AP Psychology Brain Structures and Functions

Amygdala

Controls emotional responses like fear, anger, and aggression

Brainstem

responsible for the body's automatic survival functions, the body's ultimate control and information processing center

Cerebellum

Helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance

Cerebrum

The largest part of the brain, initiates and coordinates movement and regulates temperature

Corpus callosum

A band of neural fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres and allows them to coordinate and communicate with each other

Hippocampus

Helps processing new memories for permanent storage

Hypothalamus

Regulates body’s maintenance activities like eating, drinking, body temperature, and is linked to emotion—the four F’s: feeding, fleeing, fighting, and fertility

Medulla

controls involuntary movements essential for survival like heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure

Pituitary gland

The “master gland” that controls other endocrine glands, produces hormones and regulates body functions

Pons

Relays sensory and motor information between brainstem and cerebrum and cerebellum

Reticular formation

A network of interconnected neurons that control an organism's level of alertness; wakefulness, arousal, and attentiveness

Thalamus

relays sensory and motor information to and from the cerebral cortex, except for smell