Psychology

6 CHAPTER 1: Origins of Physiological

THOUGHT QUESTIONS
computer ever be programmed to be
large and complex
Whatawarekind
sufficiently done just that.
1. Could a someone someday claims to have
that this claim?
of itself? Suppose need to prove or disprove
would you is conscious of the
of evidence
hemisphere of a person with a split brain the mental infor-
2. Clearly, the left and of its own thoughts. It is not conscious of
mation it receives
processes of theright hemisphere. But is it possible that the right hemisphere isi con-
scious, too, but is just unable to talk to us? How could we possibly find out whether
raised in
between this issue and the one the first
it is? Do you see
some similarities
question?

The Nature of Physiological Psychology

The modern historyof physiological psychology has been written by psychologists
those of physiol.
who have combined the experimental methods of psychology with psychologists. Thus, we
ogy and have applied them to the issues that concern all repro
have studied perceptual processes, control of movement, sleep and waking,
ductive behaviors, ingestive behaviors, emotional behaviors, learning, and language.
In recent years we have begun to study the physiology of human pathological con
ditions, such as addictions and mnental disorders.

The Goals of Research

The goal of all scientists is to explain the phenomena they study. But what do we
mean by xplain? Scientific explanation takes two forms: generalization and reduc
tion. Most psychologists deal with generalization. They explain particular instances
of behavior as examples of general laws, which they deduce from their experiments.
For instance, most psychologists would explain a pathologically strong fear of dogs
as an example of a particular form of learning called classical conditioning. Presum
ably, the person was frightened earlier in life by a dog. An unpleasant stimulus was
paired with the sight of the animal (perhaps the person was knocked down by an ex
uberant dog or was attacked by a vicious one), and the subsequent sight of dogs
evokes the earlier response: fear.
Most physiologists deal with reduction. They explain complex phenomena in
terms of simpler ones. For example, they may explain the movement of a muscle in
terms of the changes in the membranes of muscle
cells, the entry of paricular chemicals, and the in
teractions among protein molecules within these
cells. By contrast, a molecular biologist would ex
plain these events in terms of forces that bind vari
ous molecules together and cause various parts of
the molecules to be attracted to one another. n
urn, the job of an atomic physicist is to describe
matter and energy themselves and to account fo
the various forces found in nature. Practitioners o
each branch of science use reduction to call on ses
of more elementary generalizations to explain ue
phenomena they study.
The task of the psychologististo
physiological
explain behavior in physiological terms. But physio
logical reductionists.
Studies of people with brain damage have given us insights into the psychologists
cannot simply
It is not enough to observe be and correlate
behaviors
brain mechanisms involved in readingand writing.
them with physiological events that occur a
 The Nature of Physiological Psychology

sametime. Identical behaviors may occur for different reasons and thus may be ini
tiated by different physiological mechanisms. Therefore, we must understand "psy
chologically" why a particular behavior occurs before we can understand what
physiological events made it occur.
Let me provide a specificexample: Mice, like many other mammals, often build
nests. Behavioral observations show that mice willbuild nests under two conditions:
when the air temperature is low and when the animal is pregnant. A nonpregnant
mouse will build a nest only if the weather is cool, whereas a pregnant mouse will
buildone regardless of the temperature. The same behavior occurs for different rea
sons. In fact, nest-building behavior is controlled by two different physiological
mechanisms. Nest building can be studied as a behavior related to the process of
temperature regulation, or it can be studied in the context of parental behavior.
In practice, the research efforts of physiological psychologists involve both forms
of explanation: generalization and reduction. Ideas for experiments are stimulated
by the investigator's knowledge both of psychological generalizations about behay
ior and of physiological mechanisms. Agood physiological psychologist must there
fore be both a good psychologist and a good physiologist.

Biological Roots of Physiological Psychology

Study of (or speculations about) the physiology of behavior has its roots in antiquit.
Because itsmovement is necessary for life, and because emotions cause it to beat
more strongly, many ancientcultures, including the Egyptian, Indian, and Chinese,
considered the heart to be the seat of thought and emotions. The ancient Greeks
did, too, but Hippocrates (460-370 B.c.) concluded that this role should be assigned
tothe brain.
Not allancient Greek scholars agreed with Hippocrates. Aristotle did not; he
thought the brain served to coolthe passions of the heart. But Galen (A.D. 130-200),
who had the greatest respect for Aristotle, concluded that Aristotle's role for the
brain was "utterly absurd, since in that case Nature would not have placed the en
cephalon [brain] so far fromn the heart, . and she would not have attached the
sources of all the senses [the sensory nerves] to it (Galen, 1968 translation, p. 387).
Galen thought enough of the brain to dissect and study the brains of cattle, sheep,
pigs, cats, dogs, weasels, monkeys, and apes (Finger, 1994).
René Descartes,a seventeenth-century French philosopher and mathematician,
has been called the father of modern philosophy. Although he was not a biologist, his
speculations about the roles of the mind and brain in the control of behavior provide
agood starting point in the history of physiological psychology. Descartes assumed that
the world was a purely mechanical entity that, once having been set in motion by God,
ran its course without divine interference. Thus, to understand the world, one had
only to understand how it was constructed. To Descartes, animals were mechanical de
vices; their behavior was controlled by environmenal stimuli. His view of the human
body was much the same: It was a machine. As Descartes observed, some movements
of the human body were automatic and involuntary. For example, if a person's finger
touched a hot object, the arm would immediately withdraw from the source of stimu generalization Type of scientific
lation. Reactions like this did not require participation of the mind; they occurred au explanation; a general conclusion
tomatically. Descartes called these actions reflexes (from the Latin reflectere, "to bend based on many observations of
similar phenomena.
back upon itself"). Energy coming from the outside source would be reflected back
through the nervous system to themuscles, which would contract. The term is still in reduction Type of scientific ex
planation, a phenomenon is de
use today, but of course we explain the operation of a reflex differenly. scribed in terms of the more
Like most philosophers of his time, Descartes was adualist; he believed thateach elementary processes that under
person possesses a mind--a uniquely human attribute that is not subject to the laws lie it.
of the universe. But his thinking differed from that of his predecessors in one im reflex An automatic, stereotyped
portant way: He was the first to suggest that a link exists between the human mind movement produced as the direct
result of a stimulus.
and its purely physical housing, he brain. He believed that the mind controls the
 8
CHAPTER 1: Origins of Physiological Psychology

Figure 1.4
A woodcut from De homine by René Descartes, published in 1662.
Descartes believed that the "soul" (what
on the pineal body. His explanation is
we would today call the
mind) controls the movements of the muscles
through its influence
movements of the body, while the

happening inthe environment. In

w w.ablongman.com/c arlshypoto nóhe-
organs, supplies the mind with information
esized that this interaction takes place
body, through
particular,
in the
he
its
about whatsensei
that animated statues in the royal modeled on the mechanism asmall organ situated on top of the brain : stem, pineal body,
gardens. According to his
theory, the eyes sent visual information to the brain, where it neath the cerebral hemispheres. He noted that, buried
be
could be examined by the soul. When the soul contains hollow chambers (the ventricles) the brain
would tilt the pineal body (labeledH in the decided to act, it with fluid, and he hypothesized that this fluid that areis filled
Would divert pressurized fluid through nervesdiagram), which
muscles. to the appropriate pressure. In his theory, when the mind decides
an action, it tilts the pineal body in a to perform
like alittle joystick, causing fluid to particular direct
flow from the hrot
into the appropriate set of nerves. This flow offluid ca
the same muscles to inflate and
move. (See Figure 1.4)
As we saw in the prologue, the
B was greatly impressed by the moving young RenéDescartes
statues in the rovl
gardens (Jaynes, 1970). These devices served as
for Descartes in theorizing models
The pressurized water of the
about how the body worked.
by pressurized fluid in the moving statues was replaced
63. placed by nerves; the cylindersventricles; the pipes were re
by muscles; and finally,.
the hidden valves by the pineal
one of the first times that a
body. This story illustrates
technological
as a model for explaining how the device was used
In science, a model is a nervous system works.
relatively simple
on known principles and is able to do system that works
at least some of the
things that a more complex system can do. For example,
when scientists discovered that
system communicate by means of elements of the nervous
searchers developed models of the electrical
brain
impulses, re
based upon tele
phone switchboards and, more
Abstract models, which are completely recently, computers.
their properties, have also been mathematical in
Descartes's model was usefuldeveloped.
because, unlike purely
philosophical
tally. In speculations, it could be tested
experinmen
fact, it did not take long for
Descartes was wTong. For example, biologists to prove that
LuigiGalvanmi, a seven
stimulation of a frog's nerve teenth-century Italian physiologist, found that electrical
caused contraction of the
Contraction occurred even when the nerve and muscle muscle to which i was attached.
of the body, so the ability of the were detached from the rest
model A mathernatical or physi amessage to the muscle were muscle to contract and the ability of the nerve to
send
cal analogy for aphysiological
process, for exarnple, conputers brain did not inflate muscles bycharacteristics of these tissues
themselves. Thus, the
directing pressurized fluid through the nerve. Gal
have been used as rnodels for var vani's experiment prompted
ious furnctions of the brain. the nerve and the means by others to study the ature of the message transmitted by
which muscles contracted. The results of
doctrine of specific nerve ener gave rise to an accumulation of these efforts
gies Müller's conclusion that be One of the most important knowledge about the physiology of behavior.
figures in the developn1ent of
cause ali nerve fibers carry the ogy was JohannesMüller, a
nineteenth-century German experimental physio
sarne type of mnessage, sensory in Müller was a forceful physiologist. (See Figure 1.5.)
iology. Previously, theadvocate
formation rnust be specified by of the application of
the particular erve fibers that are activities experimental
of most natural scientists techniques
were limited
to phys
and classification. Although these to observatiOn
active.
advances in our understanding of the activities are essential, Müller insisted that majO
experimental ablation The re by experimentally removing or workings of the body would be achieved ony
search method in which the func
tion of a part of the brain is
isolating
various chemicals, and otherwise altering animals' organs, testing their responses
the environment to see how
sponded. His most the
to the study of the physiology oforgans1
was his doctrine of imporant
inferred by observing the behav contribution
iors an animal can no longer per specificnerve energies. Müller observed that behavio
form after that part is darnaged. carry the same basic message, an elecrical impulse, we although all ner
perceive the messages O
 The Nature of Physiological Psychology 9

ferent nerves in different ways. For example, messages carried by the

optic nerves produce sensations of visual images, and those carried by Figure 1.5
Johannes Müller (1801-1858).
the auditory nerves produce sensations of sounds. How can different
sensations arise from the same basic message?
The answer is that the messages occur in different channels. The
portion of the brain that receives messages from the optic nerves in
terprets the activity as visual stimulation, even if the nerves are actually
stimulated mechanically. (For example, when we rub our eyes, we see
flashes of light.) Because different parts of the brain receive messages
from different nerves, the brain must be functionally divided: Some
parts perform some functions, while other parts perform others.
Müller's advocacy of experimentation and the logical deductions
from his docrine of specific merve energies set the stage for perform
ing experiments directBy on the brain. Indeed, Pierre Flourens, a nine
teenth-century French physiologist, did just that. Flourens removed
various parts of animals'` brains and observed their behavior. By seeing
what the animal could no longer do, he could infer the function of the
mising portion of the brain. This method is called experimental ab
lation (from the Latin ablatus, "carried away"). Flourens claimed to
have discovered the regions of the brain that control heart rate and Courtesy of National Library of Medicine.
breathing, purposeful movements, and visual and auditory reflexes.
Soon after Flourens performed his experiments,Paul Broca, a
French surgeon, applied the principle of experimental ablation to the human brain.
Of course, he did not intentionally remove parts of human brains to see how they
worked. Instead, he observed the behavior of people whose brains had been dam
aged by strokes. In 1861 he performed an autopsy on the brain of a man who had
had a stroke that resulted in the loss of the ability to speak. Broca's observations led
him to conclude that a portion of the cerebral cortex on the left side of the brain
performs functions necessary for speech. (See Figure 1.6.) Other physicians soon
obtained evidence supporting his conclusions. As you willlearn in Chapter 13,the
controlof speech is not localized in a particular region of the brain. Indeed, speech
requires many different functions, which are organized throughout the brain.
Nonetheless, the method of experimental ablation remains important to our un
derstanding of the brains of both humans and laboratory animals.
As Imentioned earlier, Luigi Galvani used electricity to demonstrate that mus
cles contain the source of the energy that powers their contrac
tions. In 1870, German physiologists Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Figure 1.6
Hitzig used electrical stimulation as a tool for understanding the
Broca's area, a region of the brain named for French
physiology of the brain. They applied weak electrical current to surgeon Paul Broca. Broca discovered that damage to a
the exposed surface of a dog's brain and observed the effects of part of the left side of the brain disrupted a person's he
the stimulation.They found that simulation of different por ability to speak. On

tions of a specificregion of the brain caused contraction of spe th.

Top
cific muscles on the opposite side of the body. We now refer to Broca's
this regjon as the primary motor cortex, and we know that nerve area at
cells there communicate directly with those that cause muscular
contractions. We also know that other regions of the brain com
municate with the primary motor cortex and thus control be
haviors. For example, the region that Broca found necessary for Front
speech communicateswith, and controls, the portionof the pri
mary motor cortex thatcontrols the muscles of the lips, tongue,
and throat, which we use to speak.
One of the most brilliant contributors to nineteenth-century
science was the German physicist and physiologist Hermann von
Helmholz. Helmholz devised a mathematical formulation of the
law of conservation of energy, invented the ophthalmoscope
(used toexamine the retina of the eye), devised an important and
1: Origins of Physiological Psychology

influential theory of color vision and color blindness, and

and many physiological processes. Although Helmholtz had studied
opposed Müller's belief that human organs are endowed studied
force that coordinates their operations. Helmholtz
w w.ablongmanaudi.comtlicon,alson
under mus
with a vital
Mül er,
aspeCtnosnmaterk
ology are mechanistic, subject to experimental believed that all
investigation.
Helmholtz was also the first scientist to attempt of ph
to
duction through nerves. Scientists had previously believedmeasure the speed of
identical to the conduction that occurs in wires, that such
of light. But Helmholz found that neural travelingwasat
conduction much
conduction
approximately
the speet
90 feet per second. This
measurement
a simple electrical message, as we proved that neural slower--only
will see in Chapter 2. conduction was mOre than
abou
Twentieth-century
portant inventions, suchdevelopments in experimental
as sensitive amplifiers physiology include many i
to
rochemical techniques to analyze chemical changes withindetect weak electrical signals ne
histological and between cells. amd
ments belongtechniques
to see cells and
to the modern era, they aretheir constituents. Because these develo
discussed in detailin subsequentchapters

INTERIM SUM MARY

The Nature of
Physiological
Allscientists hope to Psychology
explain naturai phenomena. In this
two basic meanings:
generalization and reduction. context, the term explanation has
of phenomena
according to their essential featuresGeneralization
For example, observing that
refersto the
so that general laws can be classification
to the distance
between
gravitational attraction is related to the mass of twoformulatedand
them helps to explain the bodies
to the description of movement
phenomena in terms of more basic physical of planets.
Reduction refers
gravitation can be explained in terms of forces and processes. For example
Physiological psychologists use both generalizationsubatomic particles.
In large part,
generalizations use the traditional methodsand reduction to explain behavior
of psychology.
behaviors in terms of physiological events within the Reduction explain=
tem. Thus, physiological bodyprimarily within
builds upon the tradition of both the nervous sys
chology and experimentalpsychology
physiology. experimental psy
The physiological psychology of
René Descartes proposed a model of today is rooted in important developments of the past
model stimulated observations that the brain based on hydraulically activated statues. HiS
produced important discoveries. The results of
experiments eventually led to an understanding of the Galvan's
by nerves between the
brain and the sensory organs andnature of the message
transmitted
the muscles. Müller's doctrine of
specific nerve energies paved the way for study of
through the methods of experimental the functions of specific parts of the brain
ablation and electrical stimulation.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
1. What is the value of
studying the history of physiological
time?
2. Suppose we studied just
psychology? Is it awaste o
the latest
know to be incorrect. Would we beresearch and ignored explanations that we now
miss something? spending our time more profitably, or might

Natural Selection and Evolution

Müller's insistence that biology must be an experimental science provided the start
ing point for an important tradition. However, other biologists continued to observe.
classify. and think about what they saw, and some
del repeat
pairs ofdi
e result was
dominant
ipring
it, ap
ration
result
eding