Psych
Medulla
Located in the hindbrain. Controls autonomic functions (heart rate, breathing, blood pressure) and reflexes (swallowing, sneezing, vomiting)
Pons
Located in the hindbrain. Connects brain stem and cerebellum and helps coordinate movements on each side of the body. Plays a role in sleep function
Reticular Activating System (RAS)/Reticular Formation
Located in the hindbrain. A network of nerve fibers involved in attention, arousal, alertness
Cerebellum
Located in the hindbrain. Controls balance and equilibrium, coordinated sequences of movement, and implicit memory (muscle memory)
Midbrain
A nerve system that connects the higher and lower portions of the brain. Relays information between brain, ears, and eyes
Thalamus
Located in Limbic System. Retrieves and sorts sensory information then sends it to the prefrontal cortex, “sensory switchboard”. Smell is a sensory exception
Hypothalamus
Located in Limbic System. Controls fight or flight, feeding, fornication
Amygdala
Located in Limbic System. Controls anger, aggression, afraid. Helps ingrain highly emotional memories
Hippocampus
Located in Limbic System. Converts short-term memories into long-term. Involved in processing and retrieving declarative memory. Spatial relationship memories
Prefrontal cortex
Located in frontal lobe. Controls thinking, planning, decision-making, impulse control
Motor cortex
Located in frontal lobe. Initiates voluntary movement. Contralateral
Somatosensory cortex
Located in the parietal lobe and is responsible for processing sensory information from the body. Contralateral
Primary visual cortex
Located in the occipital lobe and interprets signals from the eyes. Contralateral
Auditory association cortex
Located in the temporal lobe, helps distinguish sounds
Primary auditory cortex
Located in temporal lobe and is the primary place where audio perception occurs
Broca’s Area
Located in frontal lobe (usually left side) and controls expressive speech
Wernicke’s Area
Located in temporal lobe (usually left side) and controls language comprehension
Corpus callosum
a bundle of nerves that connects the two hemispheres and allows constant communication between both spheres
Left brain
language interpreter (expression, comprehension, and reading)
Right brain
spatial abilities, face recognition. More active while appreciating art/music
Neuroplacsticity
The ability of the brain to change as a result of experience or injury
Neurogenesis
The creation of new cells
Long term potentiation (LTP)
when a network of neurons fire together repeatedly, the neural path becomes more efficient
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
Measures electrical activity coming off brain surface. Can identify issues such as epilepsy and sleep disorders
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
measures change in oxygen levels as brain activates/deactivates
Brain Lateralization
Some things are lateralized to the left hemispheres and others are lateralized to the right