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updated05/01/2008
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My
Psychology
BLOG!
Biography & CV
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Discovering Biological
Psychology
(my
text)
Neuroscience Links
What I teach
Biological Psychology
Introductory Psychology
History and Systems
Behavior Disorders
Sensation & Perception
Information Competency
Problem Based Learning
News & Resources
My Friends at Houghton Mifflin
Cal Poly San
Luis Obispo
Blackboard
Cal Poly Links
My Family
laura@laurafreberg.com
How to
Build a Psychology
Library!
Buy my
Discovering Biological
Psychology
at Amazon.com
Find Great New, Used and Rare Books !
Ancient Egyptian
for
"Cerebrum"
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Biological Psychology
For the current quarter's assignments
and syllabus,
please use the Blackboard link.
Course Objective:
to explore the relationships between the neurosciences and behavior.
Textbook and
Study Guide:
Freberg, L. A., (2006).
Discovering Biological Psychology.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin
There is a Study Guide available for this text.
"Fugu
wa kuitashii, inochi wa oshishii."
I Want to
Eat Fugu,
But I Don't Want to Die!
An old Japanese folk song
says,
"Fugu wa kuitashii, inochi wa oshishii"
or
"I want to eat fugu, but I don't want to die."
Fugu Facts:
- Japanese puffer fish (fugu) is a
famous but dangerous delicacy. Its ovaries and liver may contain
tetrodotoxin (TTX), a potent poison. In addition to being delicious,
fugu is also consumed as an aphrodisiac, made by mixing a teaspoonful of
its testes with hot sake.
- There are over 1,500 fugu restaurants
in Tokyo, where an average of 100-200 people a year show signs of
poisoning. The death rate is 61%!
- A fugu chef in Japan must be licensed
by the Environmental Sanitation Division of the Bureau of Health. Only
25% of the applicants pass the written test. The demonstration test
requires the would-be chef to eat the fugu he has prepared!
Why is fugu so
dangerous?
- When a neuron (nerve cell) is sending
a message, tiny pores or channels in the neuron's membrane open up to
let sodium ions enter the cell.
- Tetrodotoxin
(puffer fish toxin) blocks these tiny pores, which in turn prevents
any signaling in the nervous system.
- The result is rapid paralysis and
possibly death.
Want more? Here's some more fun:
The Whole Brain Atlas
3D "Fly-throughs" from the Virtual Human
"Probe the Brain"
The Animated Brain
I hope you have enjoyed this
small sample of one of my favorite subjects!
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