Neupsy Key

Anxiety INTRODUCTION Anxiety is part of a mechanism developed in higher animals to handle adverse situations. The anxiety response can be conceptualized as part of the brain’s alarm system firing…

Attention INTRODUCTION The last aspect of cognition that we will review is the ability to attend to external or internal stimuli. Like memory, attention is one of the oldest and…

Memory The next three chapters review important aspects of cognition. Cognition is loosely defined as the ability to do the following: Attend to external or internal stimuli Identify the significance…

Attachment PARENTAL BEHAVIOR The goal of reproduction is successful offspring. Parents want offspring who can survive the rigors of the world and produce their own descendents. Many animals produce offspring…

Sex and the Brain SEXUAL DIMORPHISM Humans are sexually dimorphic (di, “two”; morph, “type”). That is, we come in two styles. How one conceptualizes these differences depends on one’s perspective….

Sleep and Circadian Rhythms NORMAL SLEEP Sleep remains a mystery. We spend roughly a third of our lives in this suspended state. All mammals sleep, as does most of the…

Appetite SET POINT In spite of great fluctuation in the quantity and frequency of eating, we all maintain remarkable precision between energy expenditure and energy intake. Social factors, emotions, and…

Pleasure SEEKING PLEASURE Voluntary behavior in animals is motivated by the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure. In this chapter, we will focus on the neuronal mechanisms that…

Pain Pain and pleasure are the major driving forces of human behavior. We cover pain in this chapter but are ever so looking forward to discussing pleasure in the next…

The Electrical Brain MORE THAN CHEMISTRY One of our favorite illustrations in this book is Figure 3.9, which highlights the electrochemical configuration of neural communication. Unfortunately, many mental health professionals…