Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

physiological psychology

 
Dictionary: physiological psychology

n.
The branch of psychology that studies the biological and physiological basis of behavior.

physiological psychologist physiological psychologist n.

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: physiological psychology
Top

Study of the physiological basis of behaviour. Traditional specializations in the field cover perception, motivation, emotion, learning, memory, cognition, or mental disorders. Also considered are other physical factors that affect the nervous system, including heredity, metabolism, hormones, disease, drug ingestion, and diet. An experimental science, physiological psychology relies heavily on laboratory research and quantitative data.

For more information on physiological psychology, visit Britannica.com.

WordNet: physiological psychology
Top
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the branch of psychology that is concerned with the physiological bases of psychological processes
  Synonyms: neuropsychology, psychophysiology


Wikipedia: Physiological psychology
Top

Physiological psychology is a subdivision of behavioral neuroscience or biological psychology that studies the neural mechanisms of perception and behavior through direct manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in controlled experiments.[1] Unlike other subdivisions within biological psychology, the main focus of physiological psychological research is the development of theories that explain brain-behavior relationships rather than the development of research that has translational value. It is sometimes alternatively called psychophysiology, and in recent years also cognitive neuroscience.

One example of physiological psychology research is the study of the role of the hippocampus in learning and memory. This can be achieved by surgical removal of the hippocampus from the rat brain followed by an assessment of memory tasks by that same rat.[2]

In the past, physiological psychologists received much of their training in psychology departments in major universities. Currently, physiological psychologists are also being trained in behavioral neuroscience or biological psychology[3] programs that are affiliated with psychology departments, or in interdisciplinary neuroscience programs.

References

  1. ^ Pinel, J. P. J. (2004). Biopsychology. Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 0-20542-651-4
  2. ^ Olton DS, Becker JT and Handelmann GE (1979) Hippocampus, space, and memory. Brain and Behavioral Science 2: 313–365.
  3. ^ S. Marc Breedlove, Mark Rosenzweig, and Neil V. Watson (2007). Biological Psychology: An Introduction to Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. Sinauer Associates. ISBN 978-0878937059

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Physiological psychology" Read more