Bio Psych (approaches) Flashcards
What is the cerebral cortex?
The largest part of the brain and contains four lobes:
Frontal
Parietal
Occipital
Temporal
What is the frontal lobe?
Thought, planning, motivation and speech production
What is the parietal lobe?
Sensory (touch and movement) processing
What is the occipital lobe?
Visual processing
What is the temporal lobe?
Language comprehension, hearing and memory and can also help control our heart rate, blood pressure and breathing
What is the cerebellum?
Helps coordinate balance and fine muscle movements
The two hemispheres are joined by the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibres that act as a key bridge between them, allowing communication
What is the nervous system?
Consist of the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system
What is the central nervous system?
Consists of the brain and the spinal cord and is the origin of all complex commands and decisions
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Sends information to the CNS from the outside world, and transmits messages from the CNS to muscles and glands in the body
What is the somatic nervous system?
Transmits information from receptor cells in the sense organs to the CNS. It also receives information from the CNS that directs muscles to act
What is the automatic nervous system?
Transmits information to and from internal bodily organs. It is ‘automatic’ as the system operates involuntarily
The nervous system
What does the sympathetic NS do?
It is involved in processes that help us in emergencies, for example, the flight or fight response
It spurs the body into action in preparation to deal with (mainly) threats
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
Works to calm the body after arousal by the sympathetic NS
It calms the heart and lungs and allows normal ‘resting’ functions to resume (often referred to as rest and digest)
When is homeostasis created?
When the sympathetic and parasympathetic NS react
Their actions are mostly antagonistic
How much of the brain is made up by the cerebrum?
85%
What is contained in the diencephalon?
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
What is the thalamus?
Concerned with relaying sensory information from the brain stem to the cortex
What is the hypothalamus?
Controls basic functions such as hunger, thirst, sexual behaviour; and also controls the pituitary gland
What do the cerebral hemispheres control?
Higher level cognitive and emotional processes
What is the limbic system involved in?
Learning, memory and emotions
What is the basal ganglia involved in?
Motor activities and movement