Follow-up course to Introduction to the Brain. This course explores the neural mechanisms that mediate motivated behaviors. We will begin by reading a seminal book on the topic, Motivational Systems, by Frederick Toates, to introduce concepts such as goal-directed behavior and incentive motivation, and heuristics regarding how behaviors can be broken down into motivationally distinct components. We will examine how the "pull" of incentives in the external world compares and relates to the "push" of drive states within the organism, and how these concepts guide our approach to understanding the biological bases of motivation. We will then consider the neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of behaviors directed toward keeping the physical homeostasis of the organism in balance: drinking, feeding, temperature regulation, biological rhythms, and the repercussions of stimuli or states in which these systems are altered. This will be followed by discussions of "non-homeostatic" behaviors like sex, parental behavior, and aggression, and the manner in which these behaviors obey very similar neurochemical rules. We will then consider how these "natural" examples of motivated behaviors relate to pleasure, reward, and drug addiction.
Last update: Mgr. Hana Gabrielová (08.02.2023)
Follow-up course to Introduction to brain course.
Learning resources
Last update: James Pfaus, Ph.D. (07.02.2024)
Study materials can be found in the course Moodle site: https://dl1.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=14628. The book and other required readings (journal articles) and the Powerpoint slides that I use in class are posted on the course Moodle website and can be downloaded, as can the course outline (in case you lose the hard copy). The two books that contain selected chapters are available online. There will be one in-class examination and a relatively cumulative final. The final will be weighted with more information from the last half of the class than the first half. The exams will test your knowledge of subjects presented in the texts as well as a few subjects covered only in the lectures. Thus, it is important that you attend ALL the lectures, or arrange with another student to borrow notes if you miss a class. Exams will consist of multiple-choice, true-false, and short essays.
