Chapter 3 The Bases of Human Behaviour | class 11th | ncert quick revision notes psychology

How Neurons Transmit Information?

Let’s begin with the first topic for The Bases of Human Behaviour Class 11 notes, neurons and how they transmit information.

Neurons are the basic unit of our nervous system and these are specialized cells that convert various forms of stimuli into electrical impulses. 

• They receive information from sense organs or adjacent neurons and transfer them to the central nervous system(CNS) and bring motor information from the central nervous system to the motor neurons
• Pathway of how neurons transmit information is illustrated below-

Structure Of Neuron

Here is the structure of a Neuron as per Class 11 Bases of Human Behaviour:

• Dendrites receive the incoming neural impulses from adjacent neurons or directly from sense organs.
• Then the nerve impulse is passed on to the main body of the neuron which is the soma
• From there it is passed on the axon.
• Axon mainly helps in transmitting the information to the terminal buttons.
• The main function of terminal buttons is to transmit the information to another neuron, gland, or muscle.
• Neurons generally conduct information in one direction, which is from dendrites through soma and axon to terminal buttons.

Nervous System

The next topic for Bases of Human Behaviour Class 11 notes is the nervous system. The human nervous system is the most complex and developed part of all living creatures and is a massive network of nerve cells that relays messages to and from the CNS. Its schematic representation is depicted below for ease of clarity and understanding:

• The central nervous system is the part of the brain which is found inside the hard bony cases ( cranium and backbone) is classified as CNS. The brain and Spinal Cord are the organs of this system.
• The parts of the nervous system other than the central nervous system are placed in the Peripheral Nervous System(PNS) which is further classified into the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system.

• The PNS comprises all the neurons and nerve fibers that facilitate the connection of  CNS to the rest of the body and provides information to the CNS from sensory receptors (eyes, skin) and relays back motor commands from the brain to muscles and glands
• Somatic Nervous System is concerned with voluntary actions and consists of two nerves:

– Sensory nerves that carries information from sense organs to central nervous system. 

– Motor nerves that carries information from central nervous system to sense organs.

• The autonomic nervous system governs those activities which are not under the direct control of humans and activities governed by it are blood circulation, breathing, emotional reactions, etc.
• The autonomic nervous system is further classified into: 

1. Parasympathetic Division

• Inhibits salivation
• Increases sweating
• Decreases digestive functions of the intestine
• Accelerates heart

2. Sympathetic Division 

• Increases digestive functions of the intestine
• Slows heart rate
• Increases salivation
• Inhibits sweating

• The central nervous system is the center of all neural activity and it integrates all incoming sensory information performs all kinds of cognitive activities and issues motor commands to muscle and glands.

• The central nervous system mainly consists of the brain and spinal cord.

The brain has 3 sections: The hindbrain, The Forebrain and the Midbrain.

                      The hindbrain consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum.

Medulla is responsible for regulation of heart rate,blood pressure,pons help in controlling respiration and cerebellum helps in coordinating voluntary muscle movement and maintaining body posture.

The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus.

Cerebrum consists of four lobes, mainly frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe and temporal lobe. thalamus involves recognition of sensory stimuli and relay of sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex. The Hypothalamus is mainly responsible for regulating cardiac functioning,blood pressure and respiration.

The Midbrain is the major pathway of sensory and motor impulses moving between the forebrain and the midbrain. It is also responsible for the coordination of visual and auditory reflexes.

• The spinal cord functions primarily in the transmission of neural signals between the brain and the rest of the body.
• Its  major functions are explained as follows:

1. Carries sensory impulses coming from lower parts of the body to the brain and motor impulses originating from the brain to all over the body
2. Performs some simple reflexes that do not involve the brain.

• Reflex action is an involuntary action that occurs very quickly after its specific kind of stimulation without the conscious decision of the brain. For example, the eye blinking reflex.

The Endocrine System

Let’s read the details about the Endocrine system for the Bases of Human Behaviour Class 11 notes. The endocrine system comprises those glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream and that helps in our development and behavior.

Heredity: Genes And Behavior

The next topic covered in our Bases of Human Behaviour Class 11 notes is Heredity.

1. The study of the inheritance of physical and psychological characteristics from ancestors is termed Genetics.
2. Chromosomes are hereditary elements of the body and they are threadlike paired structures in the nucleus of each cell. The number of chromosomes per nucleus is distinctive and is constant for each organism. Each chromosome consists of DNA and there are 23 pairs of chromosomes.
3. The genotype of an organism is the genetic code in its cells that influences an individual’s development whereas the phenotype depends on the genotype but can be influenced by environmental factors.
4. Genes are transmitted from parents to offspring whereas memes can be transmitted between any two individuals in a matter of hours. 

Culture

Culture is another essential aspect under The Bases of Human Behavior Class 11 studies. It is the man-made part of the environment that comprises the diverse products of the behavior of many people including ourselves which can be material products, ideas, approaches, etc.

• It comprises values that will be expressed and a language which will help in expressing values. It also contains a way of life that will be followed by the majority who grow up in that context
• It includes behavioral products of others who preceded us
• It indicates substantial or abstract particulars which have prior existence in one form or the other.

Acculturation And Enculturation

The next topic under The Bases of Human Behavior Class 11 is acculturation and enculturation.

Socialization

It is the process by which individuals acquire knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them to participate as effective group members and society. The features of socialization are as follows-

1. Forms the basis of social and cultural transmission from one generation to another.
2. Rewards and Punishments serve as the basic means of achieving the goals of socialization.
3. It involves deliberate teaching and engagement of people
4. The four main agents of socialization are Parents, School, Peer Groups, and Media Influences.