Brain Lobes and Research

EEG (electroencephalogram)

Electrodes measure electrical activity in neurons.

MEG (magnetoencephalography)

Head coil records magnetic fields from brain electrical currents.

CT (computed tomography)

Uses X-rays to create head images revealing damage.

PET (positron emission tomography)

Tracks radioactive glucose to show brain activity during tasks.

MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to map structure.

fMRI (functional MRI)

Measures blood flow via continuous scans to show activity.

Trephination

Drilling holes into the skull, historically to release spirits.

Lesioning

Destroying brain tissue as a last-resort behavior procedure.

Frontal lobe

Involved in judgment, planning, decision-making, and personality.

Motor cortex

Frontal lobe area sending signals controlling muscle movements.

Broca's area

Controls muscles involved in producing speech.

Broca's aphasia

Damage-related difficulty producing fluent speech.

Parietal lobe

Processes touch sensations and body position at the top.

Somatosensory cortex

Parietal area receiving sensory input from corresponding body parts.

Angular gyrus

Involved in written language, numbers, and spatial recognition.

Temporal lobes

Support hearing and memory; contain Wernicke's area.

Auditory cortex

Organizes and processes auditory information.

Wernicke's area

Responsible for language comprehension.

Wernicke's aphasia

Difficulty understanding speech meaning; jumbled syntax.

Occipital lobes

Process visual information at the back of the head.

Visual cortex

Organizes and processes visual information.

Association areas

Areas outside primary regions supporting learning and thinking.

Contralateral control

Left visual field goes to right hemisphere, and vice versa.

Gazzaniga split-brain experiment

Patients verbalized right field words, pointed with left hand.

What did split-brain research show?

Hemispheres process info independently when corpus callosum is severed.

Lateralization of function

Some cognitive processes are specialized in one brain side.