2.3 The brain Flashcards
medulla
A brain stem structure involved in many essential body functions, such as heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, digestion, and swallowing.
pons
A brain stem structure that serves as a bridge between the cerebellum and the rest of the brain and is involved in sleep and dreaming.
cerebellum
A part of the brain involved in the coordination of our movements, sense of balance, and motor learning.
reticular formation
A network of neurons running up the center of the brain stem that is responsible for our different levels of arousal and consciousness
limbic system
A group of brain structures (hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala) that play an important role in our survival, memory, and emotions.
thalamus
A part of the brain that serves as a relay station for incoming sensory information.
basal ganglia
A part of the brain that is involved in the initiation and execution of movements.
hypothalamus
A part of the brain that is involved in regulating basic drives such as eating, drinking, and having sex. It also directs the endocrine glandular system through its control of the pituitary gland and the autonomic nervous system to maintain the body’s internal environment.
hippocampus
A part of the brain involved in the formation of memories.
amygdala
A part of the brain that is involved in emotions by influencing aggression, anger, and fear and by providing the emotional element of our memories and the interpretation of emotional expressions in others.
cerebral cortex
The layers of interconnected cells covering the brain’s two hemispheres. This is the control and information-processing center for the nervous system; it is where perception, memory, language, decision making, and all other higher-level cognitive processing occur.
corpus callosum
The bridge of neurons that connects the two cerebral hemispheres.
frontal lobe
The area in each cerebral hemisphere in front of the central fissure and above the lateral fissure. The motor cortex is in this lobe.
parietal lobe
The area in each cerebral hemisphere in back of the central fissure and above the lateral fissure. The somatosensory cortex is in this lobe.
occipital lobe
The area located in the lower back of each cerebral hemisphere. The primary visual cortex is in this lobe.
temporal lobe
The area in each cerebral hemisphere located beneath the lateral fissure. The primary auditory cortex is in this lobe.
motor cortex
The strip of cortex in each cerebral hemisphere in the frontal lobe directly in front of the central fissure, which allows us to move different parts of our body.
somatosensory cortex
The strip of cortex in each cerebral hemisphere in the parietal lobe directly in back of the central fissure, which allows us to sense pressure, temperature, and pain in different parts of our body as well as the
association cortex
All of the cerebral cortex except those areas devoted to primary sensory processing or motor processing. This is where all the higher- level cognitive processing that requires the association (integration) of information, such as perception and language, occurs.
Broca’s area
An area in the cerebral cortex responsible for fluent speech production. It is in the left frontal lobe of the majority of people, regardless of handedness.
Wernicke’s area
An area in the cerebral cortex responsible for comprehension of speech and text. It is in the left temporal lobe of the majority of people, regardless of handedness.
consciousness
An individual’s subjective awareness of their inner thinking and feeling and their external environment.
REM
(rapid eye movement)
sleep
The stage of sleep that is characterized by rapid eye movements and brain wave patterns that resemble those for an awake state and in which most dreaming occurs. REM sleep is sometimes referred to as paradoxical sleep because the bodily muscles are immobilized but much of the brain is highly active.
