Chapter 4. Biological Basis of Behaviour

Approximate reading time: 6 minutes

You hold the scalpel in your hand, first timidly, then commit to an initial cut. Relief washes over you. The next cut might be harder as now you are deeper into the brain, eager to expose the structure involved in our experience of emotion – you think yours must be extremely active right now.

You think about who this brain belongs to. Good thing they can’t feel anything since there are no pain or touch receptors in the brain! After all, this is your first time cutting through a brain. Then, you remember that the individual this brain belonged to wanted you to do this! With a few more cuts you have completed the tasks set out for you on your laboratory handout. You look around you and several other people are finishing up with cutting their allocated brains as well.

Phew! That was an exhilarating first brain anatomy laboratory experience. Thousands of life sciences and medical professions students around the world feel this same excitement and nervousness each year as they explore generously donated human body remains, including brains. Historically, the way humans learned about the brain was not much different – relying on organs gifted for science.

Though ethical issues around medical research persist, modern standards are extremely strict and people like us (interested in psychology!) benefit from fully consenting donors to broaden our own learning of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and the nerves extended through to the body’s various tissues). Psychologists work to find the connection between these inner biological workings of the human body and the external expression of those workings (our behaviours). These physiological and anatomical foundations are the basis for many areas of psychology. In this chapter, you will become familiar with the structure and function of the nervous system as it relates to human behaviour.