3.1.3 (part 1) - structure of the brain

Question 1

what is the role of the brain?

Answer 1

to process information coming from the senses and then control the behaviour resulting from this information

Question 2

what is the role of the spinal cord?

Answer 2

it connects the brain to the rest of the body, allowing messages to be passed from the body to the brain and vice versa

Question 3

what are the four lobes of the brain?

Answer 3

frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe

Question 4

what are examples of evidence that indicate specific roles for brain structure/ localisation of function?

Answer 4

Phineas Gage, Broca

Question 5

who is Phineas Gage?

Answer 5

a railway worker who received a serious brain injury when a metal bar was shot through his head in 1848. This damaged the right frontal lobe of his brain and his personality changed, becoming more irresponsible and aggressive. His doctor concluded that the damage to his brain changed his behaviour, and later researchers concluded that specific brain areas were responsible for specific psychological functions.

Question 6

who is Broca?

Answer 6

French neuroscientist who treated stroke patients. He famously studied a patient known as ‘Tan’ who couldn’t speak, and a post-mortem revealed that the lower part of Tan’s left frontal lobe (known as Broca’s area) was damaged. Broca concluded that the ability to speak was linked to this region - we now know it is responsible for the motor control needed for speech production

Question 7

what is Wernicke’s area

Answer 7

the area is the rear of the left temporal lobe and is involved with understanding speech

Question 8

what is lateralisation?

Answer 8

the tendency of the different hemispheres of the brain to take care of slightly different functions

Question 9

what is contralateralisation?

Answer 9

the left hemisphere corresponds to the right side of the body and vice versa

Question 10

what is localisation?

Answer 10

the tendency of different areas within the brain to be responsible for different functions

Question 11

what are the main functions of the brainstem?

Answer 11

survival functions eg. heartbeat, respiration and primary consciousness

Question 12

what are the main functions of the cerebellum?

Answer 12

coordinating muscle movements and maintaining posture, balance and equilibrium

Question 13

what are the main functions of the cerebrum?

Answer 13

enables cognition, problem-solving, emotions, sensing the environment

Question 14

what is the cerebral cortex?

Answer 14

the matter covering the cerebrum which has ridges (gyri) and grooves (sulci) so more can fit into brain

Question 15

what is the corpus callosum?

Answer 15

the centre of the cerebrum which is a nerve pathway allowing the two hemispheres to communicate with each other

Question 16

what is the role of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 16

found on the frontal lobe it controls thinking, exercise, planning and impulse control

Question 17

what is the role of the frontal lobe?

Answer 17

enables thinking and problem-solving

Question 18

what is the role of Broca’s area?

Answer 18

it enables speech production

Question 19

where and what is the motor cortex?

Answer 19

in the frontal lobe running along central sulcus, allows us to exercise fine control of movement

Question 20

what is the role of the temporal lobe?

Answer 20

enables memory

Question 21

what is the role of the parietal lobe?

Answer 21

it brings together senses

Question 22

where and what is the Somato sensory cortex?

Answer 22

in the parietal lobe running along the central sulcus, it is used to sense our body eg. hot, cold, pain

Question 23

what is the role of the occipital lobe?

Answer 23

enables vision by receiving information from the eyes via the optic nerve

Question 24

what is the limbic system?

Answer 24

a set of structures in the brain associated with drives, emotion and mood