Psychology: A Biologic Perspective Psychology,

Human behavior is quite complex. It requires the coordinated functioning of numerous different processes. The integration of these diverse events is performed primarily by the nervous system. It has been estimated that the human nervous system contains between 10 billion and 1 trillion neurons (Psychology text, p. 37). These specialized cells are responsible for transmitting nerve impulses. Although neurons come in various different shapes and sizes, they do share certain characteristics in common. Typically, a nerve impulse is received by either a neuron's "dendrites" or its "cell body." The messages are then generally transmitted along an "axon." When the impulse reaches the end of the axon, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters at the synapse. These biochemical compounds

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ile the cerebrum's two hemispheres may appear to be symmetrical, each has its own distinct anatomic specializations (Fitzgerald, 1985, pp. 178-181). For instance, most people's left hemisphere is larger than the right. Moreover, the left half of the brain tends to consist of short interconnected fibers, while the right brain generally contains longer neurons. In addition, various studies have also demonstrated functional specialization within the brain's two hemispheres. For example, verbal information tends to be processed by the left hemisphere. In fact, electroencephalographic (EEG) analyses have shown that activity in this part of the brain increases during verbal tasks. In contrast, EEG activity in the right hemisphere generally predominates during exercises which test spatial abilities. For over a hundred years, the human brain's enlarged left hemisphere has been associated with speech. In 1861, the French physician, Paul Broca, examined the brain of a patient who had suffered from expressive aphasia. This functional deficit typically involves alteration of a person's ability to express themselves: typically expressive aphasia interferes with speech content (Caplan & Stein, 1986, p. 19). Broca observed that hi
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Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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