BIOpsych Getting to Know Your Brain (Crash Course Psychology #4)

Why is phrenology important historically?

It introduced the idea that different brain areas have different functions.

What are the two major parts of the central nervous system?

The brain and the spinal cord.

What happened to Phineas Gage?

A tamping iron shot through his skull, damaging his frontal lobe and altering his personality.

What did Phineas Gage’s case teach psychology?

That specific brain areas are linked to personality and decision‑making.

What is the “old brain”?

The brain’s most ancient structures responsible for basic survival functions.

What structures make up the brainstem?

The medulla, pons, and reticular formation.

What does the medulla control?

Automatic functions like heartbeat and breathing.

What does the pons help regulate?

Movement and sleep.

What is the thalamus?

The brain’s sensory 'switchboard' that routes incoming information.

What does the cerebellum do?

Coordinates balance, movement, and nonverbal learning.

What is the limbic system responsible for?

Emotion, motivation, and memory.

What does the amygdala regulate?

Fear, aggression, and emotional responses.

What does the hypothalamus control?

Hunger, thirst, body temperature, and the endocrine system.

What is the hippocampus essential for?

Forming new memories.

What gland is known as the “master gland”?

The pituitary gland.

What is gray matter?

Neuronal cell bodies that process information.

What are the two brain hemispheres connected by?

The corpus callosum.

What is the cerebral cortex?

The brain’s outer layer responsible for higher‑order thinking.

What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?

Frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes.

What does the frontal lobe control?

Planning, judgment, speaking, and muscle movements.

What does the parietal lobe process?

Touch and body position.

What does the occipital lobe process?

Vision.

What does the temporal lobe process?

Hearing and language comprehension.

What is the motor cortex responsible for?

Voluntary movement.

What is the somatosensory cortex responsible for?

Processing touch and body sensations.

What are association areas?

Regions involved in integrating information for learning, memory, and reasoning.