Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBackgroundPhilosophers' ViewsHuman BehaviorResearchBrain and Nervous SystemNeurotransmittersTests Used in BiopsychologyCareer Opportunities

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Table of Contents

Background

Philosophers' Views

Human Behavior

Research

Brain and Nervous System

Neurotransmitters

Tests Used in Biopsychology

Career Opportunities

Close

Biopsychology is an interdisciplinarybranch of psychologythat analyzes how the brain, neurotransmitters, and other aspects of our biology influence our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. This field of psychology is also sometimes known as physiological psychology, behavioral neuroscience, or psychobiology.

Biopsychologists often examine how biological processes interact with emotions, cognitions, and other mental functions. The field of biopsychology is related to several other areas, includingcomparative psychologyandevolutionary psychology.

At a GlanceBiopsychology, sometimes known as behavioral neuroscience, studies how the brain and nervous system influence mental processes and behavior. Biopsychology can give you greater insight into the complex interactions between biology and psychology, including how physiological processes influence thoughts, emotions, and actions.

At a Glance

Biopsychology, sometimes known as behavioral neuroscience, studies how the brain and nervous system influence mental processes and behavior. Biopsychology can give you greater insight into the complex interactions between biology and psychology, including how physiological processes influence thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Brief History of Biopsychology

While biopsychology might seem like a fairly recent development thanks to the introduction of advanced tools and technology for examining the brain, the roots of the field date back thousands of years to the time of the early philosophers.

While we now consider the mind and brain synonymous, philosophers and psychologists long debated what was known as the mind/body problem. Philosophers and other thinkers wondered what the relationship was between the mental world and the physical world.

This is not just a historical debate, however. The question remains an important topic in psychology and neuroscience today. It questions how the subjective experiences of the mind, including emotions and thoughts, interact or arise from the brain and body’s physical processes.

Philosophers' Views on Biopsychology

One important thing to remember is that it is only fairly recently in human history that people have come to understand the actual location of the mind.

Aristotle, for example, taught that our thoughts and feelings arose from the heart. Greek thinkers such as Hippocrates and later Plato suggested that the brain was where the mind resides and that it served as the source of all thought and action.

Later thinkers such as Rene Descartes and Leonardo da Vinci introduced theories about how the nervous system operated. While these early theories were later proven wrong, they did establish the important idea that external stimulation could lead to muscle responses.

It was Descartes who introduced the concept of the reflex, although later researchers demonstrated it was the spinal cord that played a critical role in these muscle responses.

Researchers also became interested in understanding how different parts of the brain control human behavior. One early attempt at understanding this led to the development of a pseudoscience known asphrenology.

What Was Phrenology?Phrenology was a popular pseudoscience suggesting that certain human faculties could be linked to bumps and indentations of the brain, which could be felt on the surface of the skull.

What Was Phrenology?

Phrenology was a popular pseudoscience suggesting that certain human faculties could be linked to bumps and indentations of the brain, which could be felt on the surface of the skull.

While phrenology became quite popular, other scientists soon dismissed it as a pseudoscience. However, the idea that certain parts of the brain were responsible for specific functions played an essential role in the development of future brain research.

The famous case ofPhineas Gage, a railroad worker who experienced a devastating brain injury, also influenced our understanding of how damage to certain parts of the brain could impact behavior and functioning.

Newer Biopsychology Research

Since those early influences, researchers have continued to make important discoveries about how the brain works and the biological underpinnings of behavior.

Research on evolution, the localization of brain function,neurons, and neurotransmitters have advanced our understanding of how biological processes impact thoughts,emotions, and behaviors.

If you are interested in the field of biopsychology, then it is essential to understand biological processes, basic anatomy, and physiology. Three of the most important components to understand are the brain, the nervous system, and neurotransmitters.

The Brain and Nervous System

Thecentral nervous system (CNS)is composed of the brain and spinal cord. The outermost part of the brain is known as the cerebral cortex. This portion of the brain is responsible for functioning in cognition, sensation, motor skills, andemotions.

The brain is comprised offour lobes:

Another important part of the nervous system is theperipheral nervous system, which is divided into two parts:

Another component of the nervous system is theautonomic nervous system, which regulates automatic processes such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. There are two parts of the autonomic nervous system:

Also important in the field of biopsychology are the actions ofneurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters carry information between neurons and enable chemical messages to be sent from one part of the body to the brain, and vice versa.

There are a variety of neurotransmitters that affect the body in different ways. For example, the neurotransmitterdopamineis involved in movement and learning. Excessive amounts of dopamine have been associated with psychological disorders such asschizophrenia,while too little dopamine is associated with Parkinson’s disease.

A biopsychologist might study the various neurotransmitters to determine their effects on human behavior. Understanding the effects of these neurotransmitters helps researchers learn more about what causes mental health conditions and develop new treatments that may help.

Researchers utilize several different tests to study the human brain and nervous system. Brain imaging techniques can be categorized into two main categories: techniques that study the electrical activity in the brain and techniques that study changes in blood flow in areas of the brain associated with brain activity.Two that are commonly used are:

fMRI

EEG

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is used to measure electrical currents on the surface of the brain. It can be used to monitor activity levels and detect changes in consciousness.

Using an EEG, researchers can observe event-related potential (ERPs), which are spikes in activity related to specific stimuli or thoughts

These brain imaging techniques are often used to observe brain activity as people engage in different kinds of motor, cognitive, and perceptual tasks.

Career Opportunities in Biopsychology

If you are interested in a career in the area of biopsychology, then you have quite a few different options. Some who enter this type of field choose to work in research where they might work at a university, drug company, government agency, or other industry.

Others choose to work with patients to help those who have experienced some type of brain damage or disease that has had an impact on their behavior and functioning.

The following are just a few of the career specializations that are related to biopsychology:

Biopsychology is one way of thinking about human psychology. This perspective has allowed researchers to gain a greater understanding of how the brain and nervous system influence human behavior.

By studying normal brain functioning as well as how brain disease and injury influence behaviors, feelings, and thoughts, researchers are able to come up with new ways of treating potential problems that people may experience.

12 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moreira-Almeida A, Araujo SF, Cloninger CR.The presentation of the mind-brain problem in leading psychiatry journals.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(3):335-342. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2342Pandya SK.Understanding brain, mind and soul: Contributions from neurology and neurosurgery.Mens Sana Monogr. 2011;9(1):129-149. doi:10.4103/0973-1229.77431Latash ML, Zatsiorsky V.Biomechanics and Motor Control: Defining Central Concepts. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press; 2015.Parker Jones O, Alfaro-Almagro F, Jbabdi S.An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology.Cortex. 2018;106:26-35. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.04.011Renoir T, Hasebe K, Gray L.Mind and body: how the health of the body impacts on neuropsychiatry.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:158. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00158Jawabri KH, Sharma S.Physiology, Cerebral Cortex Functions. In:StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; April 24, 2023.Goldstein DS.Adrenal Responses to Stress.Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010;30(8):1433-1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hisahara S, Shimohama S.Dopamine Receptors and Parkinson’s Disease.Int J Med Chem. 2011;403039. doi:10.1155/2011/403039Morita T, Asada M, Naito E.Contribution of neuroimaging studies to understanding development of human cognitive brain functions.Front Hum Neurosci. 2016;10:464. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00464Chow MS, Wu SL, Webb SE, Gluskin K, Yew DT.Functional magnetic resonance imaging and the brain: A brief review.World J Radiol. 2017;9(1):5-9. doi:10.4329/wjr.v9.i1.5Beres AM.Time is of the essence: A review of electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in language research.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2017;42(4):247-255. doi:10.1007/s10484-017-9371-3Additional ReadingKalat JW.Biological Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2013.

12 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moreira-Almeida A, Araujo SF, Cloninger CR.The presentation of the mind-brain problem in leading psychiatry journals.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(3):335-342. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2342Pandya SK.Understanding brain, mind and soul: Contributions from neurology and neurosurgery.Mens Sana Monogr. 2011;9(1):129-149. doi:10.4103/0973-1229.77431Latash ML, Zatsiorsky V.Biomechanics and Motor Control: Defining Central Concepts. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press; 2015.Parker Jones O, Alfaro-Almagro F, Jbabdi S.An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology.Cortex. 2018;106:26-35. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.04.011Renoir T, Hasebe K, Gray L.Mind and body: how the health of the body impacts on neuropsychiatry.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:158. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00158Jawabri KH, Sharma S.Physiology, Cerebral Cortex Functions. In:StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; April 24, 2023.Goldstein DS.Adrenal Responses to Stress.Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010;30(8):1433-1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hisahara S, Shimohama S.Dopamine Receptors and Parkinson’s Disease.Int J Med Chem. 2011;403039. doi:10.1155/2011/403039Morita T, Asada M, Naito E.Contribution of neuroimaging studies to understanding development of human cognitive brain functions.Front Hum Neurosci. 2016;10:464. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00464Chow MS, Wu SL, Webb SE, Gluskin K, Yew DT.Functional magnetic resonance imaging and the brain: A brief review.World J Radiol. 2017;9(1):5-9. doi:10.4329/wjr.v9.i1.5Beres AM.Time is of the essence: A review of electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in language research.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2017;42(4):247-255. doi:10.1007/s10484-017-9371-3Additional ReadingKalat JW.Biological Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2013.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Moreira-Almeida A, Araujo SF, Cloninger CR.The presentation of the mind-brain problem in leading psychiatry journals.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(3):335-342. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2342Pandya SK.Understanding brain, mind and soul: Contributions from neurology and neurosurgery.Mens Sana Monogr. 2011;9(1):129-149. doi:10.4103/0973-1229.77431Latash ML, Zatsiorsky V.Biomechanics and Motor Control: Defining Central Concepts. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press; 2015.Parker Jones O, Alfaro-Almagro F, Jbabdi S.An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology.Cortex. 2018;106:26-35. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.04.011Renoir T, Hasebe K, Gray L.Mind and body: how the health of the body impacts on neuropsychiatry.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:158. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00158Jawabri KH, Sharma S.Physiology, Cerebral Cortex Functions. In:StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; April 24, 2023.Goldstein DS.Adrenal Responses to Stress.Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010;30(8):1433-1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hisahara S, Shimohama S.Dopamine Receptors and Parkinson’s Disease.Int J Med Chem. 2011;403039. doi:10.1155/2011/403039Morita T, Asada M, Naito E.Contribution of neuroimaging studies to understanding development of human cognitive brain functions.Front Hum Neurosci. 2016;10:464. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00464Chow MS, Wu SL, Webb SE, Gluskin K, Yew DT.Functional magnetic resonance imaging and the brain: A brief review.World J Radiol. 2017;9(1):5-9. doi:10.4329/wjr.v9.i1.5Beres AM.Time is of the essence: A review of electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in language research.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2017;42(4):247-255. doi:10.1007/s10484-017-9371-3

Moreira-Almeida A, Araujo SF, Cloninger CR.The presentation of the mind-brain problem in leading psychiatry journals.Braz J Psychiatry. 2018;40(3):335-342. doi:10.1590/1516-4446-2017-2342

Pandya SK.Understanding brain, mind and soul: Contributions from neurology and neurosurgery.Mens Sana Monogr. 2011;9(1):129-149. doi:10.4103/0973-1229.77431

Latash ML, Zatsiorsky V.Biomechanics and Motor Control: Defining Central Concepts. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press; 2015.

Parker Jones O, Alfaro-Almagro F, Jbabdi S.An empirical, 21st century evaluation of phrenology.Cortex. 2018;106:26-35. doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.04.011

Renoir T, Hasebe K, Gray L.Mind and body: how the health of the body impacts on neuropsychiatry.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:158. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00158

Jawabri KH, Sharma S.Physiology, Cerebral Cortex Functions. In:StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; April 24, 2023.

Goldstein DS.Adrenal Responses to Stress.Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010;30(8):1433-1440. doi:10.1007/s10571-010-9606-9

Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047

Hisahara S, Shimohama S.Dopamine Receptors and Parkinson’s Disease.Int J Med Chem. 2011;403039. doi:10.1155/2011/403039

Morita T, Asada M, Naito E.Contribution of neuroimaging studies to understanding development of human cognitive brain functions.Front Hum Neurosci. 2016;10:464. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2016.00464

Chow MS, Wu SL, Webb SE, Gluskin K, Yew DT.Functional magnetic resonance imaging and the brain: A brief review.World J Radiol. 2017;9(1):5-9. doi:10.4329/wjr.v9.i1.5

Beres AM.Time is of the essence: A review of electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in language research.Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2017;42(4):247-255. doi:10.1007/s10484-017-9371-3

Kalat JW.Biological Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning; 2013.

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