AP Psy: Brain Structure and Neurotransmitters

acetylcholine (ACh)

enables muscle action, learning, memory; basel forebrain

dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

GABA

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

glutamate

a major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory

endorphins

neurotransmitters that influence the perception of pain or pleasure

substance p

involved in pain perception and immune response

medulla

heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, etc.

cerebral cortex

consists of: temporal, occipital, frontal, parietal

grey matter

consists of cell bodies

white matter

consists of myelinated axons

pons

handles unconscious process and jobs, such as the circadian rhythm and breathing

cerebellum

muscle control, including balance and movement

brain stem

breathing, consciousness, blood pressure, heart rate, and sleep

occipital lobe

visual processing centre, distance and depth perception, colour determination, object and facial recognition, memory formation

temporal lobe

audio processing centre, managing emotions, processing information from senses, storing and retrieving memories, understanding language (Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas)

parietal lobe

processes the sense of touch, assembles input from other senses to form something you can use

frontal lobe

thinking, planning, moving, remembering, social skills, personality, helps one understand and control how one talks, behave, and interact with others

Broca’s area

articulation production, repetition, and comprehension, grammar and sentence fluidity

Wernicke’s area

speech comprehension, reading, and transforming visual impressions of letters into mental representations of speech sounds

hippocampus

responsible for memory and learning: remember both short and long term, awareness from environment

hypothalamus

body temperature, heart rate, and hunger

amygdala

emotions processing: fight flight freeze, links emotions to memories, learning, and one’s senses