psych final 4

Wernicke's area

Area of the left temporal lobe that is the brain's primary area for understanding speech.

sensory cortex

Area of the parietal lobe, directly across from the motor cortex in the frontal lobe, which receives sensory information about touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position.

temporal lobe

Area of the parietal lobe, directly across from the motor cortex in the frontal lobe, which receives sensory information about touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position.

sensory neuron

Neuron or nerve cell that carries messages to the CNS from receptors in the skin, ears, nose, eyes, and other receptor organs. Also known as afferent neuron.

visual cortex

Portion of the occipital lobe that integrates sensory information received from the eyes into electrical patterns that the brain translates into vision.

split-brain research

Surgical cutting of the corpus callosum to study the effects of disconnecting the right and left brain hemispheres - specifically, the independent functioning of the two hemispheres.

cerebral cortex

Thin outer layer that covers the cerebral hemispheres that is the body's ultimate control and information-processing center.

frontal lobe

Largest, foremost lobe in the cerebral cortex of the brain lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.

occipital lobe

Region of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head that consists primarily of the visual cortex.

motor cortex

Region of the cerebral cortex at the rear of the frontal lobes that transmits messages to muscles; controls virtually all voluntary body movements.

parietal lobe

Region of the cerebral cortex located just behind the central fissure and above the lateral fissure. The parietal lobe contains the somatosensory cortex as well as association areas that process sensory information received by the somatosensory cortex.

Broca's area

Region of the left frontal lobe that is the primary brain center for controlling speech.

auditory cortex

Region of the temporal lobe located just below the lateral fissure that is involved in responding to auditory signals, particularly the sound of human speech.

cerebellum

The "little brain" attached to the rear of the brainstem; it helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance.

plasticity

The brain's capacity for modification, as evident in brain reorganization following damage (especially in children) and in experiments on the effects of experience on brain development.

corpus callosum

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

association areas/association cortex

The largest portion of the cerebral cortex (about 75 percent), involved in integrating sensory and motor messages as well as processing higher functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.