Brain Structures

Medulla

important in vital body functions such as heartbeat, breathing, blinking; decussation

Pons

carries nerve impulses between higher and lower levels of the nervous system

Reticular Formation

regulates flow of incoming sensory infomration

Cerebellum

muscular movement coordination (voluntary/involuntary), as well as our unconscious learning and memory

Thalamus

organizes input from senses and sends to brain (except smell); sensory switchboard

Hypothalamus

regulates appetites, drives motivation and emotion

Limbic System

• Hippocampus: involved in forming, retrieving memories (especially long-term)

• Amygdala: organizes motivational and emotional responses, picks up social cues from others and help determine intent

Frontal Lobes

CEO of the brain; executive function, Broca’s area, motor cortex

Parietal Lobes

left: language

right: visuospatial, geometry, music

Temporal Lobes

left: Wernike’s area

right: face and object recognition

Prospogagnosia

inability to recognize faces

Occipital Lobes

vision, primary visual cortex

Wernike’s Area

involved in speech comprehension

Broca’s Area

involved in speech production

Corpus Callosum

exchange information between the two hemispheres; a large set of myelinated axons connecting the right and left hemispheres (left goes to right brain and right goes to left brain)

Lateralization

the brain’s hemispheres have different functions and control different behaviors

Split Brain Studies

if hemispheres were not connected, they function independently

Alien Hand Syndrome

disorder that cuases involuntary movement of hand