Comprehensive Overview of Brain Structures for AP Psychology

Thalamus

sensory switchboard, processes every sense other than smell

Medulla

controls heartbeat and breathing

Brainstem

the oldest part of the brain, newer parts are built on top of this, automatic survival functions

Reticular Formation

controls arousal and alertness

Cerebellum

Processes coordinates voluntary movement and balance

Amygdala

Fear and aggression

Hippocampus

learning and memory

Hypothalamus

Reward center, hunger, thirst, sexual arousal

Pituitary Gland

Master gland, works with hypothalamus

Cerebral Cortex

Outside of the brain, control an information-processing center of the brain

Cerebrum

beefy portion of brain

frontal lobe

higher order thinking (what makes us human)

parietal lobe

receives sensory input for touch/body position

occipital lobe

receives visual information

Temporal Lobe

receives auditory information

Motor Cortex

left hemisphere section controls movement of the right side of the body and right hemisphere section controls movement of left side of the body

Sensory Cortex

area at front of parietal lobe that registers and processes the senses

Association Areas

not included in primary motor or sensory function, but involved in higher mental functions

Wernicke's Area

Language comprehension

Broca's Area

controls speech

Plasticity

brain's ability to reorganize itself, higher in younger people to overcompensate for damage

Corpus Callosum

connects left and right brain hemispheres

Not on the top of the brain

Hemispheres are not connected until you get down to the corpus callosum in middle of brain

Right Hemisphere

Emotion/Artsy

Left Hemisphere

Analytical thoughts

Math/Science

Language/Speech

Controls more important functions than right hemisphere

Right side/Right visual field

left hemisphere

Left Side/Left Visual Field

Right hemisphere

Acetylcholine

enables muscle action, learning, and memory

Dopamine

influences movement, learning, attention, and emotion

Serotonin

Affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal

Norepinephrine

helps control alertness and arousal

Gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA)

a major inhibitory neurotransmitter

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter; involved in memory