AP Psych Vocab Unit 2 Part 2

brain stem

oldest part of the brain, connects to the spinal cord and sends signals btwn the brain and the body

medulla

responsible for autonomic functions in the body including regulating heartrate, breathing, digestion, swallowing, and sneezing etc controls essential life functions; results in death when damaged

reticular activating system

regulates arousal, sleep-wake cycles, and attention damage leads to coma, difficulty maintaining attention or wakefulness

brain’s reward center

mesolimbic dopamine pathway, network of structures responsible for pleasure motivation and reinforcement learning

cerebellum

Hindbrain, muscle control but primarily balance, damage leads to balance problems, walking issues and vertigo, and also uncoordinated movements.

cerebral cortex

made up of folded tissues like wrinkles divided into distinct zones/lobes that control different functions

hemispheres (2)

left and right, each has specialized functions, but they are connected through the corpus callosum

limbic system

sits at the top of the brain stem, helps to process emotions such as joy, pain, excitement, fear and happiness

Thalamus (Hal and Amos)

serves as a relay station between the brain stem and cortex, transmitting sensory information back and forth except for smell damage leads to sensory overload or a reduction in awareness and sensory processing

Hypothalamus (Hypo the llamas)

major role in maintaining homeostasis, controlling thirst and hunger and body temperature damage can cause excessive sleep and the inability to know when you are hungry or thirsty 

Pituitary Gland

master gland, directs all other glands controlled by hypothalamus, releases human growth hormone and oxytocin 

Hippocampus (Hippo on your camp)

helps convert short-term information into long term memories damage creates the inability to convert new information into lasting memories

Amygdala

responsible for processing emotions, fear and survival responses damage may show limited emotion, a flat effect, or a reduced fear response

Corpus callosum

connects and facilitates communication between the left and right hemispheres inability for each side to communicate with the other

Occipital lobes 

responsible for processing visual input and interpreting what we see damage leads to blindness or visual distortions

Temporal lobes

processes auditory information, smell and is critical for memory retrieval hearing impairment, memory loss or difficulty recognizing faces

Parietal lobes

produces sensory information (touch, temperature, pressure) and SPATIAL AWARENESS difficulty with spatial reasoning, identifying objects by touch or knowing where your body is in space

association areas

regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate/process information from the sensory and motor areas to perform complex cognitive functions

frontal lobes

command center for decision making, planning, personality and inhibition damage causes personality changes, impaired judgement, or inability to solve complex problems

executive functioning

a set of cognitive processes that enable individuals to plan, organize and regulate their behavior to achieve goals

prefrontal cortex

part of frontal lobe, controls planning, reasoning, abstract thought and self-control 

somatosensory cortex

processes sensory input from the body (touch, pain, temperature-very similar to parietal lobe) loss of sensation (numbness, tingling) in parts of the body

motor cortex

controls voluntary muscle movements throughout the body loss of control over voluntary movements or paralysis

split brain research

studies on split brain patients revealing the two hemispheres of the brain have specific functions, each hemisphere processing information differently 

hemispheric specialization

aka brain lateralization, the two hemispheres have different functions and abilities, each specializing in certain tasks, even though one side might be more active in certain activities both hemispheres can connect through the corpus callosum

Broca’s Area

essential for generating fluent speech (motor function of speech) difficulty generating structured fluent speech (aphasia)

Wernicke’s Area

area specialized in the comprehension and understanding of speech, speech content is nonsensical or disorganized, even though fluency is preserved

Aphasia

disorder that affects language abilities due to brain damage (either to Broca’s or Wernicke’s Area)

Split brain patient

an individual who has undergone a surgical procedure that severs the corpus callosum, done to reduce severe epilepsy symptoms

contralateral hemispheric organization

the phenomenon where each hemisphere of the brain governs the opposite side of the body, cross wired

brain plasticity

the ability of the brain to rewire itself or modify/create new connections throughout development and generally allows for the function of a damaged part of the brain to be assumed by a different part of the brain

Brain scans

EEG (signals about brain’s electrical activity) and fMRI (shows brain activity in a higher resolution, changes in oxygen concentration near active neurons alter its magnetic qualities)

Lesioning

the intentional damage/removal of a specific area of the brain in a research animal to study the function of that brain region, observing changes in behavior following the lesion

Hormones

slower chemical messengers (part of endocrine system) produced and secreted from glands

Adrenaline

adrenal glands, fight or flight response, activates sympathetic nervous system, too much has negative impact on the heart

Endorphins

pain relievers and “runners high” this is actually a NT

Oxytocin

pituitary gland, released with any positive physical touch (ie. skin to skin after birth, hugs, kisses, holding hands, etc) too much makes you overly sensitive to emotions and too little is associated with mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression

Melatonin

pineal gland, released as sun sets to make us feel sleepy and regulates our sleep-wake cycle (circadian rhythm) seasonal affective disorder (feeling sleepy), too little causes difficulty sleeping

Ghrelin

works with digestive system and released to tell you you’re hungry

Leptin

works with digestive system and released to tell you you’re full