U1P2

Brain Stem

most primitive of the brain’s three layers

includes medulla, pons, and RAS

Medulla

regulates heartbeat and breathing

Pons

helps coordinate movement and control sleep

Reticular Activating System

regulates sleep-wake cycles, arousal, and attention

Brain’s Reward System

dog thats sits when told to bc it gets a treat every-time

cat that stopped pissing in the flower pots bc it got sprayed with water

Cerebellum

responsible for movement, posture, and balance

Cerebral Cortex

outer layer of the brain divided into two hemispheres and four lobes

Frontal Lobe

decision-making center; responsible for higher order thinking and planning (and movement)

Motor Cortex

part of frontal lobe; responsible for outgoing motor activity and voluntary actions send to muscles and glands

Parietal Lobe

processes touch and body awareness

Somatosensory Cortex

controlled by the parietal lobe; registers body sensations

Temporal Lobe

responsible for hearing and facial recognition

processes sounds, including speech

Occipital Lobe

visual processing

Limbic System

thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala

huge role in emotion and memory

Thalamus

relay station of the brain processing all incoming sensory inputs (except smell) and motor outputs

Hypothalamus

maintains homeostasis

responsible for the Four Fs: feeding, fighting, fleeing, and mating

Hippocampus

the transfer station between Short-Term memory and Long-Term memory

university students use transfer stations to go to campus

Amygdala

emotional center of the brain

Pituitary Gland

master gland for the endocrine system and controls the growth hormone

Corpus Callosum

connects the two brain hemispheres

Cerebral Dominance

Left side controls right side of body and is more involved in cognitive functions

Right side controls left side of body and is associated with more creative tasks

Broca’s Area

part of left frontal lobe; controls speech production

Wernicke’s Area

located in the left temporal lobe; responsible for speech comprehension

Brain Plasticity

the ability of the brain to modify its connections or rewire itself

EEG

Checks Brain Waves; measures brain’s electrical activity

MEG

measures magnetic fields from the brain’s natural electrical activity

CAT or CT Scan

a 3-D image is generated from a series of 2-D X-rays taken around a single axis of rotation; Finds brain damage

PET Scan

Depicts brain activity by showing consumption of glucose; active neurons use a lot of glucose

MRI Scan

shows brain structure by placing the head in a strong magnetic field where a brief pulse of radio waves disorients the atoms momentarily; produces very detailed useful images

fMRI Scan

tracks brain activity by measuring blood flow

Circadian Rhythm

24-hour biological clock, regulated by light and dark, located in the hypothalamus

Jet Lag

time zone changes cause insomnia, fatigue, and mood swings

NREM Sleep

interim time with no eye movement; Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3

Sleep Debt

not getting enough REM sleep on one night

REM Rebound

missing REM sleep one night triggers more REM sleep the next

Dream’s Physiological Function

the idea that dreams serve a biological purpose related to the restoration and maintenance of the body and brain; dreams are necessary for overall health and wellbeing

Consolidation Theory

dreaming is purposeful and helps process daily experiences and memories

Activation-Synthesis Theory

dreams are the brain’s way of making sense or random neural firing during REM; brain tries to create order out of chais

Cognitive Development

Dreams are a reflection of a person’s cognitive abilities and knowledge. Dreaming is simply a form of thinking that occurs during sleep

Insomnia

trouble falling or staying asleep

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

acting out dreams due to a lack of muscle atonia

Somnambulism

sleepwalking

Sleep Apnea

breathing interruptions during sleep

Narcolepsy

sudden sleep attacks or excessive daytime drowsiness

Sensation

physical experiences of stimuli

Transduction

stimulus reaches sensory organ and neurons are activated; excitation is converted to a nerve signal

Absolute Threshold

the point at which a stimulus can be reached

Just Noticeable Difference

the minimal change in stimulation that can be reliably detected

Sensory Adaptation

decreases sensitivity to constant stimulation

Weber’s Law

the size of the difference is related to the intensity of the stimulus

Sensory Interaction

our senses are constantly working together to help us interpret the world

Synesthesia

the stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway

Lens

bends light that passes through the eye and changes shape in order to focus

Retina

the thin, light sensitive layer at the back of the eyeball; the retina contains millions of photoreceptors and other nerve cells

Blind Spot

the point where the optic nerve exits the eye and where there are no photoreceptors; any stimulus that falls on this are cannot be seen

Accomodation

the profess by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus on objects at different distances, thus maintaining a clear image on the retina, like the autofocus on a camera

Rods

most sensitive to light and black, white and grey

Cones

process color

Trichromatic Theory

retinas have three cones

Opponent-Process Theory

two color processes, one of green/red and one for yellow/blue

Dichromatism

color-blindness in which only two of the three primary colors can be discerned

Monochromatism

all color appear as shades on one color

Prosopagnosia

can’t recognize faces or can’t interpret facial expressions and cues