The Brain: How we Learn

Neuroplasticity is defined

as the ability of the brain to change in structure and function based upon learning

The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with __________________

higher brain function such as thought and action located at the top of the brain the source of intellectual activities holds your memories, allows you to plan, enables you to imagine and think. allows you to recognize friends, read books, and play games.

The ________ plays a role in the formation and retrieval of certain types of memory The ____ _____ is involved in the initiation of voluntary movements and in the formation of memories related to skills, habits and routine behavior

hippocampus basal ganglia

Inner Brain Cont... The _________ - the size of a pearl, directs a multitude of important functions, initiates the physiological response associated with fight or flight -Plays a key role in maintaining the body's homeostasis or balance -Body temperature -Hormone secretion -Sleep-wake cycle - wakes you up in the morning -Food and water intake -Makes the adrenaline flow during a test or job interview -Emotional center, controlling the molecules that make you feel exhilarated, angry, or unhappy.

hypothalamus

The __________ of brain structures and systems enables the learning experience and the ability to function Learning requires coordination between: (4)

interconnectedness Cortical Subcortical Deep cortical Functional neurochemical systems

The cerebrum is divided _______________.

into two halves (hemispheres) by a deep fissure. -the two cerebral hemispheres communicate with each other through a thick tract of nerve fibers that lies at the base of this fissure -the two hemispheres appear to be mirror images of each other, but are different.

Selective attention- Preserved with aging Short term memory-more impaired than ________ Declarative memory-more impaired than ________

long term memory procedural memory

_______ is located above the brainstem and under the occipital lobes -Important for maintaining posture and balance and coordinating automatic movements -Appears to be associated with frontal lobe for cognitive and executive functioning -Coordinating ____,____,and_____ -Sequence information -Prioritize plans -Social skills

Cerebellum thoughts, attention and feelings

Learning and Attention -_____ attention to details increases the likelihood that details will be remembered -Attention is needed during both formation and retrieval of explicit memories -Information related to survival or threat will be processed before information associated with emotions in general -Information with any _____ connection will receive higher priority for processing than neutral information -Emotion and salient stimuli can attract a learners' attention

Selective emotional

3 main functions of the Cerebral Cortex

Sensation Integration motion

-Non-Declarative or Implicit Memory - occurs earliest in Human development (3)

-Procedural memory - memory for a skill and habits, more difficult to forget -Emotional Memory - memory associated with either a positive or negative event. -Classical Conditioning - involves learning a new behavior via the process of association.

-Emotionally arousing stimuli can increase level of _____ -Emotionally arousing stimuli whether positive or negative are more easily remembered -Emotional stress can assist in increasing memory -Too much emotional stress can weaken chance of remembering -Multiple factors influence the degree to which stress can enhance or impede memory, including: (3)

-alertness -Severity of the stress The phase of memory formation Type of task involved

-The ability to form words seems to lie primarily in the ____ hemisphere -The____hemisphere seems to control many abstract reasoning skills. -Signals from the brain to the body and vice-versa cross over on their way to and from the brain.

-left -right -The right cerebral hemisphere controls the left side of the body -The left hemisphere primarily controls the right side

Memory -Declarative or Explicit - memories that can be __________ -Sematic Memory -Factual information -General knowledge about which one can speak or write -Information available for conscious recall -Allows one to remember something and describe it -Episodic Memory -Memory on more specific data of event -Specific to time and place

-verbalized, declared or made explicit

Cerebrum Cont... -The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections 1) Frontal Lobe- ____________________ -Brocq's area allows-____________ 2) Parietal Lobe- associated with ___________________ Parietal lobe located just behind the motor areas, are the primary sensory areas. These areas receive information about ______

1) associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving Two frontal lobes lie directly behind the forehead. - Executive functioning -thoughts to be transformed into words 2) movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli -temperature, taste, touch, and movement from the rest of the body. Reading and arithmetic are also functions in the repertoire of each parietal lobe.

The Brain and Kolb's Learning Cycle Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

1-Concrete Experience Reception of sensory data in sensory cortex 2- Integration of data Different parts of brain receive input 3- Connect with prior Frontal lobe activation knowledge and make hypotheses 4- Test hypothesis and Motor cortex stimulated implement plan

Helping the Older Patient to Learn (9)

Allow adequate time for them to process information Provide various learning tools - written, pictures, audio etc. Use mnemonic strategies to remember important information Use mnemonic cues Use personally relevant activities Use emotional stimulants to enhance learning and retention by making learning experience fun Minimize distractions Aerobic exercise Social contacts

The ________ evaluates sensory information on a subconscious level for any threat -Connects emotional content - positive or negative to a person's memory of an experience to better allow it to be remembered

Amygdala

Function requires neuronal communication (3)

Between hemispheres Within hemispheres Between cortical and subcortical structures

Subcortical and Deep cortical Structures and Functions: ________- located at the base of the brain -Joins spinal cord to the brain -Coordinates sensory and motor information between the body and brain -Regulates respiration, blood pressure, heart rate, and sleep -Contains the midbrain, pons, medulla -Also includes the _____ _____ - a functional system that regulates level of arousal as well as sensory input and motor behavior

Brainstem reticular formation

Neurotransmitters _______- is an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in mood and the control of complex movements _______-is called an inhibitory neurotransmitter because it tends to make cells less excitable control muscle activity and is an important part of the visual system. ________ - excitatory neurotransmitter - makes cells more excitable. It governs muscle contractions and causes glands to secrete hormones. _________ - constricts blood vessels and brings on sleep. involved in temperature regulation.

Dopamine GABBA(gamma-aminobutyric acid) Acetylcholine Serotonin

Factors that influence learning include (4)

Emotion Attention Past experiences Personal Meaning

Age Related Changes in the Brain

Frontal Cortex Neuronal, neurochemical, metabolic and receptor changes Subcortical areas, especially those involved in the production of dopamine Cellular and intercellular changes as a result of oxidative damage and neuroinflammation within the brain

What am I? 1)What makes us uniquely human 2)Allows us to process, plan for and respond to threats and challenges 3)Helps us to sequence thoughts and actions 4)Ability to focus attention, reflect on the past and future 5)Problem solve 6)Plays a significant role in the planning, execution and control of movement

Frontal Lobe

Hindbrain

Includes the upper part of the spinal cord, the brain stem, and a wrinkled ball of tissue called the cerebellum controls the body's vital functions such as respiration and heart rate. The cerebellum coordinates movement and is involved in learned rote movements.

Stress -Learners experience stress differently -Stress can be used to optimize learning -Factors influencing the response to stress include: (6)

Individual difference Intensity Frequency Duration of stress Predictability Controllability

All sensations, movements, thoughts, memories, and feelings are the result of signals that pass through ______. -They consist of three parts. 1)________ - contains the nucleus, where most of the molecules needed to survive and function are manufactured. 2) _________ - extend out from the cell body like the branches of a tree and receive messages from other nerve cells. Signals then pass from here through the cell body and may travel away from the cell body down an axon to another neuron, a muscle cell, or cells in some other organ. -Usually surrounded by many support cells. Some types of cells wrap around the axon to form an insulating ______this can include a fatty molecule called myelin, which provides insulation for the axon and helps nerve signals travel faster and farther

Neurons 1) The cell body 2)Dendrites -Sheath

PET MRI fMRI DTI MEG

Position Emission Topography Magnetic Resonance Imaging Functional Magnetic Resonance imaging Diffusion tensor imaging Magnetoencephalography

________ is the forward-most portion of the frontal lobe -CEO of the brain - t coordinates and integrates almost every function of the brain

Prefrontal cortex

Goal Directed Movement requires: -______ : where are we in space, and what is our goal, and how to reach that goal -______: involves sequence, timing direction -_______: Doing the activity

Strategy Tactics Execution

______- Relay station; All incoming sensory data except for olfactory data pass through here, where they are processed and sent on to the appropriate parts of brain for further processing -A major clearinghouse for information going to and from the spinal cord and the cerebrum.

Thalamus

1)Greediest organ of body using up 20% of body energy 2)Most of the actual information processing in the brain takes place here. 3)commonly known as the gray matter because nerves in this area lack the insulation that makes most other parts of the brain appear to be white. 4)The folds in the brain add to its surface area and increase the amount of gray matter and the quantity of information that can be processed. 5)Divided into 2 separate hemispheres but joined together by corpus callosum What am I??

The Cerebral Cortex- is a layer of tissue the thickness of 2-3 dimes stacked

The brain is the most complex part of the human body. The brain is a three-pound organ The brain is contained in a bony shell and washed by fluid The brain is: (4)

The seat of intelligence, Interpreter of the senses, Initiator of body movement, Controller of behavior.

3) ___________—the place where a signal passes from the neuron to another cell. When the signal reaches the end of the axon it stimulates the release of tiny sacs These sacs release chemicals known as __________ into the synapse; they cross the synapse and attach to receptors on the neighboring cell. These receptors can change the properties of the receiving cell. If the receiving cell is also a neuron, the signal can continue the transmission to the next cell.

The synapse neurotransmitters

The brain can be divided into three basic units: Forebrain Midbrain

The uppermost part of the brainstem. the largest and most highly developed part of the human brain it consists primarily of the cerebrum the structures hidden beneath it Controls some reflex actions and is part of the circuit involved in the control of eye movements and other voluntary movements

-______ _______is caused from the myelin or white fatty covering of axons -________ speeds up the transmission of electrical impulses along the axons -The axons within the white matter are made up of: ______ fibers make connections between the 2 cerebral hemispheres ______ fibers - make connections within a hemisphere ______ fibers - make connections between the cortex and the rest of the nervous system

White matter Myelin Commissural Association Projection

Memory and Aging -Changes in memory occur with aging that contribute to ___ and ___ -Decline in sensory function - hearing, sight -Decline in rate of processing information -Decline in the ability to process information from multiple sources

cognitive function and memory

Inner Brain Structures that are the gatekeepers between the spinal cord and the cerebral hemispheres. What are their actions?? The structures come in pairs: each is duplicated in the opposite half of the brain.

determine emotional state, modify our perceptions and responses depending on that state, initiate movements without thinking about them

3) Occipital lobe - ____________________ 4) Temporal lobes - __________________

process images from the eyes and link that information with images stored in memory. lies in front of the visual areas and nest under the parietal and frontal lobes. receives information from the ears. The underside of each temporal lobe plays a crucial role in forming and retrieving memories, including those associated with music. Other parts of this lobe seem to integrate memories and sensations of taste, sound, sight, and touch.