Aristotle's Dualism

What are the sources of evidence on the relation between brain and behavior? The evolution of brain and behavior in various animal species , how the brain impacts behavior in people with normal functioning, and how the brain changes in people who suffer brain damage or dysfunction.

Distinguish between the central and peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system consists of the the brain and spinal cord while the peripheral nervous system consists of all the neurons in the body outside of the brain and spinal cord which provide sensory and motor connections and information to and from the CNS.

Define: sensory deprivation; “locked-in syndrome”.

Sensory deprivation is when one is deprived of all external sensory input. Locked-in

The text states that animal species with a greater a greater capacity for learning new behavioral responses tend to have more complex brains and nervous systems.

What do we mean by “mentalism”? Mentalism is when one seeks to explain behavior as a function of a nonphysical mind (a soul or psyche). During the time of Aristotle this was a common explanation for behavior.

What do we mean by “dualism”? In what sense is Descartes's dualism an improvement over Aristotle’s account of brain and behavior. That is, what element does it include that Aristotle did not. Dualism is a hypothesis developed by Descartes, which posits that both a nonphysical mind (a psyche/soul) and a physical body contribute to behavior. The psyche/mind directs the pineal gland in the brain to direct fluid from the ventricles through the nerves and into the muscles to enable them to expand and move, much like the water powered statues of Versailles that Descartes observed. Descartes’s dualism is an improvement over Aristotle’s mentalism in that it finally draws the connection which we now know exists between the physical organ of the brain and behaviors of the

Give at least one reason why evolutionary theory has important implications for the study of brain and behavior. Evolutionary theory posits that all animal species are related to a single original ancestor and to one another, therefore it makes sense that the physical structure of the brain is largely similar across species and when one performs experiments on a laboratory mouse regarding the relationship between its brain and its behavior, one can extrapolate those results and assume they also apply to humans and other species. Define: bilateral symmetry ; segmentation. What is the critical difference in the organization of the nervous system in sea anemones and flatworms? Bilateral symmetry refers to the body plan in which organs or other parts present on both sides of the body are mirror images in appearance. This applies to the lobes of the brain and the appendages, but not to the heart and some other organs. Segmentation refers to division into a number of similar parts as exemplified by the vertebrae of the