HOSA: Behavioral Health | Textbook Vocabulary Terms | Structures of the CNS and PNS

This is a targeted list consisting of structures and terms relating to the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems. These terms are sourced from the textbook, "Discovering Psychology: The Science of Mind" by John T. Cacioppo, Laura A. Freberg, and Stephanie Cacioppo, for the category of Behavioral Health for the HOSA RLC and SLC competitions.

Brainstem

relays information to brain

Medulla

manages heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure

Pons

connects the cerebellum to the rest of the brain; management of sleep, arousal, and facial expressions

Cerebellum

essential for maintaining balance and motor coordination; one of the first structures in the brain to be affected by alcohol

Midbrain

contains structures that manage sensory reflexes, movement, and pain

Reticular Formation

management of levels of arousal; cells determine awaking and deep sleep/unconsciousness

Thalamus

processes sensory information, states of arousal, and learning and memory

Basal Ganglia

help us select movements to bring us closer to our goals; participates in reward and control of movement

Hypothalamus

involved with motivation and homeostasis; contributes to feeding, fleeing, fighting, and fornification

Hippocampus

essential to the formation of long-term memories; involved in the storage and retrieval of memories; manages stress

Cingulate Cortex

ACC involved in decision making, emotion, anticipation of reward, and empathy; PCC involved in memory and visual processing

Amygdala

receives sensory information; produces emotional/motivational output; associated with stimuli responses, social behavior, and emotion

Nucleus Accumbens

participates in reward and addiction

Frontal Lobe

primary motor cortex; speech; motor functions

Prefrontal Cortex

involved with planning of behavior, attention, and judgement

Orbitofrontal Cortex

role in social behavior and emotions; impulse control

Occipital Lobe

primary visual cortex; visual processing

Temporal Lobe

primary auditory cortex; auditory processing; coordinates visual recognition

Parietal Lobe

primary somatosensory cortex; localizes sensory inputs; physical self-awareness; coordinates vision and movement

Spinal Cord

manages reflexes

Brainstem and Cerebellum

arousal, reflexes, and body functions

Cerebral Cortex

sensory, motor, association functions (localized and/or lateralized)

Somatic Nervous System

sensation and movement; 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves

Autonomic Nervous System

contains sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems

Sympathetic Nervous System

arousal and fight or flight

Parasympathetic Nervous System

rest and repair; energy storage

Enteric Nervous System

control of the gastrointestinal system

Endocrine System

metabolism, arousal, growth, sex; glands and hormones