Studied by 307 PeopleCerebrum
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Cerebrum
large part of your brain involving the four lobes.
Cerebellum
"small brain" underneath the cerebrum.
Function: balance, coordination.
Brain stem
in charge of basic vital functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure. Includes Pons and Medulla at its end.
Frontal Lobe
reasoning, planning, speech, emotions, problem solving
Parietal Lobe
moving, orientation, recognition, perception
Occipital Lobe
visual processing
Temporal Lobe
recognition of auditory stimuli and speech
Medulla Oblongata
Part of the brainstem that controls vital life-sustaining functions such as heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, and digestion.
Visual processing
coordinated by occipital lobe
Auditory stimuli
coordinated by temporal lobe
Motor cortex (frontal lobe)
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
sensory cortex (somato-sensory cortex)
receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of the body bottom of sensory cortex receives sensations from top of body and vice versa
Wernicke's area
controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe
Broca's area
Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.
corpus callosum
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them
Amygdala
A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.
Hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.
Hypothalamus
A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.
left and right hemispheres
Together, the two hemispheres control much of your behaviour. The left is relatively more specialized for speech and language; the right, for appreciation of 3D space and spatial relationships.
Pons
sleep and arousal
limbic system
neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.
Patient HM
had hippocampi removed; showed that removing hippocampi destroyed the ability to form new memories
reticular formation
a nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus and plays an important role in controlling arousal
Thalamus
the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
brain plasticity
the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
Hindbrain
The posterior portion of the brain including cerebellum and brainstem.
Midbrain
A small part of the brain above the pons that integrates sensory information and relays it upward.
Forebrain
Collection of upper-level brain structures, including the thalamus, hypothalamus, and limbic system.
lesion
destruction of brain tissue. May occur naturally or experimentally
pituitary gland
The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.
PET scan
a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task; often used with detecting Cancer
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue. MRI scans show brain anatomy and structure.
fMRI (functional MRI)
A technique for revealing bloodflow and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI scans show brain function AND structure.
CT scan (computerized tomography), CAT scan
a series of x-ray photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer into a composite representation of a slice through the body
split brain
a condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them
EEG (electroencephalogram)
An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. Shows brain activity ONLY.
