3.1.1: Learning Objectives and Introduction

Learning Objectives

• Name the various parts of the nervous system and their respective functions
• Explain how neurons communicate with each other
• Identify the location and function of the limbic system
• Articulate how the primary motor cortex is an example of brain region specialization
• Name at least three neuroimaging techniques and describe how they work

In the 1800s a German scientist by the name of Ernst Weber conducted several experiments meant to investigate how people perceive the world via their own bodies (Hernstein & Boring, 1966). It is obvious that we use our sensory organs—our eyes, and ears, and nose—to take in and understand the world around us. Weber was particularly interested in the sense of touch. Using a drafting compass he placed the two points far apart and set them on the skin of a volunteer. When the points were far apart the research participants could easily distinguish between them. As Weber repeated the process with ever closer points, however, most people lost the ability to tell the difference between them. Weber discovered that the ability to recognize these “just noticeable differences” depended on where on the body the compass was positioned. Your back, for example, is far less sensitive to touch than is the skin on your face. Similarly, the tip of your tongue is extremely sensitive! In this way, Weber began to shed light on the way that nerves, the nervous system, and the brain form the biological foundation of psychological processes.

Measuring “just noticeable differences.”

In this module we will explore the biological side of psychology by paying particular attention to the brain and to the nervous system. Understanding the nervous system is vital to understanding psychology in general. It is through the nervous system that we experience pleasure and pain, feel emotions, learn and use language, and plan goals, just to name a few examples. In the pages that follow we will begin by examining how the human nervous system develops and then we will learn about the parts of the brain and how they function. We will conclude with a section on how modern psychologists study the brain.

It is worth mentioning here, at the start, that an introduction to the biological aspects of psychology can be both the most interesting and most frustrating of all topics for new students of psychology. This is, in large part, due to the fact that there is so much new information to learn and new vocabulary associated with all the various parts of the brain and nervous system. In fact, there are 30 key vocabulary words presented in this module! We encourage you not to get bogged down in difficult words. Instead, pay attention to the broader concepts, perhaps even skipping over the vocabulary on your first reading. It is helpful to pass back through with a second reading, once you are already familiar with the topic, with attention to learning the vocabulary.

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The Brain and Nervous System by Robert Biswas-Diener is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available in our Licensing Agreement.