LibGuides: VCE Psychology Unit 1: Area of Study 1: Outcome 1

Area of Study 1: How does the brain function?

Advances in brain research methods have led to new ways of understanding the relationship between the mind, brain and behaviour. In this area of study, students examine how our understanding of brain structure and function has changed over time and how the brain enables us to interact with the external world around us. They analyse the roles of specific areas of the brain and the interactions between different areas of the brain that enable complex cognitive tasks to be performed. Students explore how brain plasticity and brain damage can affect a person’s functioning.

On completion of this unit, the student should be able to describe how understanding of brain structure and function has changed over time, explain how different areas of the brain coordinate different functions and explain how brain plasticity and brain damage can change psychological functioning.

Key knowledge

Role of the brain in mental processes and behaviour:

the influence of different approaches over time to understanding the role of the brain, including the brain vs heart debate, mind-body problem, phrenology, first brain experiments and neuroimaging techniques
the basic structure and function of the central and peripheral nervous systems as communication systems between the body’s internal cells and organs and the external world
the role of the neuron (dendrites, axon, myelin and axon terminals) as the primary functional unit of the nervous system, including the role of glial cells in supporting neuronal function
the basic structure and function of the hindbrain (cerebellum, medulla), midbrain (reticular formation) and forebrain (hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebrum)
the role of the cerebral cortex in the processing of complex sensory information, the initiation of voluntary movements, language, symbolic thinking and the regulation of emotion, including localisation of function.

Brain plasticity and brain damage:

infancy and adolescence as periods of rapid development and changes in brain structure and function, including development of myelin, synaptic pruning and frontal lobe development
the impact of injury to the cerebral cortex on a person’s biological, psychological and social functioning and the ability of the brain to undergo adaptive plasticity, illustrated by rehabilitation of people with brain injuries
the use of animal studies and neuroimaging techniques to develop understanding of human neurological disorders including Parkinson’s disease.

From VCE Psychology Study Design, pp. 14-15

crash course psychology - meeting your master

Early Brain Experiments

The split brain: A tale of two halves
Since the 1960s, researchers have been scrutinizing a handful of patients who underwent a radical kind of brain surgery. The cohort has been a boon to neuroscience — but soon it will be gone.
Split brain experiments
In the 19th century, research on people with certain brain injuries, made it possible to suspect that the "language center" in the brain was commonly situated in the left hemisphere. One had observed that people with lesions in two specific areas on the left hemisphere lost their ability to talk, for example.
Split brain surgery
Split-brain surgery, or corpus calloscotomy, is a drastic way of alleviating epileptic seizures, the occurrence of sporadic electrical storms in the brain. The procedure involves severing the corpus callosum, the main bond between the brain’s left and right hemispheres. After a split-brain surgery the two hemispheres do not exchange information as efficiently as before. This impairment can result in split-brain syndrome, a condition where the separation of the hemispheres affects behavior and agency.

Ablation studies, or experimental ablation, describes the method of deliberately destroying brain tissue or making brain lesions, in order to observe the changes that this may have on an animal's behaviour. Lesion studies study brain function by purposely destroying parts of the brain and then studying the resulting change in behaviour.

Electrical Stimulation of the Brain (ESB)
A procedure which involves the introduction of a weak electrical current into specific locations in the brain by using multiple microelectrodes to apply short pulses of electrical currents intended to mimic the natural flow of impulses through the neural pathways.
History of the electrical stimulaton of the brain
In 1954, James Olds and Peter Milner discovered that a rat would press a bar to receive a brief impulse of electricity through an electrode implanted in certain areas of the brain.
Introduction to brain imaging techniques and other methods

Structure and Function of the Nervous System

Structure & function of the nervous system
Neurons are the basic functional units of the nervous system. They have a number of different structures which distinguish them from any other cell in the body.

Lobes of the brain
The brain’s cerebral cortex is the outermost layer that gives the brain its characteristic wrinkly appearance. The cerebral cortex is divided lengthways into two cerebral hemispheres, each of which traditionally have been divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Although we now know that most brain functions rely on many different regions across the entire brain working in conjunction, it is still true that each lobe carries out the bulk of certain functions.

Brain Plasticity

Brain case study: Phineas Gage

Phineas Gage (1823–1860) was the victim of a terrible accident in 1848. His injuries helped scientists understand more about the brain and human behaviour.

Neuro-imaging Techniques

Parkinson's Disease

What is Parkinson's?
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological condition that affects people from all walks of life. It is quite common, with approximately 70,000 Australians living with Parkinson’s.
Parkinson's Disease [detailed]
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain responsible for body movement. When dopamine-producing neurons die, symptoms such as tremor, slowness, stiffness, and balance problems occur. Treatments focus on reducing symptoms to enable a more active lifestyle and include medication, diet, exercise, and deep brain stimulation surgery.