Brain Structures

Hindbrain

The oldest/lowest brain layer; includes structures involved in survival functions.

Midbrain

Involved in movement and sensation; connects hindbrain and forebrain.

Forebrain

The largest/most complex layer; involved in memory, emotion, reasoning, and thought.

Brain stem

At the base of the skull above the spinal cord; controls automatic survival functions.

Reticular formation

A nerve network through the brainstem into the thalamus that helps control arousal.

Reticular formation damage

Can cause a state of permanent sleep or wakefulness.

Medulla

Base of the brainstem; controls breathing and heartbeat.

Pons

Involved in respiration, REM sleep, and coordinating interhemispheric communication.

Thalamus

The sensory switchboard; directs sensory messages to receiving areas of the cortex.

Sensory info bypassing thalamus

Smell; the thalamus receives all sensory information except smell.

Cerebellum

Coordinates movement, balance, timing, nonverbal learning, and memory.

Cerebellum and alcohol

Alcohol affects it early, causing staggering and slower reactions.

Limbic system

A neural system below the cerebral hemispheres associated with emotions and drives.

Amygdala

Involved in survival emotions, especially fear and aggression.

Hippocampus

Processes and stores explicit memories of facts and events.

Hypothalamus

Regulates maintenance behaviors and the endocrine system via the pituitary.

Corpus callosum

Fibers connecting the brain's two hemispheres and allowing communication.

Pituitary gland

The 'master gland' controlled by the hypothalamus; controls endocrine glands and hormones.

Pineal gland

Produces melatonin and helps regulate the sleep cycle.

Cerebral cortex

Outer neural layer supporting memory, attention, awareness, thinking, and speech.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change and reorganize after experience or damage.

Neurogenesis

The creation of new neurons.

Phineas Gage case

Injury altered his personality, supporting the idea that brain regions have specific functions.

Split-brain procedure

Cutting the corpus callosum to treat severe epilepsy, limiting interhemispheric communication.

Brain lateralization

The tendency for neural functions or processes to specialize in one hemisphere.