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Nature vs. Nurture
Whether human thought and behavior are cause primarily by nature (biology/genetics) or nurture (environmental/social influences)
Hormones
Chemical messengers produced by the endocrine glands and carried by bloodstream to all the body
Pituitary Glands
Gland that controls growth and regulates other glands
Central Nervous System
brain and spinal cord (99% of nerve cells located here)
Peripheral Nervous System
Network of nerves that connects brain and spinal cord to rest of body (sensory/motor neurons)
Somatic Nervous System
Division of PNS that controls voluntary movement of body’s skeletal muscles
Automatic Nervous System
Division of PNS that controls automatic movement of glands and muscles of internal muscles
Sympathetic Nervous System
Division of ANS that arouses the body to mobilize it for action in stressful situations
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Division of ANS that calms the body and conserves its energy after stressful situations
Brainstem
Oldest part and central cure of brain; automatic survival functions and crossover points for connecting brain to opposite side
Medulla
Part of brainstem that controls breathing and heartbeat
Pons
Part of brainstem that plays a key role in sleeping, dreaming, and muscle movements
Reticular Formation
Nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus and controls arousal and sleepwake cycle
Thalamus
Brain’s sensory control center
Cerebellum
“little brain” coordinates voluntary movement (balance)
Amygdala
Linked to aggression and fear (fight or flight)
Hypothalamus
Below thalamus; directs several maintenance activities and helps govern endocrine system; linked to emotion and reward
Hippocampus
Helps process explicit long term memories and involved in learning
Cerebral Cortex
Ultimate control and info processing center; divided into 2 hemispheres/ 4 lobes (frontal, occipital, parietal, temporal)
Frontal lobe
Involved in personality, intelligence, and voluntary control of muscles
Parietal Lobe
Processes sensory info involving taste, temperature, and touch
Occipital Lobe
Part of cerebral cortex at back of head; receives info from visual fields
Temporal lobes
Portion of cerebral cortex lying roughly above ears; receiving info from opposite ear (hearing, language, processing, memory)
Motor Cortex
Area at rear of frontal lob that controls voluntary movements
Somatosensory cortex
Area at front of parietal lobes that controls voluntary movements
Association Areas
Involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking
Broca’s Area
Controls language expression, directs muscle movements involved in speech production
Wernicke’s Area
Controls language reception; a brain area involved in language comprehension
Split Brain
Isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum connecting them
Corpus Callosum
Large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages betwen them
EEG
Amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface
PET
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
MRI
Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer generated images of soft tissue that shows brain anatomy
FMRI
Technique for revealing blood flow, and therefore brain activity by comparing successive MRI scan that shows brain function