Neural Systems: The Neural Basis of Behavior
This chapter details notable discoveries about neural systems in the 1950s. For instance, research revealed, for the first time, widely distributed systems involved in global functions underlying behavior. The first evidence was also found that the brain is a gland as well as a computer. The reticular activating system in the brainstem was shown to provide for arousal of the cortex as an accompaniment to sensory perception. Rapid eye movements were demonstrated in sleep, leading to an entirely new understanding of sleep as a complex active brain state. Operant conditioning was demonstrated, introducing a new paradigm for studying brain mechanisms in motivation and learning.
Keywords: neural systems, neurons, behavior, brain, reticular activating system, sensory perception, rapid eye movements, operant conditioning
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