AP Psychology: brain parts, neurotransmitters, hormones

dopamine

activates the pleasure-reward center of the brain, coordination of body movement, and alertness; undersupply=parkinson’s disease, oversupply=schizophrenia

serotonin

well-being contentment, regulate hunger (specific foods can trigger), helps sleep cycle; lack = clinical depression

norepinephrine

fight or flight response, alertness and take action in times of danger; increases heart rate + blood pressure

glutamate

helps with memory and creating nerve connections; most common neurotransmitter

GABA

creates a sense of calm, anti-anxiety molecule; undersupply=seizures, insomnia

endorphins

pain control; works similarly to depressant drugs like opioids and heroin

acetylcholine (ACh)

activates voluntary muscle movement, learning and memory; lack = alzheimer’s disease

substance P

involved with perception of pain, released by sensory neurons; oversupply = chronic pain

adrenaline (hormone)

same as epinephrine; fight or flight response; adrenaline rush; prepares body for stressful or dangerous situations

leptin (hormone)

regulates appetite and energy balance; plays role in cognitive functions like learning and memory

ghrelin (hormone)

appetite increaser; released in the stomach and stimulates the hypothalamus to increase appetite

melatonin (hormone)

helps regulate body’s circadian rhythms or 24 hour internal clock; produced in response to darkness

oxytocin (hormone)

plays a role in social bonding, trust, and relationship building; “love hormone” “cuddle chemical”

agonist

a molecule that increases a neurotransmitter’s action.

antagonist

a molecule that inhibits or blocks a neurotransmitter’s action.

depressants (alcohol)

drugs that reduce neural activity and slow body functions.

stimulants

drugs that excite neural activity and speed up body functions.

opioids (heroin)

opium and its derivatives; they depress neural activity, temporarily lessening pain and anxiety.

hallucinogens (marijuana)

psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”) drugs that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input.

barbiturates

drugs that depress central nervous system activity, reducing anxiety but impairing memory and judgment.

lesion [LEE-zhuhn]

tissue destruction. Brain lesions may occur naturally (from disease or trauma), during surgery, or experimentally (using electrodes to destroy brain cells).

lesioning procedures

a group of techniques that destroy targeted brain tissue or nerves to treat a variety of conditions

EEG (electroencephalogram)

an amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

a brain-imaging technique that measures magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity.

CT (computed tomography) scan

a series of X-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a holistic representation of a slice of the brain’s structure.

PET (positron emission tomography)

a technique for detecting brain activity that displays where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. ___ scans show brain anatomy.

fMRI (functional MRI)

a technique for revealing blood flow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive ___ scans. ____ scans show brain function as well as structure.

hindbrain

consists of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum; directs essential survival functions, such as breathing, sleeping, and wakefulness, as well as coordination and balance.

midbrain

found atop the brainstem; connects the hindbrain with the forebrain, controls some motor movement, and transmits auditory and visual information.

forebrain

consists of the cerebral cortex, thalamus, and hypothalamus; manages complex cognitive activities, sensory and associative functions, and voluntary motor activities.

brainstem

the central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the _________ is responsible for automatic survival functions.

medulla

the hindbrain structure that is the brainstem’s base; controls heartbeat and breathing.

thalamus

the forebrain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

cerebellum

the hindbrain’s “little brain” at the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.

limbic system

neural system located mostly in the forebrain — below the cerebral hemispheres — that includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland; associated with emotions and drives.

amygdala

two lima-bean–sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.

pituitary gland

master gland; control release of growth hormone and others

thalamus

receives sensory information from sensory neurons (except for smell); sends sensory info to appropriate areas of brain for processing

hypothalamus

a limbic system neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system, and is linked to emotion and reward.

hippocampus

a neural center in the limbic system that helps process explicit (conscious) memories — of facts and events — for storage.

cerebral cortex

the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the forebrain’s cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.

frontal lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead. They enable linguistic processing, muscle movements, higher- order thinking, and executive functioning (such as making plans and judgments).

parietal lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; it receives sensory input for touch and body position.

occipital [ahk-SIP-uh-tuhl] lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; it includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.

temporal lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; it includes the auditory areas, each of which receives information primarily from the opposite ear. They also enable language processing.

motor cortex

a cerebral cortex area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

somatosensory cortex

a cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.

association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, but rather are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.

corpus callosum [KOR-pus kah-LOW-sum]

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

split brain

a condition resulting from surgery that separates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them.

broca’s area (left hemisphere only!)

speech production

broca’s aphasia

language impairment

wernicke’s area (left hemisphere only!)

language reception and comprehension

wernicke’s aphasia

affects ability to understand what others and saying and how you speak

left hemisphere

language, verbal, analytical (reading, writing, computations)

right hemisphere

visual, intuitive, creative; what you see in the right visual field you can say out loud, draw and point to