AOS2 Psychology

Brain

Frontal lobe → function?

Planning, reasoning, attention
Personality & emotions
Motor control (primary motor cortex)
Speech (Broca’s area)

Primary motor cortex → function?

Controls voluntary movement
Each area controls different body parts
Lobe: Frontal

Broca’s area → function?

Speech production (forming words)
Damage → slow/unclear speech

Parietal lobe → function?

Processes touch, pain, temperature
Spatial awareness & body position

Primary somatosensory cortex

Primary somatosensory cortex → function?

Receives body sensations (touch, pain, temp)
Body mapped across cortex
Lobe: Parietal

Occipital lobe → function?

Visual processing (colour, shape, motion)
Damage → vision problems

Temporal lobe → function?

Hearing & memory
Language understanding
Emotion processing

wernickes area

Wernicke’s area → function?

Language comprehension (understanding speech)
Damage → fluent but meaningless speech
Lobe: Temporal

What structures does the Forebrain include?

- Thalamus

- Hypothalamus

- Cerebrum

Thalamus → function?

Relay station for sensory info (except smell)
Sends signals to correct brain areas
Location: Forebrain

Hypothalamus → function?

Maintains homeostasis (temp, hunger, thirst)
Controls hormones via pituitary gland
Links nervous & endocrine systems
Location: Forebrain

Cerebrum → function?

Largest brain part
Thinking, memory, decision making
Controls voluntary movement
Processes sensory info
Location: Forebrain

What Structures Does the Midbrain Include?

- Reticular Formation

- Substantia Nigra

Reticular formation → function?

wake/sleep cycle
Filters incoming sensory info (attention)

Location: Midbrain

Substantia nigra → function?

Movement control (produces dopamine)
Helps coordinate smooth movement
Location: Midbrain

What structures does the Hindbrain Include?

- Medulla

- Pons

- Cerebellum

Medulla → function?

Controls automatic functions (breathing, heart rate, blood pressure)
Reflexes like swallowing & coughing
Location: Hindbrain

Pons → function?

Relays messages between brain & cerebellum
Helps regulate sleep and breathing
Location: Hindbrain

Cerebellum → function?

Balance, coordination, and posture
Fine motor control (smooth movements)
Location: Hindbrain

Motor neuron → function?

Carries signals from CNS to muscles/glands
Causes movement or response
Example: moving arm

Sensory neuron → function?

Carries signals from sense organs to CNS
Detects stimuli (touch, pain, light, sound)
Example: touching something hot

Interneuron → function?

Connects sensory and motor neurons
Processes information in the CNS
Helps decision making/reflexes

Dendrite → function?

Receives signals from other neurons
Sends electrical impulses toward soma (cell body)

Soma (cell body) → function?

Controls the neuron
Contains nucleus (manages cell activity)
Processes incoming signals

Axon → function?

Carries electrical impulses away from soma
Sends signals to other neurons/muscles

Myelin sheath → function?

Fatty covering around axon
Speeds up nerve impulse transmission
Protects the axon

Nodes of Ranvier → function?

Gaps in myelin sheath
Speed up signal by “jumping” along axon

Axon terminal → function?

End branch of the axon
Holds synaptic vesicles with neurotransmitters
Sends signal to next cell at synapse

Terminal buttons → function?

Bulb-like endings on axon terminals
Release neurotransmitters into synapse
Help transmit signal to next neuron

what are the 2 types of Neurotransmitters?

-Glutamate

-GABA

Glutamate → function?

Main excitatory neurotransmitter
Increases activity of next neuron
Important for learning & memory

GABA → function?

Main inhibitory neurotransmitter
Decreases activity of next neuron
Helps calm brain activity & reduce anxiety

Spinal reflex → process?

Stimulus detected by receptor (e.g. touch heat)
Sensory neuron sends signal to spinal cord
Interneuron processes response (no brain needed)
Motor neuron sends signal to effector
Effector (muscle) responds quickly (withdrawal)

Stages of Neural plasticity?

Developmental plasticity

• Myelination

• Synaptogenesis

• Synaptic pruning

Adaptive plasticity

• Re-routing

• Sprouting

Developmental plasticity → function?

Brain changes and forms connections during early life
Based on experiences and learning

Myelination → function?

Coats axons with myelin
Speeds up neural communication

Synaptogenesis → function?

Forms new synapses (connections between neurons)
Increases brain connectivity

Synaptic pruning → function?

Removes weak or unused synapses
Improves brain efficiency

Adaptive plasticity → function?

Reorganises brain after injury or change
Helps recovery and adaptation

Re-routing → function?

Uses alternative neural pathways when damage occurs
Maintains brain function

Sprouting → function?

Grows new neural connections
Repairs and strengthens brain networks

Synaptic transmission (lock and key) → process?

Electrical impulse reaches axon terminal
Neurotransmitters released into synapse
They cross synaptic gap and bind to specific receptors
Lock and key: neurotransmitter (key) only fits matching receptor (lock)
Triggers response in next neuron

Frontal lobe damage → effects?

Changes to behaviour, Personality, Cognition

Problems with muscle movement

Parietal lobe damage → effects?

Spatial neglect

only consciously aware of half of space

wernickes Aphasia → what is it?

Problems with understanding speech

Problems with producing coherent speech

Broca’s Aphasia → what is it?

Trouble with producing speech

Cans still understand speech

CTE → function/effects?

To many Concussions or sub concussions to head

Can only be diagnosed postmortem

Depression

change in personality

slow cognitive function