Week 3 — Readings & Resources · Biological Bases of Behavior

Course: Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Bennett
Objective covered: Objective 3 — Describe the biological bases of behavior — neurons, neurotransmitters, and the structures and functions of the nervous system and brain.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded.

This week has a few more new terms than usual, so the readings are short and picture-heavy — lean on the diagrams. They're grouped by the ideas from the lecture: 4 readings + 2 videos, plus one optional full-chapter reference. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 45–55 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① the neuron & the neural impulse → ② the synapse & the neurotransmitters → ③ the nervous-system divisions → ④ the brain & its lobes.

A habit to start now: as you read, keep the careful scientific wording from class — a neurotransmitter is associated with a mood or a disorder, it doesn't simply cause it. Notice when a source says "linked to" or "associated with" versus "causes," and trust the careful ones.

① The Neuron & the Neural Impulse

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–3. A neuron receives at the dendrites, decides in the soma, sends down the axon (sped by the myelin sheath), and releases neurotransmitters at the terminal buttons. The firing itself is all-or-none.

Reading — "Neurons (Nerve Cells): Structure, Function & Types" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/neuron.html
Why it's assigned: the cleanest labeled walkthrough of the parts we drew on the board — dendrites, soma, axon, myelin sheath, terminal buttons — plus a clear picture of the action potential traveling down the axon and the chemical handoff at the synapse. Lean on its diagrams.
⏱ ~9 min

Video — "The Chemical Mind: Crash Course Psychology #3"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4N-7AlzK7s
Why it earns the click: a lively 10-minute tour of the neuron, the synapse, and the neurotransmitters — exactly Segments 2–3 and 5, with the signal traced end to end. (You can stop around the 6-minute mark before the endocrine system if you're short on time.)
⏱ ~10 min

② The Synapse & the Neurotransmitters

Maps to Lecture Segments 3 & 5. Neurons don't touch — chemicals cross the synaptic gap and bind to receptors; leftover transmitter is cleared by reuptake. Keep the links careful: associated with, not causes.

Reading — "Neurotransmitters: Types, Function and Examples" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/neurotransmitter.html
Why it's assigned: a plain-language run through the major messengers and their roles — dopamine (reward, movement; the Parkinson's and schizophrenia links), serotonin (mood, sleep, appetite; the depression link), GABA (the calming brake), glutamate (the excitatory gas), acetylcholine (muscle and memory), and endorphins (natural pain relief) — plus a clean five-step picture of how a synapse works. This is the page to beat the dopamine/serotonin mix-up.
⏱ ~10 min

③ The Nervous-System Divisions

Maps to Lecture Segment 6. Remember the map: CNS (brain + spinal cord) vs. PNS; PNS = somatic (voluntary) + autonomic; autonomic = sympathetic (gas, fight-or-flight) + parasympathetic (brake, rest-and-digest).

Reading — "Central Nervous System vs. Peripheral Nervous System" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/central-nervous-system-vs-peripheral-nervous-system.html
Why it's assigned: walks the whole branching tree we built in class — CNS vs. PNS, somatic vs. autonomic, sympathetic vs. parasympathetic — and even works the hand-on-a-hot-stove reflex arc (sensory in → spinal cord → motor out) that we used as the example. The comparison table is worth a screenshot.
⏱ ~9 min

④ The Brain & Its Lobes

Maps to Lecture Segment 7. The line to carry out of this week: the brain divides its labor — medulla (heartbeat/breathing), cerebellum (balance), the limbic structures (amygdala = fear, hippocampus = memory, hypothalamus = drives), and the four lobes (frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal) — which is exactly why "we only use 10%" can't be true.

Reading — "Parts of the Brain: Neuroanatomy, Structure & Functions" (Simply Psychology)
🔗 https://www.simplypsychology.org/anatomy-of-the-brain.html
Why it's assigned: a labeled map of every structure we named — cerebrum and the four lobes, cerebellum, brainstem, the corpus callosum between the hemispheres, and the limbic trio (amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus). Use the figures to quiz yourself: point, name, say the job.
⏱ ~11 min

Video — "Meet Your Master — Getting to Know Your Brain: Crash Course Psychology #4"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHrmiy4W9C0
Why it earns the click: a guided tour of the brain from brainstem up to cortex — the medulla, cerebellum, the limbic system, the hemispheres, and the four lobes — and the famous case of Phineas Gage, who lost part of his frontal lobe (a vivid demonstration of what that lobe does). Exactly Segment 7.
⏱ ~12 min

Optional one-stop reference (free online text)

If you'd like one optional reference to skim all term, OpenStax Psychology 2e keeps its full text free to read online. Chapter 3 ("Biopsychology") covers everything in this week — the cells of the nervous system, the parts of the nervous system, the brain and spinal cord, and brain imaging (the chapter opens with PET, CT, and fMRI scans).
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/3-introduction
Why it's here: a reputable, currently-available reference you can return to in later weeks — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these two and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Watch Crash Course Psychology #3 — The Chemical Mind (groups ①–②: the neuron, the synapse, the neurotransmitters).
2. Read Parts of the Brain (group ④), and skim the CNS/PNS comparison table (group ③).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Bennett and use the OpenStax reference above in the meantime.