The Brain (chapter 3)

psychology

Central Nervous System (CNS)

The brain and spinal cord are a part of the CNS

• The Brain is soft and fragile and must be protected

What are the first, second, and last defense line of the CNS

First: hair, scalp, and skull

Second: meninges

Final: cerebral spinal fluid

Meninges

the three layers of protective tissue in the front of the brain

• Meningitis can be a viral or bacterial virus that damages the meninges

Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF)

a fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord as well as within cavities in the center of the brain called ventricles

Vascular

The brain needs a lot of blood

• Blood vessels

• Glucose is a simple sugar that gives you energy

• If you cut off blood flow…

  • 2-3 seconds - use up glucose

  • 6-8 seconds - passout

  • 2-4 minutes - damage

Cortex

the outer layer of the brain

Right Cortex

• Visual spatial

• 5 senses

• Creative

• Artistic Abilities

(Grace)

Left cortex (frontal lobe)

• Analytical functions

• Logic

• Language

• Executive function

• Thinking

(Katerina)

Electroencephalogram

a recording of brain waves

Motor Cortex (left cortex)

Responsible of voluntary movements

what are the three muscle groups and which one has voluntary movement

skeletal, smooth muscle and cardiac

• The skeletal has voluntary movements

What side of the brain controls the right side of the brain and which the left

Left controls right side of brain

Right controls left side of brain

The two types of headaches

Vascular - migrane

• One side of the head hurts

Muscle Contraction - tension headache

• Both sides of the head hurt

Broca’a area (left cortex)

The part of the brain that controls speech/getting words out

• Named after Broca, a doctor, who used a clinical case study on a man named massieure ton who had a specific issue in what is now called Broca’s area

Parietal Lobe Sensory Cortex (left cortex)

receives sensory information like touch and temperature

• Located right behind the frontal lobe

• Controls the movement from the right side of the brain

Occipital Lobe (left cortex)

Controls vision

Temporal Lobe (left cortex)

Controls hearing/auditory functions

• located at the base of the brain and is the closest to the brain stem

Wernickes Lobe (left cortex)

Controls language comprehension i.e. grammar, meaning of words

• Located in the temporal lobe

Thalamus (left cortex)

Directs incoming sensory information (5 senses)

• acts as a switchboard

Hypothalamus (left cortex)

controls the five F’s:

• Feeding

• Fighting and fleeing

  • instinctual, survival or protection … there is no thinking in this and is the part of the brain that gets triggered (PTSD)

• Freeze

• Mating (fucking)

Inferior Colliquli

Controls hearing

• Is not used by humans (temporal lobe)

• Used by animals that heavily rely on hearing for survival (ex: bats)

Superior Colliquli

Controls Vision

• Is not used by humans (Occipital lobe)

• Used by animals that heavily rely on sight for survival (ex: hawks)

Limbic System

Amygdala - raw instinctual emotions:

• Rage

• Fear

• Sex

Hippocampus - new memories

• If damaged it would be hard to take in new information

Brain Stem

where the brain connects to the spinal cord

Medulla

Controls vital life functions

• i.e breathing, heart rate

Reticular actuvating system(RAS) / Reticular formation (RF)

controls attention and arousal

Attention - filter out unimportant sensory information

Arousal - puts you to sleep and wakes you up

Cerebellum

The part of the brain that controls fine motor coordination and posture

Punch drunk syndrome

• Caused by blows to the head (contact sports i.e. boxing)

• Damage to the cerebellum

• May cause cognitive impairment, dementia and behavioral changes

Concussions

Brain bruise

Cerebral Vascular accident (CVA)

• AKA stroke

• Cerebral - brain, vascular - blood vessels, accident - damage

• Third leading cause of death in the US

Cause of Cerebral Vascular accident

1. Blood vessel burst - high blood pressure

2. Blood clot

Acronym for signs of a stroke

F - face

A - arms

S - speech

T - timing

Physical effects after CVA

• paralysis - motor cortex damge

• Loss of sensation - sensory cortex damage

• Aphasia - language deficit (brocas and wernickes damage)

Psychological effects after CVA

depression and anxiety

Epilepsy

uncontrolled electrical storm of the brain

Split brain syndrome

the corpus callosum is severed which disconnects the two hemispheres from communicating to one another