STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN

GRAY MATTER

The cortex of the human brain composed of the neurons that form the thin outer covering of the brain.

CEREBRAL CORTEX

Provides us with our distinctly human qualities, allowing us to look to the plan, to reason, and to create.

LEFT HEMISPHERE

Responsible for verbal and other cognitive processes.

RIGHT HEMISPHERE

Perceiving the world around us and creating images.

PREFRONTAL CORTEX

An important area of the cortex located in the very front that helps to regulate the amygdala, is responsible for higher cognitive functions, and is important in many different disorders.

WHITE MATTER

Made up of large tracts of myelinated (sheathed) fibers that connect cell bodies in the cortex with those in the spinal cord and in other areas of the brain.

VENTRICLES

Cavities deep within the brain filled with cerebrospinal fluid.

CEREBROSPINAL FLUID

Circulates through the brain through ventricles, which are connected with the spinal cord.

BRAIN STEM

Lower and more ancient part of the brain essential for autonomic functions.

HINDBRAIN

Contains the medulla, pons, and cerebellum; regulates many autonomic activities.

CEREBELLUM

Controls motor coordination; abnormalities are associated with autism.

THALAMUS AND HYPOTHALAMUS

Involved in regulating behavior, emotions, and hormones.

LIMBIC SYSTEM

Located around the edge of the center of the brain. Responsible for attention, emotion, fight or flight

ANTERIOR CINGULATE

A group of subcortical structures including the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala.

HIPPOCAMPUS

Associated with memory.

HYPOTHALAMUS

Regulates metabolism, temperature, perspiration, blood pressure, sleeping, and appetite.

AMYGDALA

An important area for attention to emotionally salient stimuli; signals danger and processes fear, anger, and emotional reactions.

BASAL GANGLIA

Located at the base of the forebrain; related to Parkinson's disease.

PRUNING

A process where a number of synaptic connections begin to be eliminated.

BRAIN NETWORKS

Clusters of brain regions that are connected in that activation in these regions is reliably correlated when people perform certain types of tasks or are at rest.

SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Controls muscles; responsible for voluntary control.

AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Innervates the endocrine glands, the heart, and the smooth muscles that are found in the walls of blood vessels, stomach, intestines, kidneys, and other organs; responsible for involuntary control.

SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Responsible for the fight or flight response.

PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Helps to calm down the body.

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

Glands that produce hormones that are released into the bloodstream.

PITUITARY GLAND

The master gland of the endocrine system.

THYROID

Controls metabolism and growth.

PARATHYROID

Controls the levels of calcium.

ADRENAL GLAND

Regulates metabolism, blood pressure, sex development, and stress.

PINEAL GLAND

Produces melatonin.

PANCREAS

Produces insulin.

TESTES

Produces testosterone.

OVARIES

Produces estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

HPA AXIS

Central to the body's response to stress and figures prominently in many disorders; involves the hypothalamus releasing CRF, the pituitary releasing ACTH, and the adrenal cortex releasing cortisol.

CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING FACTOR (CRF)

Released by the hypothalamus when faced with a threat to communicate with the pituitary gland.

ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE (ACTH)

Released by the pituitary gland and travels via the blood to the adrenal glands.

ADRENAL CORTEX

The outer layers of the adrenal glands that promote the release of cortisol.

CORTISOL

Often referred to as the stress hormone.

TEMPERAMENT

Refers to a child's reactivity and characteristic ways of self-regulation.

PERMISSIVE HYPOTHESIS

When serotonin levels are low, other neurotransmitters are permitted to range more widely, become dysregulated, and contribute to mood irregularities.

CORPUS CALLOSUM

Responsible for communication between the left and right hemispheres.

FRONTAL LOBE

Responsible for learning, abstracting, reasoning, and inhibiting.

TEMPORAL LOBE

Responsible for the discrimination of sounds, verbal behavior, and speech behavior.

RETICULAR FORMATION

Responsible for arousal reactions and information screening.

MEDULLA

Responsible for breathing, blood pressure, and other vital functions.

OCCIPITAL LOBE

Responsible for visual discrimination and some aspects of visual memory.

THALAMUS

A major relay station for messages from parts of the body, and an important sensation of pain.

PARIETAL LOBE

Responsible for somesthetic and motor discriminations and functions.

SENSORY STRIP

Responsible for the integration of sensory information from various parts of the body.

MOTOR STRIP

Responsible for the regulation of voluntary movement.

MONOAMINE HYPOTHESIS OF DEPRESSION

A theory that suggests a deficiency in certain monoamine neurotransmitters in the brain is the underlying cause of depression.

SYNAPTIC CLEFT

The space between neurons where increasing the levels of monoamines can alleviate depressive symptoms.