Chapter 2

Question 1

Lobes of the Brain

Answer 1

• Frontal Lobe – conscious thought
• Parietal Lobe – visuospatial processing
• Occipital Lobe – sense of sight
• Temporal Lobe - senses of smell and sound

Question 2

Major Brain Components

Answer 2

• Hindbrain - Info is received from the spinal cord.
• Midbrain – Major division of the brain that contains fibers known as the reticular formation
• Forebrain – Major division of the brain consisting of subcortical structures and the cerebral cortex (divides the brain into 2 sides)

Question 3

What are the 3 different parts and functions of the Hindbrain?

Answer 3

–Medulla – regulates automatic responses such as breathing , swallowing, and blood circulation
–Pons – connects the two halves of the brain and is important for sleep and arousal
–Cerebellum – coordinates muscular movements

Question 4

How are the reticular formation nerve fibers of the Midbrain characterised?

Answer 4

•Reticular Formation – nerve fibers passing through the midbrain that control arousal
–With the hindbrain it is known as the brain stem because they form the stem on which the brain rests
–Composed of nerve pathways that go to and from higher brain centers

Question 5

What are the six structures of the forebrain?

Answer 5

1. Corpus Callosum
2. Cerebral Cortex
3. Limbic System
4. Hypothalamus
5. Thalamus
6. Basal Ganglial

Question 6

Structures in the Forebrain

What are the characteristics of the Corpus Callosum?

Answer 6

wide band fibers that divides the two brain hemispheres

Question 7

Structure of the Forebrain

What is the Cerebral Cortex?

Answer 7

(Cerebrum) – outer layer of brain

Question 8

Structure of the Forebrain

What is the function of the limbic system?

Answer 8

Emotional bx and memory

Question 9

Structures of the Forebrain

What is the function of the hypothalamus?

Answer 9

Arousal, emotionality, food and water intake, sexual bx, body temp

Question 10

Structures of the Forebrain

What if the function of the Thalamus?

Answer 10

Integrates incoming sensory information and relays it to the appropriate areas

Question 11

Structures of the Forebrain

What is the function of the Basal Ganglia?

Answer 11

Group of structures near the thalamus that are involved in controlling slow voluntary movements such as standing, sitting, walking.

Question 12

What is the theory of Neuroplasticity?

Answer 12

• The brain is able to acquire new function as a result of interacting with the environment
• Neurogenesis
• Humans do not come into this world with a fully developed hard-wired brain
• Synaptic Pruning

Question 13

What is Evolutionary Psychology?

Answer 13

•Interested in looking for the adaptive benefits of selected human behaviors
•Costs vs. Benefits
–Cranial Capacity
•Evolution
–Does not work to improve a species; it does work to improve reproductive success
–Does not have a conscious plan or purpose
–Does not work to produce human happiness or contentment. Emotions are simply by-products of evolution; bx associated with these emotions have been adaptive
–Is very well-established theory that continues to accumulate supportive data

Question 14

What is Natural Selection?

Answer 14

Inherited characteristics that lead to an advantage in adapting to the environment are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations through genetic material

Question 15

What is Behavioral Neuroscience?

Answer 15

•Neurology, psychology, and psychiatry that focuses on the role of the nervous system, especially the brain, in understanding behavior
•Survival depends on:
–Sensing stimuli – environmental features that provoke a response
–Through receptors – specialized cells that are sensitive to specific types of stimulus energy
–Processing in the brain
–To produce a response
–Stimulus  Response

Question 16

What are the parts and functions of the Nervous System?

Answer 16

•Central Nervous System
–Brain and spinal cord
–Comparable to the engine of a car or the central processing unit of a computer
•Peripheral Nervous System
–Neural fibers lying outside of the brain and spinal cord
–Comparable to a computer monitor, keyboard, and printer
–Transports information into and out of the central portion of the computer
•Neurons
–Basic cells of the nervous system

Question 17

What are the 4 parts of the Peripheral Nervous System?

Answer 17

• Somatic Nervous System
• Autonomic Nervous System
• Sympathetic Nervous System
• Parasympathetic Nervous System

Question 18

Parts of the Peripheral Nervous System

What is the function of the Somatic Nervous System?

Answer 18

-Sensing and responding voluntarily under conscious control
-Nerves connecting receptors to the spinal cord and brain
-Nerves that go to and from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles:
Afferent Nerves: carry info from receptors to brain and spine
Efferent Nerves. Carry info from brain and spinal cord to the muscles

Question 19

Parts of the Peripheral Nervous System

What is the function of the Autonomic Nervous System?

Answer 19

• Involved in the control of bodily functioning through organs and glands.
• Automatic or involuntary

Question 20

Parts of the Peripheral Nervous System

What is the function of the Sympathetic Nervous System?

Answer 20

• Mobilizes the body in times of stress

- Fight or Flight

Question 21

Parts of the Peripheral Nervous System

What is the function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System?

Answer 21

Returns body to a resting balanced state called homeostasis