ap psych structures

1. Cerebrum

largest part of the brain, only some animals have it, more advanced functions

2. Cerebellum “little brain”

back of the brain, contains two hemispheres, influences thoughts, emotions, and social behavior, affects coordination

3. Brainstem

connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord, mostly basic, essential functions, most animals have one

frontal lobe

executive functioning, emotional regulation

motor cortex (part of frontal lobe)

responsible for voluntary motor movements

prefrontal cortex (part of frontal lobe)

controls attention, inhibition, emotion, complex learning, theory of mind processing

Broca’s area (part of frontal lobe)

responsible for speech/language production. Someone with an aphasia of Broca’s area would struggle to communicate.

parietal lobe

integrating sensory information, self of body movements, awareness of location in space (kinesthetic sense)

somatosensory cortex (part of parietal lobe)

involves touch, pain, temperature, position, pressure, and vibration

temporal lobe

processing sensory input, particularly auditory

amygdala (part of temporal lobe)

emotional responses, decision making, memory

hippocampus (part of temporal lobe)

memory storage

auditory cortex (part of temporal lobe)

processes auditory information

Wernicke’s area (part of temporal lobe)

processes language. Someone with an aphasia of Wernicke’s area would struggle to understand language, even if they could communicate perfectly

occipital lobe

processing visual input

visual cortex (part of occipital lobe)

processing visual information

pons

unconscious processes such as the sleep

midbrain

relays sensory information

medulla

controls processes essential to life such as heart rate and blood pressure

thalamus

lies above brainstem, relays sensory information NOT SMELL

hypothalamus

lies right below thalamus, controls hunger/thirst, body temperature, mood, sleep

pineal gland

responds to light and dark and secretes melatonin, regulating the circadian rhythm

corpus callosum

connects two “halves” of the brain

limbic system

parts of the brain that regulate emotions and behavior, includes thalamus, hypothalamus and amygdala

endocrine system

glands that make hormones and release them into the blood, generally result in slow changes over time (such as puberty)

central nervous system

brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous system

everything else, delivers messages from brain and spinal cord

autonomic nervous system

governs involuntary processes

sympathetic nervous system (part of autonomic nervous system)

induces “fight or flight” responses

parasympathetic nervous system (part of autonomic nervous system)

calms your body down after “fight or flight” moments

somatic nervous system

governs voluntary processes