Studied by 5 people
brain stem
medulla, pons, reticular formation, cerebelllum, thalamus
medulla
functions: breathing + beating heart + other autonomic functions
pons
has nerves that help with voluntary movements and speech
reticular formation
nerve network that travels through the brainstem into thalamus + involved with arousal, alertness, and sleep-wake cycles
what is the function of the reticular formation?
controls arousal + filters incoming sensory stimuli
thalamus
relay station for incoming + outgoing sensory information sends sensory signals to the correct part of the brain
cerebellum
processing sensory input, coordination/movement, and balance
limbic system
regulates emotion, learning, and memory
amydala
linked to emotion, fear, aggression starts the flight-or-fight response in SNS
hypothalamus
controls hunger, thirst, sex, linked to emotion/reward, and governs the endocrine system via the pituitary gland
hippocampus
turns short-term memories into long-term ones
frontal lobes
decision making, analysis, judgment, planning, and processing of new memories
parietal lobes
spatial reasoning + processes sense of touch and assembles input from other senses into a form you can use
temporal lobes
processing auditory information and the encoding of memory
occipital lobes
processing vision
motor cortex
controls voluntary movements
somatosensory cortex
registers information from the skin's senses and body movements
broca's area
language center in left frontal lobes involved in speaking + writing
wernicke's area
language center in left temporal lobe involved in hearing + reading
left hemisphere
focused on logic + language
controls right side of the body
receives sensory input from body's right side
right hemisphere
focused on creativity + arts + imagination
controls left side of the body
receives sensory input from body's left side
split-brain
operations in which the corpus callosum must be cut the two hemisphere cannot communicate with each other anymore
wernicke’s aphasia
inability to understand sounds or create meaningful speech after damage to Wernicke’s area
cerebellum
manages coordination and balance + things that require practicing to improve (helps body to remember those actions)
prefontal lobe
specializes in foresight, judgement, and memory
motor cortex
area of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movement
visual cortex
area of the occipital lobe that receives visual input and sends it to other visual areas in the cortex
angular gyrus
allows people to read words on paper and transfers that information as an auditory form
auditory cortex
area of the temporal lobe that processes hearing
amygdala
emotional regulation + fear
nucleus accumbens
forebrain area that functions in the pleasure/reward circuit
basal ganglia
neurons cells that are involved w/ voluntary movements
brain lateralization
some functions are controlled or more influenced by one hemisphere of the brain than the other
neuroimaging technique
tools that help researchers and doctors understand different aspects of the human brain
eeg (electroencephalogy)
studying brain waves by recording the brain’s electrical activity by placing electrodes on the scalp
ct (computed tomography)
a series of x-rays that produces detailed images of the body
pet (positron emission tomography)
imaging technique that uses radioactive glucose to evaluate the brains activity and blood flow
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
an imaging technique that uses magnetic impulses to create detailed images of the body
FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)
a method to image brain activity using an MRI machine - brain activity is measured by the blood flow and oxygen flow that is imaged in different parts of the brain
lesion studies
studies of the brain where specific parts of the brain are destroyed and the results are interpreted to understand brain activity
pituitary gland
regulates growth and controls other glands via hormones
pineal gland
controls production of melatonin (what makes you sleep)
thyroid gland
regulates metabolism; produces hormone that controls levels of calcium +
mirror neurons
type of neuron that makes people mirror the actions of others or themselves
explain a neuron’s ions
a neuron has a positively charged inside and a negatively charged outside at rest
explain polarization
neurons when at rest are polarized; the outside of the neuron is more positive than the inside of the neuron
explain depolarization
when the threshold is met, depolarization occurs and positive ions are able to enter the neuron which causes for action potential to occur
threshold
the minimum amount of stimulus needed for an action potential to occur
repolarization
the movement of positive ions which leave the neuron so that the cell can return to its resting state
refractory period
a short time when no other action potentials can occur until the axon is back in its resting state
electrical synapses
sends messages quickly and immediately; there is no space between the neurons
chemical synapses
messages take longer to send as neurons use neurotransmitters to send neural signals
acetylcholine (ach)
enables muscle action, learning, and memory
dopamine
influences learning, attention, and emotion
serotonin
impacts hunger, sleep, arousal, and mood
too much serotonin can cause…?
OCD, anxiety, and headaches
endorphins
influences the amount of pain/pleasure the body feels
epinephrine/adrenaline
helps w/ the fight-or-fight response
norepinepherine/noradrenaline
helps w/ the fight-or-flight response, alertness, + arousal
glutamate
involves w/ excitatory messages and helps w/ long-term memory and learning
GABA
helps w/ sleep and movement; slows down nervous system
excitatory neurotransmitter
depolarizes neurons; increases chance of action potential
inhibitory neurotransmitter
decreases the chance of action potential
hyperpolarization
inside of the neuron becomes more negative which prevents threshold from being reached
agonists
molecules that mimic neurotransmitters and increase their effectiveness (either by increasing the production or preventing reuptake from happening)
antagonists
molecules that decreases or block the effects of a neurotransmitter
neuroplasticity
neuron’s ability to adapt to damage + environmental changes
neurogenesis
the process that causes for new neurons to be formed
psychoactive drugs
chemical substances that alter perceptions and emotions
depressants
drugs that depress/reduce neural activity and slow reaction times
opioids
depressant drugs that are pain relievers
stimulants
drugs that promote neural activity
hallucinogens
drugs that affect a person’s sensations w/o the use of stimuli
restoration theory
sleep restores people’s energy that is depleted during the day
psychodynamic theory
dreams fulfill unconscious wishes
informative processing theory
sleeping allows individuals to build and restore memories
describe stage 1 of the sleep cycle
non-rapid eye movement; mind starts to relax + easy to wake up from
hypnagogic sensations
people think they are experiencing things in real-life when they are not, they are drowsy
beta waves
low amplitude brain waves hat show that someone is awake/alert
activation-synthesis theory
dreams are the body’s way of making sense of random neural activity
cognitive theory
dreaming can help with problem solving and creativity
pineal gland
products melatonin + regulates circadian rhythm
hypothalamus
controls pituitary gland and releases hormones
parathyroids
regulates levels of calcium in the blood
adrenal glands
related to the fight-or-flight response; releases epinephrine and norepinephrine
pancreas
regulates level of blood sugar via insulin and helps with digestion
testes + ovaries
releases sex hormones to promote growth
central nervous system (brain + spinal cord)
brain’s neurons work in neural networks that sends messages quickly
peripheral nervous system
connects sensory and motor neurons to cns
somatic nervous system
controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles
autonomic nervous system
controls automatic functions of internal organs
sympathetic nervous system
body’s arousal system and causes fight-or-flight
parasympathetic nervous system
returns body to calm, relaxed state after fight-or-flight response
priming
the effect in which a stimulus facilitates/inhibits the problem processing of the same/similar stimuli
describe stage 2 of the sleep cycle
individual is no longer easily awakened and experiences sleep spindles (bursts of neural activity)
describe stage 3 of the sleep cycle
body is very relaxed + usually when sleepwalking, sleeptalking, and night terrors happen
REM
dreams happen, rapid eye movement, brain shows activity, muscles are relaxed but other body systems are active
sleep terrors/night terrors
people randomly wake up in the middle of the night feeling intense pain/fear
they have an increased heart rate and sweat
sleep apnea
when people randomly stop breathing in the middle of their sleep
Note
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