Psychology: Module 4-The Brain
Where is the reticular formation located?
finger shaped network extending from the spinal cord right up through the thalamus.
What are pons?
sits on the medulla where it help coordinate movement.
Plasticity is..
the brain's ability to change especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience...
Split brain is defined as..
the condition in resulting from surgery which isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them..
The cerebral cortex is defined as..what is it responsible for?
the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebreal hemispheres and it is the body's ultimate control and information-processing center....
Corpus callosum is defined as..
the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hem. and carrying messages between them..
What is the brain's highest and newest regions?
Cerebral Hemispheres (two halves if the brain).
Where is the thalamus located and what is its function?
Sits above the brainstem and is an egg-shaped structure that acts as a receiver of information of all sense except smelling.
What does the term limbic mean?
border.
The brain's oldest and innermost region is called the....
brainstem.
A nickname for the thalamus is...
the switchboard..
Examples of when is the cerebellum in play
(I.E.=A soccer executing a perfect bicycle kick..... Playing a guitar. (Without cerebellum, you would have difficulty walking, keeping balance, or shaking hands...)
What is an fMRI (functional MRI)
A technique for revealing bloodflow and therefore brain activity by comparing successful MRI scans. fMRI scans how brain function..
What is a electroencephalogram (EEG)?
An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface. these waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp..
True or false: motor cortex is a right hemisphere action and control the bodys left side/ sensory cortex is a left hemi.. and control the body right side?
False: motor cortex=left hem.. control right side.. Sensory cortex= left hemipshere which recieves input from right side..
What are the four prominent division or fold of the hemisphere's cortex?
Frontal lobes (behind your forehead), the parietal lobes (at the top and to the rear), the occipital lobes (at the back of your head), and the temoiral lobes (just above the ears)
What are the functions of the four lobes?
Frontal lobes-involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgement. Occipital lobes-receives sensory input for touch and body position. temporal lobes-receives info from the visual field. parietal lobes-audiotry hearing each receving info from the opposite ear...
Who discovered the motor cortex?
Gustav Fritsch and Eduard Hitizig...
Between the newest brain and the oldest lies what system?
Limbic system.
Where is the sensory cortex located and what is its function?
Located at the front of the parietal lobes which registeres and processes body touch and movement such as skin sense..
Where is the cerebellum located and what is its function?
Located on the rear of the brain stem. The cerebellum enables nonverbal learning and memory, helps judge time, modulate emotions, and discriminate sound and textures and coordinate our voluntary movements.
The hippocampus is responsible for?
Processing conscious memories, without it, it would loose the ability to create new memories of facts or events..
What is shaken Baby Syndrome and why is it bad?
The act of shaking a baby and it is bad because when one shakes a baby, the brain swells where there is no room to expand and tries to expand out the bottom which puts pressure in the medulla, squeezing it, and eventually rupture the medulla (heart rate, breathing, etc..)
What does the limbic system include?
The amygdala, hypothalamus, and the hippocampus
The cerebellum is also known as .... why is it known as it?
The little brain because of its two wrinkled halves resemble it.
The slight swelling in the what part of the brain?
The medulla.
When the motor cortex sends messages out to the body, where does the cortex recieve incoming messages?
The sensory cortex..
True or false: the brainstem a cross over point?
True
True or false: when the thalamus receives the information, it is then directed to the medulla and to the cerebellum.
True.
true or false: hunger, thirst, body temp, sexual behavior together help to maintain a steady (homeostatic) internal state.
True..
True or brain: our brain processes most information outside of our awareness.
True...
Is it possible an implanted device can detect motor activity?
Yes, scientists have tested on a 25 -year old paralyzed man who was able to mentally control t.v., draw shapes, or play video games.
The reticular formation is defined as...
a nerve network that travels through the brain stem and plays an important role in controlling arousal, awakeness from sleep, etc..
What is an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)?
a technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue..... also scan brain anatomy.
What is a PET (position emission tomography)?
a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task..
The motor cortex is defined as....and its function are...
an area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements...
the hypothalamus is defined as and is responsible for?
defined as a neural structure lying lebow (hypo) the thalamus and it is responsible for directing maintance activity such as hunger, thirst, or body temperature, also heps govern the endocrine system through the pituitary gland and is linked to emotion and reward...
Association areas are defined as...and their function is...
defined as area of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in sensory or motor cortex, they are involved in higher level mental function such as learning, remembering, thinking, speaking....
What is the purpose of the medulla?
responsible for autonomic survival function (control heart rate/breathing).
The amygdala is defined as... and is responsible for?
two lima-bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system and is linked to emotions from agression and fear..
Neurogenesis is defined as..
when the brain often attempts self-repair by organzing existing tissue, sometimes to mend itself by producing new brain cells..
What is a cross over point?
where most nerve to and from each side of the brain connect with the body's opposite side; right brain controls left, left control right.
The brainstem is where....
where spinal cord swells slightly after entering the skull
