Brain and Behavior Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on the brain's role in behavior and mental processes.

Brain versus heart debate

A historical debate asking whether the heart or the brain is responsible for mental processes, such as thought, emotion, and behavior

Heart Hypothesis

The ancient Egyptians thought which organ was the primary source of human psychology and wisdom?

Mind-body problem

The question of whether our mind is separate and distinguishable from our body, or whether they are one integrated entity

Dualism

The mind and body are separate entities because they are distinguishable by their functions and substance.

Monism

The belief that our thoughts are a product of physical processes.

Phrenology

The study of the shape and size of the human skull to determine personality and mental functioning

Ablation

Surgical removal, destruction, or cutting of a region of the brain tissue to assess changes in behavior

Brain lesioning

Studying the effects of damage to an area of the brain

Split-brain experiments

Surgery that involves cutting the corpus callosum (nervous tissue that connects the two hemispheres)

Neuroimaging techniques

Used to capture images of the brains structure, function, and activities. Less invasive and much more precise.

Computerised tomography (CT)

Neuroimaging technique that involves taking continuous two-dimensional images which are then stacked to create a comprehensive three dimensional image of the brain

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic and radio fields to take detailed two-dimensional and three- dimensional images of the brain

Positron emission tomography (PET)

Neuroimaging technique that shows Images of the ‘working brain’. The participant takes a glucose solution containing a short lived, radioactive tracer which is injected before the scan.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Neuroimaging technique that uses magnetic and radio fields to take two and three-dimensional images of the brain and record its activity levels

Hindbrain

Coordinates basic survival functions (movement, breathing, heart rate, digestion)

Cerebellum

Coordinates fine muscle movements and regulates posture and balance.

Medulla

Controls vital bodily functions (which are automatic) such as swallowing, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, vomiting, salivating, coughing and sneezing.

Pons

Involved in sleep, dreaming and waking. Serves as a ‘bridge’ that connects parts of the brain with one another by relaying messages between the cerebral cortex and cerebellum and between the medulla and midbrain.

Midbrain

Involved with movement, processing of visual, auditory and tactile sensory information, sleep and arousal

Reticular formation

Alerts higher brain centres to important information, helps maintain consciousness, and regulates sleep, arousal and muscle tone

Forebrain

Important role in sophisticated mental processes (cognition, perception, learning, language, memory). Responsible for the integration and coordination of information that allows us to perform complex functions

Cerebrum

Coordinates sophisticated mental processes (cognition, perception, judgement, language and problem solving)

Hypothalamus

Maintains optimal biological functioning by regulating internal processes (hormone levels, hunger, thirst, body temperature and blood pressure)

Thalamus

Receives the incoming information from all of our senses (except smell) and then relays this to relevant parts of the cortex where its processed into meaningful information

Cerebral cortex

The outer layer of the cerebrum that covers the brain. Has multiple roles in behaviour and mental processes

Motor areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that have functions related to initiating and executing motor movements. Made up of motor neurons

Sensory areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that have functions related to receiving and processing information from the five senses. Made up of sensory neurons

Association areas

Regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate information from both motor areas and sensory areas to execute complex mental processes

Frontal lobe

Coordinates complex mental processes, is involved in voluntary motor movement, and is responsible for the production of speech

Prefrontal cortex

Coordinates complex mental processes such as logic, reasoning, judgement, decisions, personality

Premotor cortex

Involved in voluntary motor movement, and processes this information into an organised sequence of motions

Primary motor cortex

Initiates voluntary movements and is responsible for controlling skeletal muscle movements

Broca’s area

Responsible for the production of speech – coordinates the muscle movements required to produce fluent speech (tongue, lip, jaw, vocal cord movements)

Primary somatosensory cortex

Receives and processes sensory information such as touch, temperature, pressure, pain and other sensations

Primary auditory cortex

Receives and processes auditory information. The left hemisphere processes verbal sounds, while the right hemisphere processes non-verbal sounds.

Wernicke’s area

Responsible for the comprehension of speech, enabling the understanding of spoken language, and is involved in the production of meaningful and coherent speech

Primary visual cortex

Receives and processes visual information