AP Psychology Brain Areas

Thalamus

London Airport, train station and information relay station for all senses except smell, conveys sensory and movement information to the cortex

Hypothalamus

Regulates the body’s homeostasis and helps direct production of hormones or autonomic nervous system

Hippocampus

Converts short-term memories into long-term memories, organizes, stores, retrieves, learning and memory

Amygdala

Center for emotions, can produce fear/anger/anxiety, links emotions to other brain functions

Brainstorm sections

Midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata

Brainstem function

Regulates subconscious vital functions

Midbrain

Top part, motor control, eye movements and processing

Pons

Middle part, coordinates face and eye movements, hearing, balance

Medulla oblongata

Bottom, regulates breathing heartbeat, blood pressure, vomiting

Reticular formation

Network within the brain stem, controls arousal/alertness and sleep, somatic motor control

Frontal lobes

Higher order executive and cognitive functioning, planning, learning, voluntary movement, personality, impulse control

Parietal lobe

Top middle of the head, proprioception, sensory perception (managing senses), helps construct the world around you

Temporal lobe

Above your ears = auditory and language processing center, interpreting sound, managing emotions and retrieving memories

Occipital lobe

Back of your head, main visual center, visuospatial processing center, color, depth, distance perception, memory formation

Pituitary gland

Hormone command center, produces and releases hormones, regulates growth/metabolism, controlled by hypothalamus messages

Corpus callosum

Hemispheric divide, bundle of nerve fibers that allow both sides to communicate

Cerebellum

Between cerebrum and brain stem at the base of the head, controls balance, complex motor function, motor learning

Hindbrain structures

Midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata, cerebellum

Cerebral cortex

Outer layer atop your cerebrum, gray matter, outermost layer of nerve cell tissue with grooves called sulci and raises called gyri