Cognitive Psych exam 1 vocab (BRAIN)

hindbrain

top of the spinal cord

medulla, pons, cerebellum

hindbrain

medulla

life support

pons

balance, sleep, arousal

cerebellum

coordinates muscle activity

midbrain

relay center, arousal, pain regulation

forebrain

cortex and subcortical structures

thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala

forebrain

thalamus

sensory relay structure

hypothalamus

controls pituitary gland, homeostatic behavior

basal ganglia

production of motor behavior

hippocampus

memory function

amygdala

emotional learning and memories

frontal cortex

motor, premotor, prefrontal cortex’s

motor cortex

fine motor movements

premotor cortex

planning movement

prefrontal cortex

executive functions

parietal cortex

sensory information from body (pain, touch, temp, etc)

occipital cortex

visual info

temporal cortex

auditory information, object recognition

primary motor projection areas

departure points in the motor cortex for signals that control muscle movement. more cortical coverage means more precision

primary sensory projection areas

arrival points in the motor cortex for signals from the sensory systems. contralateral organzation

glia

guide development of nervous system, repair damage, control nutrient flow, provide insulation

dendrites

detect incoming signals from other neurons

cell body

contains the nucleus and cellular machinery

axon

transmits signals to other neurons

all or nothing principle

an action potential is always of the same magnitude. an action potential either fires fully or doesn’t

synaptic transmission

allows a neuron to receive and integrate information from many other neurons to compare incoming signals and adjust responses to input

Broca’s area

language production

Wernicke’s are

language comprehension

language, analysis

left hemisphere

spatial skills, synthesis

right hemisphere

neuropsychology

study of the brain’s structure and their relation to function

capgras syndrome

patients can recognized loved ones but think they are imposters because emotional processing is disrupted

CAT scan

x-rays pass through body from different angles to see slices of the brain to detect brain injuries

MRI

magnetic fields aligns hydrogen protons in the body and they emit signals as they realign. computer constructs signals into brain images

PET scan

injection of radioactive tracer to follow blood flow to detect radiation and construct brain activity to see which regions are most active during a task

fMRI

relies on BOLD signal, active neurons increase blood flow. reveal which brain regions are active during tasks without radiation

EEG

detects tiny voltage fluctuations on the scalp generated by postsynaptic currents in pyramidal neurons from electrodes placed on the scalp

MEG

detects tiny magnetic fields generated by postsynaptic currents in pyramidal neurons

electrophysiology

record electrical signals produced by neurons in the form of voltage fluctuations detected in brain tissue or on the scalp

TMS

magnetic pulses activate neurons and produce temporary lesions