psychology test #2 the brain

Occipital Lobe

• located in the back of the head

• primary visual cortex

• vision

Temporal lobe

• located alongside the ears

• Primary auditory cortex

• hear and
  understand language

• recognize people
  and objects

Parietal Lobe

• located above and behind the ears

• Primary somatosensory (bodily perception of touch, pain, temperature, pressure, and body position)
  cortex

• Attention and locating
  objects

frontal lobe

• located on the front of the head

• Primary motor cortex

• Thought, planning,
  decision-making, and self-
  control

corpus callosum

• located on the top middle of brain

• bridges two hemispheres of the brain

insular lobe

• located under the Neo cortex

• Primary taste cortex

• Perception of internal
  organs

Basal Ganglia

• located Middle of brain, on top of
  thalamus

• Connects motor regions of
  cerebral cortex with the
  spinal cord

• Critical for starting and stopping movements

hippocampus

• innner part of the temporal lobe

• Memory

• Navigating the environment

• Thinking about the future

amygdala

• end of hippocampus

• Adds emotional
  significance of events

• Influences hippocampus for
  emotional memories

thalamus

• deep middle of the brain

• Communicates sensory
  information to the cerebral
  cortex

• Regulates alertness and
  consciousness

hypothalamus

• front of the thalamus

• Integrates bodily signals
  with their associated feelings
  and behaviors

• Regulates hunger, body
  rhythms, reward seeking, and
  aggression

cerebellum

• lower back of the brain

• Coordination, precision,
  balance, and accurate timing

brainstem

• Sits on top of and continues
  from the spinal cord

• ends signals from the
  brain down to the body to
  create movement

• Collects sensory
  information from the body

• Regulates vital functions

pons

• upper part of the brain stem

• Control breathing

• Relays sensory information

Medulla oblongata

• lower part of the brainstem

• Controls autonomic
  functions like heart rate,
  blood pressure, and reflexes

Reticular formation

• structure that runs through the brainstem

• Sleep and wakefulness

• Behavioral arousal

• Attention

somatic nervous system

• voluntary control of body movements

• processing of sensory imput from the external enviornment

the two autonomic nervous systems

sympathetic and parasympathetic

sympathetic autonomic nervous system

• prepares body for fight or flight

• Works with the PNS to prepare the body for challenges

parasympathetic nervous system

• Returns the body to a resting state by counteracting the actions of the sympathetic system

• Allows the body to regenerate energy when it is safe to do so

case study of phineas gage

railraod worker that had a metal tube shot through his frontal lobe and he made a full recovery however his personality changed. he became more arressive and violent. Became irreverent, impulsive, impatient, grossly profane, and showed a severe lack of social inhibition or regard for others.

• Provided some of the earliest tangible evidence that distinct regions of the brain govern specific psychological faculties.

• Frontal Lobe Importance: Showed that the prefrontal cortex is vital for higher-order functioning, emotional regulation, and impulse control

defintion of a lobotomy

a neurosurgical procedure that involves cutting or severing nerve pathways in the brain's prefrontal cortex

contraladeral organization

the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body

CT scan

• Computerized Tomography

• X-Ray

• reveal a rapid 3-D structure of the brain

MRI

• Magnetic Resonance Imaging

• Magnetic fields/Radio waves

• Create a 3-D structure of brain with greater contrast resolution

DTI

• Diffusion Tensor Imaging

• Magnetic fields/Radio waves

• Assess the size and direction of the connections between brain regions

def of neuropsychology

study of the brain’s altered function following brain damage

disassociation

Evidence, following brain damage/lesion, that a specific brain area is
involved in one function but not in others

what are the two parts of double association

boca’s area- speech production but not comprehension

Wernicke’s area- speech comprehension but not production

Electroencephalography

• records electrical acitivity in the brain

• Assess brain activity, such as sleep or waking states

magnetoencephalography

• records electrical activity in the brain

• Assess brain activity with precise temporal resolution

Positron EmissionTomography (PET)

• injecting radioactive glucose into bloodstream

• Assess activity in different brain regions over a relatively long period of time

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

• tracks oxygen in the blood flow through the brain

• Assess activity in different brain regions with greater time resolution (accuracy of timing) than Positron Emission Tomography

Cell body (Soma)

Collects neural impulses,
contains the nucleus, and
provides life sustaining functions
for the cell

Dendrite:

Receives chemical messages
from other neurons

Axon

Transports electrical impulses to
other neurons via the terminal
branches

terminal branch

Converts electrical signals into
chemical messages to other
neurons

Myelin sheath

• Fatty tissue that covers and insulates an axon to ensure that electrical messages travel fast and meet less resistance

• Made up of glial cells or glia

Glia

• Responsible for vacuuming up
  neuronal debris; serve as cellular
  glue between neurons

• Gives the brain its jelly-like
  consistency

• Contributes to information
  processing during development
  and into adulthood
  
  

action potential

Change in voltage that serves as the
basis for neural signaling

Ion channel

Channels that allow chemical ions to
enter and exit the neuronal membrane
Allow positively charged sodium ions into
the neuron

stages of action potential

1. depolarization- a nueron’s voltage becomes more positive

2. repolarization- when a nueron returns to its resting potential (negatively polarized)

3. refractory period- Time required for a neuron to return to its resting state before it can fire another action potential Only a few milliseconds in duration

nuerotransmitters - Acetylcholine

voluntary motor control

neurotransmitters- Glutamate

excitatory, transmits information

neurotransmitters- GABA

inhibitory, prevents firing of neurons

neurotransmitters- Norepinephrine

vigilance or increased awareness

dopamine

motivation, pleasure/reward

Serotonin

sleep/wakefulness, eating

synapse

Gap between sending neuron and dendrites or cell body of the receiving neuron

neurotransmitter

Chemical messenger released at terminal branch, allowing communication

nueron communication

Reuptake: Neurotransmitters reabsorbed into presynaptic terminal that released them
Diffusion:Neurotransmitters drift out of the synapse
Degradation:Enzymes breakdown the neurotransmitters in the synapse

agonist drug

drug that mimics the action of a neurotransmitter

antagonist drug

Chemical that competes with a naturally occurring neurotransmitter to block neurotransmission

genotype v phenotype

phenotype- all genes that are physcially displayed

genotype- all genes that you have

allele

variant of a gene

gene expression

turning on/off genes to determine how the cell functions

Epigenetics

study how genes and the
environment regulate gene expression

neural plasticity - critical periods

Periods during which very specific
experiences must occur to ensure the normal
development

neural plasticity - damage plasticity

Modification (brain reorganization
following injury

neural plasticity- Synaptogenesis

generation of new synapses

neural plasticity- Neurogenesis

The process by which new brain cells are born
in adult brains