Biological Psychology - Neuroanatomy

Central Nervous System

Central Nervous System

consist of the brain and the spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

Connects the brain and the spinal cord to the rest of the body

Somatic Nervous System

Conveys messages from the senses to the CNS; controls voluntary muscles

Autonomic Nervous System

Messenger between the CNS and involuntary organs like heart, lungs, and intestines

Sympathetic Nervous System

responsible for our fight or flight; breaks down glycogen to glucose for energy

Parasympathetic Nervous System

dominant during our vegetative state; returns excess glucose to glycogen to reserve energy

Spinal Cord

part of the CNS within the spinal column

Gray Matter

contains cell bodies and dendrites; responsible for our life saving reflexes

White Matter

consist of myelinated axons that carries messages from and to the brain

Hindbrain

posterior part of the brain

Medulla

Contains the 8,9,10, 11, 12 cranial nerves that are responsible for our vital reflexes such as breathing and heart rate

Pons

Contains the reticular formation which is responsible for our attention and arousal and the raphe system which helps in our responsiveness

Cerebellum

part of the brain that has a major role in our balance and coordination

Midbrain

Middle of the brain

Tectum

roof of the midbrain

Superior colliculus

swelling on the side of the tectum which is involved in processing visual sensory information

Inferior colliculus

swelling on the side of the tectum which is involved in processing auditory sensory information

Tegmentum

intermediate level of the brain responsible for sending inhibitory signals to prevent unwanted body movement

substantia nigra

located at the tegmentum, produces dopamine which helps in our motivation to move or readiness to move

Forebrain

consist of 2 hemispheres

Cerebral cortex

outer and most prominent part of the brain

Thalamus

sensory relay station of the brain

hypothalamus

responsible for the regulation of motivated behaviors like eating, sleeping, and sexual behavior by altering the release of hormones in the pituitary gland

Pituitary gland

attached to the base of the hypothalamus which releases hormones

Basal ganglia

responsible for voluntary motor control and learning motor skills and decision making

Basal Forebrain

base of the forebrain involved in episodic memory formation and contains nuclei basalis

nuclei basalis

receives information from the hypothalamus and basal ganglia then sends acetylcholine to the cerebral cortex, important in wakefulness, attention, and arousal

hippocampus

located between thalamus and cerebral cortex which is responsible in storing memories

ventricles

four fluid filled chambers in the brain which contains choroid plexus cells

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

produced by choroid plexus cells that are attached on the walls of the ventricles which helps in protecting the brain from shock by being responsible for its buoyancy

Occipital Lobe

primary visual cortex

cortical blindness

visual stimulus is sensed but is not processed by the brain

parietal lobe

primary somatosensory cortex

temporal lobe

primary auditory cortex and important in motivational and emotional behaviors

Frontal lobe

primary motor cortex

Precentral gyrus

responsible for fine motor movements

prefrontal cortex

integrates large number of information which makes it responsible for the working memory

delayed-response task

seeing and hearing something and then have to response to it after a delay

Binding problem

concept that refers to the challenge in understanding how the different parts of the brain are binded together

hydrocephalus

occurs when CFS is obstructed so it accumulates in the ventricle and subarachnoid spaces

kluver bucy syndrome

caused by damage in temporal lobe, displayed aggressive behavior and lack of fear

Parkinson’s disease

caused by damage in nucleus basalis

glycogenesis

process of storing excess glucose

ventral

anatomical direction: located towards the stomach

dorsal

anatomical direction: located away the stomach

Ipsilateral

anatomical direction: located at the same side of the body

contralateral

anatomical direction: located at opposite sides of the body