scientific point of view. In this context, psychology helps as a complementary, but important discipline in the neurobiological sciences. The role of psychology in this questions is that of a social tool that backs up the main or strongest biological science. The term "psychobiology" was first used in its modern sense by Knight Dunlap in his book An Outline of Psychobiology (1914). [9] Dunlap also was the founder and editor-in-chief of the journal Psychobiology. In the announcement of that journal, Dunlap writes that the journal will publish research "...bearing on the interconnection of mental and physiological functions", which describes the field of behavioral neuroscience even in its modern sense. [9]

Neuroscience is considered a relatively new discipline, with the first conference for the Society of Neuroscience occurring in 1971. The meeting was held to merge different fields focused on studying the nervous system (ex. neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, physiological psychology, neuroendocrinology, clinical neurology, neurophysiology, neuropharmacology, etc.) by creating one interdisciplinary field. In 1983, the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association, was split into two separate journals: Behavioral Neuroscience and the Journal of Comparative Psychology. The author of the journal at the time gave reasoning for this separation, with one being that behavioral neuroscience is the broader contemporary advancement of physiological psychology. Furthermore, in all animals, the nervous system is the organ of behavior. Therefore, every biological and behavioral variable that influences behavior must go through the nervous system to do so. Present-day research in behavioral neuroscience studies all biological variables which act through the nervous system and relate to behavior. [10]

Relationship to other fields of psychology and biology

In many cases, humans may serve as experimental subjects in behavioral neuroscience experiments; however, a great deal of the experimental literature in behavioral neuroscience comes from the study of non-human species, most frequently rats, mice, and monkeys. As a result, a critical assumption in behavioral neuroscience is that organisms share biological and behavioral similarities, enough to permit extrapolations across species. This allies behavioral neuroscience closely with comparative psychology, ethology, evolutionary biology, and neurobiology. Behavioral neuroscience also has paradigmatic and methodological similarities to neuropsychology, which relies heavily on the study of the behavior of humans with nervous system dysfunction (i.e., a non-experimentally based biological manipulation). Synonyms for behavioral neuroscience include biopsychology, biological psychology, and psychobiology. [11] Physiological psychology is a subfield of behavioral neuroscience, with an appropriately narrower definition.

Research methods

The distinguishing characteristic of a behavioral neuroscience experiment is that either the independent variable of the experiment is biological, or some dependent variable is biological. In other words, the nervous system of the organism under study is permanently or temporarily altered, or some aspect of the nervous system is measured (usually to be related to a behavioral variable).

Disabling or decreasing neural function

Enhancing neural function

Measuring neural activity

Genetic techniques

Quantifying behavior

Other research methods

Computational models - Using a computer to formulate real-world problems to develop solutions. [37] Although this method is often focused in computer science, it has begun to move towards other areas of study. For example, psychology is one of these areas. Computational models allow researchers in psychology to enhance their understanding of the functions and developments in nervous systems. Examples of methods include the modelling of neurons, networks and brain systems and theoretical analysis. [38] Computational methods have a wide variety of roles including clarifying experiments, hypothesis testing and generating new insights. These techniques play an increasing role in the advancement of biological psychology. [39]

Limitations and advantages

Different manipulations have advantages and limitations. Neural tissue destroyed as a primary consequence of a surgery, electric shock or neurotoxin can confound the results so that the physical trauma masks changes in the fundamental neurophysiological processes of interest. For example, when using an electrolytic probe to create a purposeful lesion in a distinct region of the rat brain, surrounding tissue can be affected: so, a change in behavior exhibited by the experimental group post-surgery is to some degree a result of damage to surrounding neural tissue, rather than by a lesion of a distinct brain region. [40] [41] Most genetic manipulation techniques are also considered permanent. [41] Temporary lesions can be achieved with advanced in genetic manipulations, for example, certain genes can now be switched on and off with diet. [41] Pharmacological manipulations also allow blocking of certain neurotransmitters temporarily as the function returns to its previous state after the drug has been metabolized. [41]

Topic areas

Experimental setup for noninvasive theta-burst stimulation of the human striatum to enhance striatal activity and motor skill learning. Experimental setup for noninvasive theta-burst stimulation of the human striatum to enhance striatal activity and motor skill learning.webp
Experimental setup for noninvasive theta-burst stimulation of the human striatum to enhance striatal activity and motor skill learning.

In general, behavioral neuroscientists study various neuronal and biological processes underlying behavior, [42] though limited by the need to use nonhuman animals. As a result, the bulk of literature in behavioral neuroscience deals with experiences and mental processes that are shared across different animal models such as:

However, with increasing technical sophistication and with the development of more precise noninvasive methods that can be applied to human subjects, behavioral neuroscientists are beginning to contribute to other classical topic areas of psychology, philosophy, and linguistics, such as:

Behavioral neuroscience has also had a strong history of contributing to the understanding of medical disorders, including those that fall under the purview of clinical psychology and biological psychopathology (also known as abnormal psychology). Although animal models do not exist for all mental illnesses, the field has contributed important therapeutic data on a variety of conditions, including:

Research on topic areas

Cognition

High resolution fMRI of the human brain. High Resolution FMRI of the Human Brain.gif
High resolution fMRI of the human brain.

Behavioral neuroscientists conduct research on various cognitive processes through the use of different neuroimaging techniques. Examples of cognitive research might involve examination of neural correlates during emotional information processing, such as one study that analyzed the relationship between subjective affect and neural reactivity during sustained processing of positive (savoring) and negative (rumination) emotion. The aim of the study was to analyze whether repetitive positive thinking (seen as being beneficial) and repetitive negative thinking (significantly related to worse mental health) would have similar underlying neural mechanisms. Researchers found that the individuals who had a more intense positive affect during savoring, were also the same individuals who had a more intense negative affect during rumination. fMRI data showed similar activations in brain regions during both rumination and savoring, suggesting shared neural mechanisms between the two types of repetitive thinking. The results of the study suggest there are similarities, both subjectively and mechanistically, with repetitive thinking about positive and negative emotions. This overall suggests shared neural mechanisms by which sustained emotional processing of both positive and negative information occurs. [43]

Stress

Research within the field of behavioral neuroscience involves looking at the complex neuroanatomy underlying different emotional processes, such as stress. Godoy et al. (2018) did so by providing an in-depth analyzation of the neurobiological underpinnings of the stress response. The article features on an overview on the historical development of stress research and its importance leading up to research related to both physical and psychological stressors today. The authors explored various significators of stress and their corresponding neuroanatomical processing, along with the temporal dynamics of both acute and chronic stress and its effects on the brain. Overall, the article provides a comprehensive scientific overview of stress through a neurobiological lens, highlighting the importance of our current knowledge in stress-related research areas today. [44]

Awards

Nobel Laureates

The following Nobel Prize winners could reasonably be considered behavioral neuroscientists or neurobiologists.[ by whom? ] (This list omits winners who were almost exclusively neuroanatomists or neurophysiologists; i.e., those that did not measure behavioral or neurobiological variables.)

Kavli Prize in Neuroscience

See also

References

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