Neuroscience Perspective
In 1894, Spanish scientist and physician Santiago Ramon y Cajal published the first description of neurons----- the cells that make up the brain and the nervous system. His view that the brain was made up of a network of interacting neural cells laid the foundation for our modern understanding of the role of the brain in psychology. In 1906,Ramon y Cajal was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on neurons.
Today, psychologists who approach the science from the neuroscience perspective are interested in the structures of the brain that play roles in emotion, reasoning, speaking, and other psychological processes. They also seek to determine the extent to which our psychological characteristics, such as intelligence and emotional stability, are influenced by heredity. Neuroscientists are influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, which says that all animal species are related through the process of evolution. For this reason, they study relations between biology and psychology in many different species, including humans and nonhuman animals. Like functionalism, the neuroscience perspective has become important in nearly every aspect of psychology. We examine the neuroscience foundations of behavior and mental processes in chapter 3, and we integrate references to the role of biological factors throughout the book.