Course Concept and Description:

This course is set at the depth and instructional level of a three credit post-licensure course and provides 45 hours of CE credit. It is intended for psychologists and other behavioral clinicians who have not had previous training in aspects of anatomy and physiology related to how the body and mind interact to control behavior and psychophysiological states.

Each basic physical structure and organ system (including the nervous system) is discussed with regard to both anatomical structures and physiological functions as they change over time and in relation to both the external and internal environment. The main course objective is to provide the depth of knowledge behavioral clinicians require to understand the physical bases for psychophysiological problems and interventions. These must be understood before psychophysiologically oriented assessments and interventions can be effectively added to a behavioral clinician’s practice. The course is also intended to enhance communication with physicians and other medical professionals by providing common concepts, information, and vocabulary essential to understanding the discussion of medical disorders.

Clinicians having differing interests and patient populations take this course so it has been designed so you have slightly different materials available to you depending on what your interests are and the types of patients you see. The depth of knowledge you need on different topics depends on how the physiological bases of your patients’ problems relate to the types of assessments and interventions you provide. If you work in a setting where most of the patients have social interaction and anxiety problems rather than complex medical problems, the required text book will suffice to meet your needs. This level meets all requirements for BCIA certification. The lectures will provide sufficient medical material so you will recognize most of the physiological problems influencing your patients’ behaviors (hormones, respiration, senses, muscles, brain & nerve wiring, etc.). If you work in a setting where many of the patients have medical problems complicating their behavioral problems, or you are using biofeedback to treat medical / physiological problems, or you need to communicate with members of the medical community, understand results of medical tests, etc., an optional clinically oriented book has been provided for you to use in addition to the required book. If you are a health psychologist, a behavioral medicine specialist, or in a graduate program leading to one of these degrees, you should take this option. If you are doing muscular rehabilitation, working with people having muscular dysfunctions, or in a clinical psychophysiology graduate program or track, an optional book emphasizing kinesiology has also been provided.

You will learn by watching audiovisual lectures provided on the course web site or CDs, reading assignments both from materials provided on the course web site or CDs and one or more standard texts, watching a movie, and interacting extensively with the instructor via e-mail and, if you wish, by phone. You will answer short essay questions after each lecture rather than taking exams. Previous students have required between 45 and 95 hours of work (with a median of 65 hours) to complete this course. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Administrative

Student comments about the courses and instructors:

Students who wish to comment about the courses and instructors other than through the “end of course” evaluations may wish to use the Foundation’s account at the anonymous comment submission site Incogneato (www.incognea.to). When a student submits a comment to our account (https://ansr.me/VWv70) on the site, there is no way for us to know who sent the comment unless the student provides an email. Students are always welcome to submit comments to this site. We take them very seriously.

Students who wish to make a formal complaint about a course or instructor can do so by following the Foundation’s grievance process which is detailed in the document by that name. Students can request the document from the program’s administrator by emailing admin@behavmedfourndation.org.

Note to people primarily interested in EEG: Why we don’t give a neuroanatomy- only basic course:

The material on neuroanatomy you will learn in our A&P course and our EEG biofeedback / neurofeedback course provides the essential information you need to understand how brain structures and functions impact on EEG biofeedback. Of most importance, typical neuroanatomy courses do NOT include much of the crucial information you need to know about how hormones and other functions influence the brain and can overwhelm anything we do with neurofeedback. People who want more depth in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology should take our advanced psychoneurophysiology course.

Specific Course Objectives: As a result of taking this course, you should be able to:         

1. Be able to discuss functional and structural bases of disorders.
2. Understand how the muscles function and contribute to functional disorders.
3. Be able to discuss how immune dysfunction relates to functional disorders.                     
4. Be able to predict changes in functional disorders from changes in endocrine system function.

Relate pheromonal communication to behavioral changes.

1. Be able to describe genetic and environmental contributions to observed behaviors.

6. Have sufficient depth of knowledge of A&P to understand the psychophysiological bases of functional

disorders.

Format:

Home study supported by e-mail chats after each unit is completed. The course is divided into a series of units based on organ systems. You will progress through each unit by watching an introductory audiovisual lecture (on the course web site or CD) about an organ system followed by reading one or more chapters in the required book, text files on the course web site or CD, and, if you are using one or more of them, possibly in one of the optional books. After watching the lecture and reading the assigned material, you will answer a brief series of questions located in the review question file on the course web site or CD. The answered questions are then e-mailed to the instructor. You and the instructor will discuss each unit via e-mail or phone after your answers are assessed. You do not have to wait for the discussion to proceed to the succeeding lecture & chapters. You are more than welcome to spend extra time with the instructor discussing topics related to the course and biofeedback in general. The cost of the texts is not included in the course fee.

Accessibility: Hearing impaired people can view the slides only as virtually all of the material presented in the lectures is typed onto the slides. Visually impaired people can concentrate on the verbal lectures as the slide material is repeated in the lecture accompanying each slide.

Computer and Computer Knowledge Requirements:

Anybody with a modern computer and a bit of basic understanding of computer operation (at the level of being able to send e-mails) can play this course with minimal problems. You must have a computer (a) capable of connecting to the internet and running a typical internet program, (b) containing/running a modern word processor such as Microsoft word or Word Perfect, (c) the capability to play sounds such as music (has speakers and appropriate software which normally come with any modern computer), and (d) a slide viewing program such as Power Point (you can probably get a slide viewing program free off the internet if you don’t have one). Any modern (e.g., built within the last ten years), IBM style computer running Windows 98 and more recent platforms (e.g., XP or Windows 8) should be able to do this. Speed, hard disk size, and RAM are not factors for computers in the above category.

Dozens of students have used recent Apple products (MACs etc.) for the course however they frequently have more difficulty playing the course materials than PC users do.

If you are using a MAC type of computer, you must have a current version of “quicktime”. If you do not have it, you can download it for free from the web.

Required Text:

(The cost of the text(s) is not included in the course fee.)

Elaine Marieb: Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology, either the 10^th edition (ISBN 10: 0-321-69598-4), 2012 or the soft cover 9^th edition (ISBN 10: 0-321-51342-8), 2009. There is also a much less expensive e-book version. A used copy of the soft-cover 8^th edition will do if you can get it. Published by Benjamin/Cummings Science Publishers / Addison Wesley Longman of New York. The book comes with a CD but this is not to be confused with the audiovisual lecture CD discussed above. Do not get Marieb’s “Human Anatomy and Physiology” book (without “essentials” in the title) as this is a different book.

Optional Texts:

1. Gary Thibodeau and  Kevin Patton: The Human Body in Health and Disease, either the 3^rdedition (ISBN  0-323-01338-4 – soft cover), 2002 or the 4^thedition (ISBN 0-323-03162-5) 2005. Published by Mosby (Elsevier Science) of St. Louis, Missouri. This book is important if you assess and treat medical conditions, work in a medical setting, or are taking graduate training in health psychology or behavioral medicine.

2. Clinical Kinesiology for Physical Therapy Assistants, Third Edition by Lynn Lippert; F.A. Davis Company of Philadelphia, 2000.  ISBN 0836-0453x . This book is important if you plan to record moving subjects, work with musculoskeletal rehabilitation patients, or are in a graduate school psychophysiology track or program.

Faculty:

The course is given by Dr. Richard Sherman, Ph.D.  He is certified by BCIA, approved by BCIA to teach the general biofeedback certification course, and currently teaches A&P, Pelvic floor disorders, pain, and other courses. He is a professional psychophysiologist with extensive training (his Ph.D. is in biology & psychology), has nearly 30 years of experience in the field, and has published over 130 books, chapters, and articles (mostly in peer reviewed journals). Dr. Sherman is Director of the psychophysiology doctoral specialization at Saybrook University and has held many positions within the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback including president. Full CV available upon request and on the course web site.

Topic Outline:

(All readings in the Thibodeau – Patton and Lippert books are optional.)

1. Concepts and Overview of the Body’s Organization + First Thoughts About Disease

(About two hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture:  Why you need to know A & P to perform psychophysiological

assessments and interventions – and what you miss if you don’t know it.

MS Word Text file on your CD entitled “A&P Basic Concepts of Disease”.

Marieb book Chapter 1: Structural organization, atoms to organisms, overview of organ

systems, what is life and what is needed, homeostasis, descriptive terminology

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd  Edition Chapters 1, 3, and 4 / 4^th Edition 1,3, 4, and 5: Structure vs.   function, Organ systems; first look at disease mechanisms. NOTE: See the            appendices for examples of pathological conditions, medical terminology,   clinical            and laboratory values, and common abbreviations and symbols.

Lippert book Chapter 1: Descriptive terminology, types of motion, joint movements

2. Basic Chemistry:

 (About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: The basics of atoms and ions, the body as a bag of ions, body

generated electromagnetic fields and behavior, recording the body’s electricity

Marieb book Chapter 2: Basic chemistry, matter and energy, composition of matter,

molecules and compounds, chemic bonds and reactions, biochemistry – inorganic

1. organic

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Edition Appendix A – Chemistry of life / 4^th Edition Chapter 2

3. Cells and Tissues:

            (About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: Evolution of communication systems, communication within and

between cells and tissues, development of stress response systems, wound

healing and stress

Marieb book Chapter 3: Cellular anatomy and physiology, epithelial, connective, nerve,

and, muscle tissues, introduction to tissue repair / wound healing

Thibodeau/Patton book 3^rd Ed. Chapter 2/ 4^th Ed. Ch 3: Tissues and membranes

4. The Nervous System:

            (About four hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture: The overlapping types of communication systems in relationship to

evolution, how the interaction between the chemical and nervous communication

systems effects behavior, effects of stress on the nervous system, nervous system

plasticity and change with behavioral and chemical interventions, changing the

body through change in behavior and vice versa, biofeedback, pain, recording the EEG, & addiction

            Marieb book Chapter 7: Organization of the nervous system, structure and function, the

CNS, brain dysfunctions, the spinal cord, the peripheral nervous system

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed. Chapter 8 / 4^th Ed Ch 9: Nervous system and its diseases

Read both biofeedback chapters which are on your CD

Optional Lippert book Chapter 5:  The nervous system and movement: CNS, PNS

5. The Senses:

            (About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture:  Sensory abilities limit perception and training, the senses not

usually taught including pheromones, ESP, etc.,

Marieb book Chapter 8: vision, hearing, balance, taste, smell

MS Word Text files on CD entitled “A&P p100” and “A&P Blind spot”.

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed. Chapter 9 / 4^th Ed Ch 10: The senses and their disorders

6. The Glands – Exocrine and Endocrine systems:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture:  Chemical communication vs. behavioral therapy, pheromones and

community and sexual behavior, exocrine glands

            Marieb book Chapter 9: Functions, endocrine organs, hormone producing tissues

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapter 10/ 4^th Ed Ch 11: Glandular disorders 

7. The Skin – External and Internal:

(About two hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: Oxygen and wound healing in relation to stress, effects of behavioral

choices on skin function and diseases, skin cancer and the need for behavioral

stimulation, behavioral interventions to speed skin / wound healing

Marieb book Chapter 4: More on membranes, basic structure and functions of the skin,

skin color, homeostatic imbalances of the skin (allergies, burns, cancer,

infections, etc.)

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapter 5 / 4^th Ed Ch 6: Disorders of the integument 

8. The Skeletal System:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture: The need for bones to continuously reshape themselves in response

to behavioral challenges, stress and bone healing and change, behavioral

interventions to speed bone healing

 Marieb book Chapter 5:  Functions of bones, the axial skeleton, the appendicular

skeleton, joints, developmental aspects of the skeleton

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapter 6 / 4^th Ed Ch 7: Skeletal disorders and fractures

Optional Lippert book Chapter 2: Skeletal system: functions, types, composition of bone,

structure; Chapter 3: Joints / Articular system: types of joints, joint structure,

planes; Chapter 6: Basic biomechanics

9. The Muscular System:

(About four hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: Stress and muscle tension, muscle tension vs. pain, types of muscle

tissue vs. training for different types of tasks – why you can’t train some muscles

to perform some functions, muscle rehabilitation vs. type of training

Marieb book Chapter 6: Types of  muscle tissue, muscle activity, motion, anatomy

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Ch 7 / 4^th Ed Ch 8: Disorders of the musculoskeletal system

Optional Lippert book Chapters 7 & 8: The shoulder girdle and joint

Lippert book Chapter 16: The Hip: Joint structure, motions, and

muscle actions

Lippert book Chapter 12: TM / Jaw joint function

Lippert book Chapter 17:  The Knee: Muscles of the knee, muscle actions, motions

Lippert book Chapter 13:  The Neck and Trunk: Vertebral curves,

explanation of terms, joints and ligaments, muscles of the neck and trunk

Lippert book Chapter 20:  Walking: Normal gait, stance,

analysis of the swing and stance phases, determinants of gait properties

Lippert book Chapter 19: Posture

10. The Cardiovascular / Circulatory System:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture:  Effects of stress and anxiety on cardiovascular functioning and vice

versa, behavioral interventions for cardiovascular problems

Marieb book Chapters 10 and 11: Composition of blood, hemostasis (clotting, etc.),

blood types, the heart, blood vessels, the lymphatic system

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapters 11, 12, and 13 / 4^th Ed Chs 12, 13, & 14: Disorders of   the cardiovascular system 

11. The Immune System:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture: Effects of stress on the immune system, behavioral interventions for

immune system dysfunctions

Marieb book Chapter 12: The lymphatic system, nonspecific body defenses, the immune

system

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapter 14 / 4^th Ed Ch 15: Disorders of the immune system 

12. The Respiratory System:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture: Poor respiration patterns cause anxiety, psychophysiological

assessments and behavioral interventions for respiratory disorders

Marieb book Chapter 13: Anatomy, respiratory physiology

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapter 15 / 4^th Ed Ch 16: Disorders of the respiratory system

Optional Lippert book Chapter 14:  Respiration in relationship to motion,

muscles used during respiration and their tension patterns

13. The Digestive System, Metabolism, and Nutrition:

(About two hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: The gut brain, stress and metabolism, stress and GI functions,

behavioral interventions for irritable bowel disease, etc., diet vs. weight

Marieb book Chapter 14: Anatomy and functions of the digestive system, nutrition and

metabolism, body energy balance

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapters 16 & 17 / 4^th Ed Chapters 17 & 18: Disorders of the

GI system

14. The Urinary System, Waste Disposal, Fluid Balance Systems:

(About four hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

Audiovisual lecture: Mechanisms of continence, psychophysiological assessment

and treatment of urinary and fecal incontinence, reflexes

Marieb book Chapter 15: The kidneys, bladder, and urethra

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapters 18, 19 & 20 / 4^th Ed 19, 20 & 21: Electrolyte balance,          Disorders of the urinary system

15. The Reproductive System, Growth, and Genetics:

(About three hours of instruction including interaction with the instructor.)

            Audiovisual lecture: Mechanisms of orgasm, stress and sexual function, genetics,  and behavioral genetics

Marieb book Chapter 16: Anatomy and physiology of the male and female reproductive

systems, female reproductive functions

Thibodeau/Patton 3^rd Ed Chapters 21, 22, & 23 / 4^th Ed Chapters 22, 23, & 24: Disorders        of the   reproductive system and genetics

16. (Optional) Common Pathological Conditions, Medical Terminology, Common Abbreviations and Symbols, Clinical Laboratory Values, & Examples of Pathological Conditions.

Thibodeau/Patton Appendices (There are no review questions about these sections.).

17. You aren’t quite done yet.

Fill out (1) the Foundation’s course evaluation form and (2) the BCIA evaluation form (MS Word file named “A&P BCIA evaluation form”) and send it to BCIA (info@bcia.org)

When all requirements have been successfully completed, your course completion certificate will be e-mailed to you and BCIA will be informed that you completed the course.

Schedule:

There is one year to complete the course. Just contact us at admin@behavmedfoundation.org or 1.800.530.6658 to get started.

Duration of course validity:

There is one year to complete the course. Courses not completed by that time are void and must be repurchased if still available. No refunds are provided for courses not completed within one year of purchase.

CE Credit:

These are continuing education, not university accredited, courses. The Behavioral Medicine R&T Foundation is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Behavioral Medicine R&T Foundation maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

BCIA:

This course is accepted by the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance for both certification and recertification.

Payment, Refund, Scholarship, and cancellation policies:  

Full payment for each course is required before access to the course is provided. Payment is by credit card though our web site’s secure ordering section or by check in US dollars made out to the Foundation and sent to the address below. Full refund will be made until students are given access to the course material. After getting access to the course material, there is no refund at all as the Foundation has committed its resources to you and you have access to all of the course materials. A course would only be cancelled due to an extreme emergency on the part of the course instructor or the Foundation. In the highly unlikely event a course is cancelled, you would receive a full refund.

Scholarships: 

The Foundation give scholarships consisting of 25% off the cost of the course(s) to (a) students and professionals (e.g. clinicians, coaches, teachers) from emerging nations and (b) full time graduate students in developed nations.

Course updates:

Updates to all courses are placed on the course web site as they are made. Students are informed when updates are available. 

Questions / further information?

Contact Dr. Richard Sherman (director of the psychophysiology CE and doctoral programs) at admin@behavmedfoundation.org or 1.800.530.6658.

Administrative Information

Conflict of Interest: Neither the Behavioral Medicine Research & Training Foundation, its staff, nor the course instructor have any conflict of interest involving materials presented in this course.

Student comments about the courses and instructors:

Students who wish to comment about the courses and instructors other than through the “end of course” evaluations may wish to use the Foundation’s account at the anonymous comment submission site Incogneato (www.incognea.to). When a student submits a comment to our account (https://ansr.me/VWv70) on the site, there is no way for us to know who sent the comment unless the student provides an email. Students are always welcome to submit comments to this site. We take them very seriously.

Students who wish to make a formal complaint about a course or instructor can do so by following the Foundation’s grievance process which is detailed in the document by that name. Students can request the document from the program’s administrator by emailing admin@behavmedfourndation.org.