4.05 Brain Structures

Question 1

corpus callosum

Answer 1

connects left and right hemispheres of the brain

Question 2

cerebral cortex

Answer 2

controls complex thought processes

Question 3

thalamus

Answer 3

part of the forebrain that relays information from sensory organs to the cerebral cortex

Question 4

cerebellum

Answer 4

part of the hindbrain that controls balance and maintains muscle coordination

Question 5

pons

Answer 5

part of the hindbrain that relays messages between the cerebellum and the cortex

Question 6

reticular formation

Answer 6

a system of nerves running from the hindbrain and through the midbrain to the cerebral cortex, controlling arousal and attention

Question 7

medulla

Answer 7

part of the hindbrain that controls heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing

Question 8

hippocampus

Answer 8

plays a role in our learning, memory, and ability to compare sensory information to expectations

Question 9

pituitary gland

Answer 9

regulates other endocrine glands

Question 10

hypothalamus

Answer 10

part of the forebrain that regulates the amount of fear, thirst, sexual drive, and aggression we feel

Question 11

parts of the hindbrain:

Answer 11

medulla, reticular formation, cerebellum, pons

Question 12

limbic system

Answer 12

a group of several brain structures located under the cortex and involved in learning, emotion, memory, and motivation

Question 13

parts of the limbic system:

Answer 13

thalamus, cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus

Question 14

cingulate cortex

Answer 14

involved in emotional and cognitive processing

Question 15

amygdala

Answer 15

influences our motivation, emotional control, fear response, and interpretations of nonverbal emotional expressions

Question 16

corticalization

Answer 16

allows a much larger area of cortical cells to exist in the small space inside the skull

Question 17

Frontal lobe

Answer 17

responsible for higher mental processes and decision making as well as the production of fluent speech: association cortex and Broca’s area

Question 18

Parietal lobe

Answer 18

containing centers of touch, taste, and temperature sensations: somatosensory cortex

Question 19

occipital lobe

Answer 19

visual centers of the brain: visual cortex and association cortex

Question 20

temporal lobe

Answer 20

responsible for the sense of hearing and meaningful speech: wernicke’s area and auditory association cortex

Question 21

somatosensory cortex

Answer 21

responsible for processing information from the skin and internal body receptors for touch, temperature, body position, and possibly taste

Question 22

motor cortex

Answer 22

controls the voluntary muscles of the body

Question 23

visual cortex

Answer 23

processes visual information from the eyes

Question 24

primary visual association cortex

Answer 24

identifies and makes sense of visual information

Question 25

auditory cortex

Answer 25

processes auditory information from the ears

Question 26

auditory association cortex

Answer 26

identifies and makes sense of auditory information

Question 27

spatial neglect

Answer 27

condition produced by damage to the association areas of the right hemisphere (inability to recognize objects or body parts in the left visual field)

Question 28

Split-Brain

Answer 28

severed corpus callosum

Question 29

left hemisphere

Answer 29

control language, writing, logical thought, analysis, mathematical abilities

Question 30

right hemisphere

Answer 30

controls emotional expression, spatial perception, recognition of faces, patterns, melodies, and emotions