AP Psych Parts of the Brain

Brainstem

• Connects the spine to the brain

• Responsible for automatic survival functions

Medulla

• Heartbeat and breathing

• Reflexes such as swallowing and sneezing

Pons

• Physically connects brain regions together

• Involved in facial expressions

• Influences REM sleep and relaxation

• Bridge from brainstem to cerebellum

• Coordinates movements

Midbrain

• Nerve system connecting higher and lower portions of the brain

• Relays info between brain and ears and eyes

• Reticular Activating System

Reticular Activating System

• Network of nerves running through the brainstem

• Filters stimuli and directing your attention

• Responsible for attention, arousal, and alertness

Cerebellum

• Controls voluntary muscle movements

• Coordinates balance

• Formulates implicit memories

Limbic System

• Doughnut-shaped cluster in the middle of the brain at the top of the brainstem

• Emotions, drives, and memory center of the brain

Thalamus

• Brain’s sensory switchboard

• Routes sensations to other brain structures, except sense of smell

Hypothalamus

• Directs eating, drinking, and sex drives

• Controls body temperature

• Governs the endocrine system via the pituitary gland for fight-or-flight responses

• Coordinates release of dopamine

Pituitary Gland

• Master endocrine gland

• Linked to growth

Amygdala

• Linked to emotion, specifically aggression and fear

• Anger, aggression, afraid

Hippocampus

• Linked to formation of explicit memory

Cerebral Cortex

• Wrinkly outer layer referred to as gray matter

• Often used interchangeably with the term cerebrum

Frontal Lobe

• Involved in making plans, decision-making, and judgment

• Contains the motor cortex

• Contains Broca’s Area

Somatomotor Cortex

• Controls voluntary muscles via motor/efferent neurons

Broca’s Area

• Controls speech production

• If damaged (aphasia) = broken speech

Parietal Lobe

• Involved in sensation (spatial sense/navigation) and perception

• Contains the somatosensory cortex

Somatosensory Cortex

• Receives body sensations via sensory/afferent neurons

Occipital lobe

• Processes vision

• Contains the visual cortex

Visual Cortex

• Processes the what/where/how of vision

Temporal Lobe

• Processes audition

• Contains Wernicke’s Area

Wernicke’s Area

• Controls language comprehension

• If damaged (aphasia) = meaningless speech

Corpus Callosum

• Connects two brain hemispheres

• Splitting/cutting it can help with seizures

Association Areas

• “uncommitted” areas that play a role in learning and memory

• More intelligent animals have increasing amount of association areas in terms of % of the cerebral cortex