psych brain test

Medulla

Located at the very bottom of the brain stem, where it meets the spinal cord. Controls automatic life functions: heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure.

Reticular Formation

A network of neurons running up through the core of the brain stem. Controls arousal, alertness, and filtering incoming stimuli (damage can cause coma).

Pons

Located just above the medulla as a bulge in the brain stem. Helps coordinate movement, and is involved in sleep, dreaming, and facial expressions; acts as a bridge connecting the brainstem with the cerebellum.

Limbic System

A ring of structures located under the cerebral cortex and around the top of the brain stem, associated with emotions, basic drives, and memory formation.

Thalamus

Located on top of the brain stem in the center of the brain. Acts as the sensory switchboard: receives incoming sensory info and routes it to the correct cortex area (all senses except smell).

Hypothalamus

Located just below the thalamus. Regulates bodily maintenance functions (hunger, thirst, body temperature), controls the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and influences the "4 F's" (fighting, fleeing, feeding, mating).

Pituitary Gland

Attached right below the hypothalamus. Known as the "master gland" because it releases hormones that influence other endocrine glands (growth, stress, reproduction).

Hippocampus

A curved neural structure deep in the temporal lobe, near the amygdala, that is essential for processing and forming new explicit (conscious) memories.

Amygdala

Two almond-shaped neural clusters at the end of the hippocampus. Processes emotion, especially fear and aggression, and helps form emotional memories.

Cerebellum

Located at the back of the brain below the cerebral cortex ("little brain"). Coordinates voluntary movement, balance, and fine motor skills; stores procedural memories and aids in timing.

Corpus Callosum

A thick band of nerve fibers connecting the left and right hemispheres in the middle of the brain, allowing the two hemispheres to communicate.

Split-Brain Research

Studies conducted by Sperry and Gazzaniga on patients with a severed corpus callosum, demonstrating hemispheric specialization (e.g., left hemisphere handles language, right hemisphere handles spatial tasks and facial recognition).

Cerebral Cortex

The wrinkled outer layer of the cerebrum serving as the body's ultimate control and information-processing center, divided into four major lobes.

Frontal Lobe

Located at the front of the brain behind the forehead. Manages executive functioning (planning, decision-making, impulse control), personality, higher-order reasoning, and contains the motor cortex for voluntary movement.

Parietal Lobe

Located at the top and back of the head. Contains the somatosensory cortex, which processes sensations of touch, pain, temperature, and body position.

Occipital Lobe

Located at the very back of the head. Contains the visual cortex and is primarily responsible for processing visual input.

Temporal Lobe

Located on the sides of the head above the ears. Contains the auditory cortex for hearing, and contributes to language comprehension and memory storage.

Association Areas

Regions found throughout the cerebral cortex that integrate information and handle higher mental functions such as thinking, learning, remembering, and linking sensory input with stored memories.

Broca's Area

Located in the left frontal lobe. Controls speech production; damage causes halting, labored speech while comprehension remains largely intact.

Wernicke's Area

Located in the left temporal lobe. Controls language comprehension; damage results in fluent but nonsensical speech and difficulty understanding language.

Aphasia

An impairment of language ability, typically affecting speech production or comprehension, caused by damage to cortical language regions like Broca's or Wernicke's area.

Brain Plasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize and adapt its neural pathways across life in response to learning, experience, or following injury.

Phantom Limb Syndrome

Sensations or pain felt in an amputated limb, caused by cortical reorganization where neurons previously receiving signals from the missing limb rewire and fire.

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

A tool that records brain wave electrical activity via electrodes on the scalp; useful for studying sleep stages and seizures with high temporal precision.

fMRI (Functional MRI)

A brain imaging technique that tracks changes in blood flow and oxygen use to show which brain regions are active during specific mental tasks.

Lesioning

The targeted destruction or damage of a specific brain structure in order to observe behavioral changes and determine that area's function.