Psych chap 4 brain

brain

intricate network of cells that plays a vital role in processing information from the body’s external and internal environments and in directing responses.

blood-brain barrier

formed between capillaries, limiting the entry of potentially harmful substances in our blood

meninges

three transparent, skin like membranes that protect the brain

cerebrospinal fluid

a watery-like liquid that circulates between the meninges and protects the brain

grey matter

largely composed of nerve cell bodies and their local connections to each other. The outer cerebral cortex is made entirely of grey matter

white matter

nerve fibres that connect distant brain areas to one another. They have a fatty coating, found in abundance beneath the cortex

cerebral cortex

the outer layer of neural tissue that covers the largest part of the brain

brain ablation

the destruction or removal of part of the brain. Often done intentionally, subsequent changes in behaviour , damage is irreversible. Deliberate damaged tissue.

brain lesioning

disrupting or damaging the normal structure or function of part of the brain. General term for damaged tissue.

split brain surgery

cutting the main band of nerve tissue (corpus callosum) that connects the two hemispheres

left hemisphere specialisation

-responsible for the right side of the body

-involved in language and speech

-associated with analysis and logical reasoning

right hemisphere specialisation

-responsible for left side of the body

-non-verbal

-visual and spatial abilities

-associated with holistic views and the arts

neuroimaging

captures a picture of the brain

structural neuroimaging

techniques that produce images, or ‘scans’, showing brain structure and anatomy

functional neuroimaging

techniques that provide views of some aspect of brain function by showing images of the brain at work

three main areas of the brain

-hindbrain

-midbrain

-forebrain

hindbrain

-located at the base of the brain

-includes medulla, pons and cerebellum

-control various motor functions and vital, autonomic responses

The medulla roles (hindbrain)

-swallowing

-breathing

-heart rate

-blood pressure

-salivating

-coughing

-sneezing

the pons (hindbrain)

-sleep

-dreaming

-waking

-breathing control

-connects parts of the brain by relaying messages between celebral cortex and cerebellum and between medulla and midbrain

-coordination of some muscle movement

the cerebellum (hindbrain)

-fine muscle movements

-posture

-balance

-motor co-ordination

midbrain

-central part of brain

-contains neural pathways connecting upper and lower brain areas

-involved with movements, processing information and sleep + arousal

-contains reticular formation

The reticular formation

-helps screen incoming info

-alerts higher brain centres to important info

-maintains consciousness

-regulates arousal

-muscle tone (tension)

-can ‘highlight’ info of potential importance, directing our attention

forebrain

-largest part of the brain

-located above midbrain

-numerous neural pathways connect with structures in the midbrain and hindbrain to coordinate brain activity

-complex cognitive functions such as: thinking, learning, memory, personality, emotions

hypothalamus (forebrain)

-maintains body’s internal environment (homeostasis)

-regulates release of hormones in the body

-influences thirst, hunger, sleep

thalamus (forebrain)

-filters info from almost all receptor sites (except nose) then passes it to relevant brain areas

-plays a role in attention and filtering sensory info

cerebrum (forebrain)

• outer surface (cerebral cortex)

• located above and in front of cerebellum and occupies most of forebrain

• divided into two cerebral hemisphere (left & right)

• each hemisphere enables information exchange and coordinated functioning of the brain

• receives and processes incoming and outgoing information

cerebral cortex

-covers the cerebrum

-involved with complex, ‘higher order’ mental abilities such as:

perception, learning, memory, language, thinking and problem-solving

-processes incoming sensory information and is involved with the planning and control of voluntary bodily movements

three main functions of cerebral cortex

-motor areas

-sensory areas

-association areas

motor areas

initiating and executing voluntary movements

made of motor neurons

sensory areas

receive and process information from the five senses

made of sensory neurons

association areas

surround sensory and motor areas and deal with more complex functions that require integration of inputs of information from different areas

cortical lobes of the brain

-frontal lobe

-parietal lobe

-occipital lobe

-temporal lobe

occipital lobes specialisations

receives visual information from the eyes

temporal lobes specialisation

-receives auditory information from the ears

-memory

-visual perception

-emotional repsones to memory + sensory info

parietal lobes specialisation

-receives and processes bodily or somatosensory info

-spatial reasoning

-attention

frontal lobes specialisation

initiating movement of the body

-see prefrontal cortex bc theyre the same

prefrontal cortex (the frontal lobe)

-reasoning

-planning

-problem solving

-personality

-decision making

-symbolic thinking

-attention

-regulation of emotions

-self -awareness

-plans motor movements

primary motor cortex (frontal lobe)

-initiates and controls voluntary movements through its control of skeletal muscles

-body parts with greater precison (eg. fingers) have more cortical space in the primary motor cortex

broca’s area (frontal lobe)

-fluent

-articulate

-clear speech

Primary somatosensory cortex (parietal lobe)

-receives and processes sensory info from the skin and body parts such as arms, hands ect.

-more sensitivity = more cortical space

primary visual cortex (occipital lobe)

-specialised to respond to different features of visual info

-some neurons respond to specific features (eg.shape or colour)

-some neurons respond to two or more features (eg. shape and colour)

primary auditory cortex (temporal lobe)

-perceive and identify different types of sound

-left cerebral hemisphere processes verbal sounds

-right cerebral hemisphere processes non verbal sounds, like music

wernicke’s area (temporal lobe)

-crucial role in the comprehension of speech and interpreting the sounds of human speech

-production of meaningful and coherent speech

-words can be hear but not understood until processed through the wernicke’s area

-only in the left cerebral hemisphere