Brain Structure Flashcards
What is the cerebral cortex?
- Largest brain structure
Greatest number of neurons and synapses
Last structure to stop growing
Sensitive for longer time to environmental influences
Have different lobes and substructures
Prefrontal cortex
- Part of frontal lobe
- Body movement, consciousness, use of memory
- Attention, inhibition of impulses, reasoning etc
Cerebellum
Balance and body movement
Reticular formation
Alertness and consciousness
Hippocampus
Memory and spatial awareness
Amygdala
Processing emotions, facial expressions and memory with emotions
- Damages can lead to problem behaviours
Not learning safety signals
Lack of fear
Corpus callusom
Communication between hemispheres
- The more complex the task, the more communication is needed
What does cerebellum and cerbral cortex do together?
- Create thinking
- Damages leads to deficits in
Memory
Planning
Language
Lateralization
The hemispheres are specialized
- One part seem better at handling different types of information compared to the other
- Happens at birth
- Early experiences influence the organization of cerebral cortex
What does the left hemisphere specialize in?
- Sensory information and control of right side of body
- Verbal abilities
- Positive emotions
- Sequential, analytic processing
What does the right hemisphere specialize in?
- Sensory input and control of left side of body
- Spatial abilities, judging distances
- Negative emotion
- Holistic, integrative processing
What does brain plasticity do for learning?
- The more plasticity, higher capacities for learning
- Brain more plastic during early years
- Many areas are yet to be specialized and not committed
What happens if parts of cortex is damaged?
- Other regions can take over and perform the same task, especially in infants and children
- Not the same for lateralization
How can you optimize learning/plasticity?
- Physical activity is a potential help
- Physical activity is connected with
Improved alertness, attention and motivation
Prepares and encourage cells to bind with each other
Spurs development of new nerve cells in the hippocampus
What can early deprivation in brain development lead to?
- Permanent brain damages and loss of functions
- There are sensitive periods
