Second half of psych

Endocrine system

Glands that release hormones into the bloodstream

Hormones

Chemical messengers carried through the bloodstream

Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature, and homeostasis

Pituitary gland

Gland that releases hormones and regulates other glands

Adrenal glands

Release hormones involved in the stress response

Epinephrine

Hormone that prepares the body for action during stress

Biological psychology

Studies biological influences on behavior

Biopsychosocial approach

Explains behavior through biological, psychological, and social-cultural influences

Localization of function

Idea that different brain regions specialize in different functions

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to change and reorganize

Neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons

EEG

Records electrical activity in the brain

CT scan

Uses X-rays to create brain images

MRI

Produces detailed images of brain structure

PET scan

Shows metabolic activity using a radioactive tracer

fMRI

Measures blood oxygenation changes associated with brain activity

Lesion studies

Investigate how damage to brain areas affects behavior

Hindbrain

Brain division involved in basic functions and coordination

Midbrain

Brain division involved in movement, sensory processing, and arousal

Forebrain

Brain division involved in complex thinking, emotion, and memory

Medulla

Controls breathing and heart rate

Pons

Helps regulate sleep and arousal

Reticular formation

Helps control alertness and attention

Thalamus

Relays most sensory information to the cerebral cortex, except smell

Cerebellum

Controls balance, coordination, and motor learning

Amygdala

Processes emotion, especially fear

Hippocampus

Helps form new explicit memories

Frontal lobe

Involved in planning, decision-making, and personality

Parietal lobe

Processes body sensations and spatial information

Occipital lobe

Processes visual information

Temporal lobe

Processes auditory information and supports memory and language

Motor cortex

Controls voluntary movements

Somatosensory cortex

Processes touch and bodily sensations

Visual cortex

Processes vision

Auditory cortex

Processes hearing

Broca's area

Involved in speech production

Wernicke's area

Involved in language comprehension

Association areas

Integrate information and support complex thinking

Neural compensation

Undamaged brain regions help compensate for impaired functions

Corpus callosum

Band of fibers connecting the brain's two hemispheres

Brain lateralization

Some functions are more strongly associated with one hemisphere

Split-brain research

Studies the hemispheres when communication between them is disrupted

Contralateral processing

Each hemisphere primarily processes information from the opposite side of the body

Left hemisphere

Usually more involved in language

Right hemisphere

Often more involved in spatial processing