AP Psychology Brain Structures and Functions

Cerebrum

The largest part of the brain, responsible for higher brain functions such as thought, action, and sensory processing. It is divided into two hemispheres and four lobes.

Limbic Center

regulates emotion and memory

Midbrain

a portion of the brainstem involved in vision, hearing, and motor control.

Corpus Collosum

A band of nerve fibers that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebrum, facilitating communication between them.

Broca's Area

A region in the frontal lobe that is responsible for speech production and language processing.

Cerebral Cortex

The outer layer of the brain involved in many higher-level functions such as perception, cognition, and decision making.

Hypothalamus

thirst, hunger, sex drive

Pituitary Gland

growth hormone production, storage of hormones produced by hypothalamus, produces hormones for endocrine system.

Pons

arousal, controls autonomic functions, relaying information between cerebrum and cerebellum, sleep.

Medulla

controls blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and vital functions.

Thalamus

relays signals from most sense organs to higher levels of the brain, processes and makes sense of this information.

Cerebellum

controls finely coordinated movements and stores memories about movements. impulse control, emotion, and language. sleep and wakefulness.

Brain Stem

alertness, arousal, breathing, blood pressure, digestion, heart rate, relays information between peripheral nerves and spinal cord to the upper brain.

Wernicke's Area

speech/language comprehension.

Frontal Lobe

decision making, personality, reasoning, planning, problem solving, speech. Slow to develop, between 18-21.

Occipital Lobe

vision/eyes

Parietal Lobe

attention, spatial location and orientation.

Temporal Lobe

sound processing, language comprehension, entering new info in memory.

Amygdala

linked with emotion, identifies is dangerous or threatening. emotional memory.

Hippocampus

associated with formation of new memories. spatial navigation.

Forebrain

most highly developed part of the brain. Responsible for the most complex aspects of behavior and mental life.