AP PSYCH U1

Brainstem

the oldest part and central core of the brain, beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull.Responsible for automatic survival functions. Is a crossover point where most nerves to and from each side of the brain connect with the body’s opposite side.

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

Pons

plays a key role in sleeping and dreaming.

Cerebellum

coordinates voluntary movement.

Reticular formation

responsible for the sleep-wake cycle.

Thalamus

receives almost all incoming sensory information, organizes it, and relays it to the cortex. Receives information from all of the senses except smell.

Basal Ganglia

works with the cerebellum and cerebral cortex to control voluntary movements. Enables people to engage in habitual activities such as riding a bicycle.

Limbic System

a group of interconnected structures that are crucial for emotion, motivation, and many aspects of learning and memory.Comprised of the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus.

Hypothalamus

plays a vital role in controlling many motivated behaviors, like eating, drinking, and sexual activity. Controls autonomic functions such as body temperature and heart rate.

Amygdala

Influences aggression and fear. Helps us recognize expressions of aggression and fear in others.

Hippocampus

Involved in learning and the storage of long-term memories.

Broca’s Area

involved in speech production.

Wernicke’s Area

involved in understanding spoken language.

Cerebral cortex

the outer layer of the brain, responsible for the most complex mental functions, such as thinking and planning.

Frontal Lobes

involved in personality, intelligence, and the voluntary control of muscles.

Motor cortex

controls voluntary movements. Located at the rear of the frontal lobe.

Prefrontal cortex

involved in higher cognitive functions such as planning, reasoning, and self-control.

Parietal Lobes

processes sensory information that has to do with taste, temperature, and touch. Also involved in registering spatial location (relating to physical space), attention, and motor control.

Somatosensory cortex

detects and interprets information on touch, temperature, pain, and pressure and allows us to perceive the size, shape, and texture of an object via touch.

Occipital lobes

process and respond to visual stimuli.

Temporal lobes

involved in hearing, language processing, and memory.

Prosopagnosia

the inability to recognize faces, even one’s own face.

Association cortex/Association Areas

areas in all four lobes of the brain that are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.