Chapter 2, 2.6-2.10

Question 1

Medulla

Answer 1

the swelling located at the top of the spinal column, controls life-sustaining functions like heartbeat, breathing, and swallowing

Question 2

Pons

Answer 2

located just above the medulla, contains the crossover of motor nerves to the brain which allows it to coordinate opposite left and right movement of the body

Question 3

Reticular Formation

Answer 3

network of neurons through the medulla and pons which allows people to prioritize information (disregarding white noise, becoming alert in times of danger)

Question 4

Cerebellum (little brain)

Answer 4

located at the base of the skull, controls involuntary, fine, rapid motor movement (so that people don’t have to consciously think of physical actions)

Question 5

The Limbic System

Answer 5

system located in the middle of the brain responsible for emotions, motivation, memory, and learning

Question 6

Thalamus

Answer 6

relay station for incoming sensory information (triage nurse)

Question 7

Hypothalamus

Answer 7

sits right above the pituitary gland, regulates bodily sensations

Question 8

Hippocampus

Answer 8

the seahorse, instrumental in forming long-term declarative memories

Question 9

Amygdala

Answer 9

involved in fear-responses and memories of fear

Question 10

Cingulate Cortex

Answer 10

cortex for the limbic system, involved in emotional and cognitive processing

Question 11

Cortex

Answer 11

outermost part of the brain, wrinkled so it can contain a larger surface area, corticalization process leads to the brain becoming more wrinkled over a lifetime

Question 12

Cerebrum

Answer 12

upper part of the brain divided into hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum

Question 13

Collateral organization

Answer 13

each hemisphere is responsible for controlling the opposite side’s motor functions

Question 14

Occipital Lobe

Answer 14

Located at the back of the brain, processes visual information in the primary visual cortex

Question 15

Parietal Lobe

Answer 15

Top and back of the brain, contains the somatosensory cortex, which processes feelings from skin, (cells at the top correspond to body-parts at the bottom and move upward)

Question 16

Temporal Lobe

Answer 16

behind the temples, contains primary auditory cortex and auditory association area (language)

Question 17

Frontal Lobes (two cortexes)

Answer 17

Front. Contains all the higher mental functions

• Prefrontal cortext: executive functions (planning/understanding the future)
• Motor cortex: movement functions

Question 18

Mirror Neurons

Answer 18

Fire both when an human performs an action as well as observes one

Question 19

Association Areas

Answer 19

neurons in the cortex devoted to making connections between sensory information and memories, images, and knowledge

Question 20

Broca’s area

Answer 20

in Left Front Lobe, allows us to speak fluently smoothly (Broca’s Aphasia prevents this)

Question 21

Wernicke’s Area

Answer 21

in left temporal lobe, understanding meanings of words

Question 22

Spatial Neglect

Answer 22

condition that causes someone to ignore everything on one side of their body

Question 23

Left Hemisphere

Answer 23

involved in functions of thought analysis (math, language, speech)

Question 24

Right Hemisphere

Answer 24

specializes in widespread processing (perception, visualization, emotions)

Question 25

Handedness

Answer 25

Controlled by genetics and most hemispheric brain division still function the same