1. a: Critically evaluate the impact of technology on behavioral neuroscience and behavioral genetics.
NOTE: Critical evaluation means to examine a topic from both positive and negative perspectives. Be sure to include in your answer both the advantages and the challenges that technological advances have presented to the fields of study above.
b: Describe the main chemical events at a synapse and describe why synapses are a "decision maker."
2. a. Explain the role of the brain and nervous system in mental health dysfunction.
Note: Answering this question requires more than describing brain and nervous system structures and functions. That would be sufficient for an anatomy class but here you must explain their roles relative to the existence of mental disorders.
b. Identify and describe two mental disorders that have been directly linked to the dysfunction of the brain's neuroreceptors
3. a: Describe one seminal and one contemporary model of brain plasticity (how readily the brain recovers from injury and compensates for non-recoverable function loss) and its relationship to human daily function needs.
b: Vision involves the structure and function and dysfunction of the eye. Why do we study vision in a biological psychology course? Include examples of how sight is related to psychological functioning.
4. a: It is often said in professional psychology circles that "perception is reality". Apply what you have learned in PSYC525 about sensation and perception in explaining what that statement means.
b: Imagine a relative not informed about such matters asks you, "What in the world do movement have to do with psychology!?" How would you answer, keeping in mind that your relative can't be expected to know what you as a grad student studying biopsychology knows so you will need to include concrete examples of healthy mental function and psychological dysfunction related to human kinesthetics.