Brain Bee and HOSA

Hormones

Send the brain specific cues about the condition and activity of distant tissues in the body.

Neuromodulators

Cannabis-like chemicals that seem to suppress neurotransmitter release.

Prostaglandins

Small lipids that change the brain’s response (increasing pain sensitivity) to pain and inflammation.

Cerebrum

Largest part of human brain, divided into left and right hemispheres. Connected by bundle of nerves fibers that carry information.

Corpus callosum

A thick band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres, facilitating communication between them. Largest bundle of nerves in cerebrum.

Cerebral cortex

The outer layer of the cerebrum, deeply folded nerve tissue. Increases the surface area of the cerebrum, space for more neurons.

Frontal lobe

Speech/voluntary movements, memory/emotion, planning and problem-solving, and personality.

Parietal lobe

Sensory signals from skin, taste, and some visual information.

Occipital lobe

Visual information, colors and shapes.

Temporal lobe

Some visual, mostly auditory information.

Hippocampus

Region of temporal lobe, encodes new memories.

Amygdala

In temporal lobe, memory and emotion, primarily responsible for fear and axienty.

Thalamus

Integrates sensory information, relays it to other parts of the brain.

Hypothalamus

Sends hormonal signals to the rest of the body through the pituitary gland.

Midbrain

Eye movements, blinking/focusing, reflexes to sounds, unwanted body movements, and sensory input to motor output.

Hindbrain

Glucose regulation, sleep, and movement.

Cerebellum

Second-largest, over half of brain’s neurons, deeply folded, 2 hemispheres, voluntary movements, motor skills, spatial and temporal perception.

Pons

Breathing and posture.

Medulla

Part of the hindbrain, brain to the spinal cord. Swallowing, heart rate, and breathing.

Limbic system

A group of structures deep within the brain that help regulate our emotion and motivation.

Forebrain

The largest part of the brain, responsible for higher cognitive functions, sensory processing, and the regulation of voluntary movements.

Basal ganglia

Regulate complex body movements.

Brainstem

The brainstem is the part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord, responsible for basic life functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Brain waves

Rhythmic, oscillating, electrical patterns that come from neuronal signals that loop through the thalamus and cortex. Detected with an electroencephalograph (EEG).

Alpha waves

8 to 13 Hz, when brain is relaxed and eyes are closed.

Beta waves

14 to 30 Hz, when processing sensory input or concentrating on a task.

Theta waves

4 to 7 Hz, light sleep.

Delta waves

>3.5 Hz, during deep sleep.

Gila

Support neurons. astrocytes, microglia, ependymal cells, and oligodendrocytes.

Astrocytes

Form a network inside the brain that regulates ion concentrations around neurons, provides them with nutrients, and helps regulate the formation of new connections between neurons.

Microgila

“Immune cells” of the brain. They function mainly as phagocytes - helping protect the brain from infections and cellular damage - but can also regulate the formation of new neuronal connections.

Ependymal cells

Makes the cerebrospinal fluid that cushions the brain inside the skull.

Oligodendrocytes

Improve neuron function by wrapping axons in a fatty sheath called myelin.