AP Psychology - Full Brain Unit Review

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that cover the cerebral hemispheres

• The body’s ultimate control and information processing center

• Contains 20 to 23 billion nerve cells

• If flattened, it would cover four full pages of our textbook

Frontal Lobe

Contain the motor cortex which controls voluntary movement

• Controls:

  • Intellect

  • Moral compass

  • Reasoning

  • Planning

  • Contains the motor strip/cortex

  • Helps with working memory

Motor Cortex

Located in the frontal lobe:

• Controls voluntary movements

• Left motor cortex controls the right side of the body, the right motor cortex controls the left side of the body

Parietal Lobe

Located at the top of the head towards the rear:

• Contains the sensory cortex

• Spatial relations

• Kinesthetic Sense

• Recognizing your own body

Sensory Cortex

Located at the front of the parietal lobe, and behind the motor cortex:

• Registers and processes body sensations:

  • Touch

  • Pain

  • Pressure

  • Temperature

• Left side of this brain part processes sensations from the right side of the body and the right side of this brain part processes sensations from the left side of the body.

Temporal Lobe

Located above the ears:

• Contains the auditory cortex - processes everything you are hearing

• Memory

• Emotion

• Face Recognition (Right side of this brain part)

Occipital Lobe

Located in the back of the head:

• Includes the visual cortex, which receives information from the opposite visual field

• Primary function is VISION

Association Areas

• Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions

• Instead, they are involved in higher mental functions, such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking

• They are responsible for integrating and acting on information received and processed by sensory areas

• Combine sensory and motor information; coordinate interaction among different brain areas

• Areas of the cortex not involved in sensory or motor functions. They are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, planning, and language.

Brainstem

The Brain’s “basement” - oldest and innermost region.

• At the top of the spinal cord

• Responsible for automatic survival functions

• Oldest area of the brain. Also called the reptilian brain.

Medulla

Located where the spinal cord enters the base of the brain at the brain stem:

• Controls involuntary functions

  • Breathing

  • Heart rate

  • Digestion

  • Vomit Reflex

• Keeps us alive!

Reticular Formation

Network of neurons in the brain stem:

• In charge of arousal and attention

• If damaged, can cause a coma

• A neural network within the brainstem; important in arousal including sleep.

Pons

Located in front of the medulla

• Helps coordinate movements on left and right side of the body - reflexive movements

• Helps with sleep

• Regulates sleep and balances movement for left and right sides of the body for reflexes

Cerebellum

• Controls voluntary movements

• eg. Kicking a ball, playing the piano

• Helps assist with coordination and balance

• Place where procedural memories are kept:

  • eg. How to ride a bike, how to tie your shoes

• Word means “little brain”

Thalamus

Located at the top of the brainstem

• Relay station in the brain

• Takes all sensory information and sends it to the appropriate lobe in the brain

  • EXCEPT smell

• The post office of the brain - taking messages and delivering them where they need to go

Limbic System

System of neural structures at the border of the brain stem and cerebral hemisphere:

• Donut shaped

• Associated with emotions and drives

• Contains four major components:

  • Hypothalamus

  • Amygdala

  • Hippocampus

  • Pituitary Gland

Hypothalamus, Amygdala, Hippocampus, Pituitary Gland

4 main components of the Limbic System

Amygdala

Emotional center of the brain

• Deals primarily with fear and aggression

• Identifies emotion from facial expressions

• Involved in rage and fear as well as emotional memories.

Hippocampus

Wishbone-shaped structure:

• Helps us form new memories

• Transfers short-term memories to long-term memories

Hypothalamus

The “pleasure center” of the brain that also controls the endocrine (hormonal system) via the pituitary gland.

• Helps maintain homeostasis

  • Temperature regulation

  • Water and salt balance

• Links endocrine system to brain

• Is in charge of drives:

  • Hunger

  • Thirst

  • Sex

  • Sleep

• Contains the “pleasure center”

  • provides us with pleasurable when we fulfill one of our drives

Pituitary Gland

Master gland in charge of the other endocrine glands.

• Regulates growth

Phrenology

Thought up by Franz Gall:

• Belief that the bumps in the skull determines your personality

Lesions

Destruction of the brain tissue

Lobotomy

Removal of part of the brain

Plasticity

The brain’s ability to reorganize itself should it get damaged - explains phantom limb sensation

EEG

Amplified recordings of brain wave activity

CT Scan

X-ray photos of slices of the brain. This type of scan shows the structures within the brain, but not its functions.

PET Scan

Visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose is being used while the brain performs certain tasks.

MRI

Technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to see structures within the brain

fMRI

Allows us to see where oxygen is being used in the brain while various tasks are being performed

Brainstem

Oldest area of the brain. Also called the reptilian brain.

Medulla

The base of the brain stem; controls heartbeat and breathing

Reticular Formation

A neural networks within the brain stem; important in arousal including sleep

Pons

Regulates sleep and balances movement for left and right sides of the body for reflexes

Pons

Thalamus

Sits on top of the brain stem; receives all incoming sensory information (except smell) and sends it to the appropriate part of the brain for further processing

Thalamus

Cerebellum

The “little brain” attached to the back of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

Cerebellum

Limbic System

A doughnut-shaped structure between the brainstem and the cerebral hemispheres. It is considered the “seat of emotion” and is also involved in motivated behavior like eating, drinking, and sex

Amygdala

Involved in rage and fear as well as emotional memories

Amygdala

Hippocampus

Involved in memory

Hippocampus

Hypothalamus

Involved in drives (eating, drinking, and sexual behavior). It also controls the endocrine (hormonal system) via the pituitary gland. It is sometimes referred to as “the pleasure center” of the brain.

Hypothalamus

Pituitary Gland

Master gland in charge of the other endocrine glands. Regulates growth

Pituitary Gland

Cerebral Cortex

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres. The ultimate information-processing center of the brain

Cerebral Cortex

Frontal Lobe

Contains the motor cortex which controls voluntary movement. This part of the brain contains Broca’s Area which controls our ability to speak

Frontal Lobe

Parietal Lobes

Contain the somatosensory cortex which registers bodily sensations (touch)

Parietal Lobes

Temporal Lobes

Contain the primary auditory cortex (audition) and areas for the senses of smell (olfaction) and taste (gustatory sense). The LEFT side of this lobe contains the Wernicke’s Area which controls language comprehension and expression

Temporal Lobe

Occipital Lobes

Contain the Primary Visual Cortex

Occipital Lobes

Association Areas

Areas of the cortex not involved I n sensory or motor functions. They are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, planning, and language. About 75-80% of the brain is composed of these types of areas.

Left Hemisphere

This hemisphere receives sensory information from the right side of the body and controls movement of the right side of the body. It is also involved in language, science, math, etc.

Right Hemisphere

This hemisphere receives sensory information from the left side of the body and controls movement of the left side of the body. It is involved in music, artistic ability, and spatial skills.

Corpus Callosum

Connection between the Right and Left Hemispheres.

• If this is cut due to epileptic seizures, the patient would become split-brained.

Broca’s Area

Controls speech production:

• Located in the left frontal lobe

• Directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke’s Area

Controls speech reception:

• Located in the left temporal lobe

• Involved in language comprehension and expression

Angular Gyrus

Located near the back of the temporal lobe:

• Takes letters/words and makes them sounds

• Receives the visual information from the visual cortex and transforms it into the auditory form, which it then sends to the Wernicke’s Area

Aphasia

Partial or complete inability to articulate ideas or understand language because of brain injury or damage

Broca’s Aphasia

Type of Aphasia:

• A person has trouble formulating words but can still understand speech

Wernicke's Aphasia

Type of Aphasia

• Person has a hard time speaking in meaningful ways and understanding speech

Brain Plasticity

The brain’s ability to reorganize itself

Structural Plasticity

Actual changing of the neuron or actual growing new neurons:

• Only can occur in the hippocampus

Functional Plasticity

When an area of the brain takes up a new function to replace a damaged area of the brain

Phantom Limb

If a body part is amputated, the surrounding neurons in the sensory cortex rewire themselves to other areas of the body