Foundation 4 Structure And Function Of Brain 1 Flashcards
What is the fundamental basis for psychological life?
The brain is the fundamental basis for psychological life.
Do all mental functions require the integrated functioning of multiple parts of the brain?
Yes, no function of the brain is carried out solely by one part; all mental functions require the integrated functioning of multiple parts of the brain.
What are the principal parts of the hindbrain?
The hindbrain has three principal parts: the medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum.
What is the role of the medulla in the hindbrain?
The medulla is responsible for controlling breathing and a variety of reflexes.
What functions is the pons involved in?
The pons is involved in balance, hearing, and some parasympathetic functions.
What is the role of the cerebellum in the hindbrain?
The cerebellum is involved in the coordination of muscle movement, learning, and memory.
What is the reticular formation, and what does it influence?
The reticular formation is a set of neurons that spans the medulla and pons, influencing wakefulness, arousal, and attention.
What does the midbrain control?
The midbrain controls important postural systems, including automatic movement of the eyes that keeps them fixed on an object as the head moves, and automatic movements of the head that orient the ears to sources of sound.
What is the most interesting part of the brain to psychologists, and what does it consist of?
The most interesting part of the brain to psychologists is the forebrain. It consists of two areas: one containing the thalamus, hypothalamus, and most of the limbic system, and the other being the cerebral cortex.
What is the role of the thalamus in the forebrain?
The thalamus routes sensory messages to appropriate parts of the brain and works with other parts of the brain to process sensory information.
What functions is the hypothalamus involved in?
The hypothalamus is involved with motives, emotions, regulating body temperature, sleep, endocrine gland activity, controlling glandular secretions of the stomach and intestine, and maintaining the normal pace and rhythm of blood pressure and heart rate. It is most directly linked to the function of the autonomic nervous system.
What are the three important parts of the limbic system?
The limbic system is composed of three important parts: the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the cingulate cortex.
What role does the amygdala play in the limbic system?
The amygdala plays a key role in emotion, aggression, and the formation of memories about emotionally charged events.
What is the role of the hippocampus in the limbic system?
The hippocampus brings important cognitive elements to the processing of emotion-related information, plays a major role in the formation of new memories, and ‘ties together’ the sights, sounds, and meaning of memories stored in various parts of the cerebral cortex.
What is the connection between the hippocampus and Alzheimer’s disease?
The memory loss experienced by patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease results in part from damage to the hippocampus.
What is the role of the cingulate cortex in the limbic system?
The cingulate cortex works with the hippocampus to process cognitive information related to emotion and plays a role in comparing current emotion-related information to information stored in memory.
What is the cerebral cortex, and what is it involved in?
The cerebral cortex is the largest structure in the forebrain, formed of a densely packed mass of billions of cell bodies (gray matter). It is involved in conscious experience, voluntary actions, language, and intelligence, and many of the things that make us human. The part of the cerebrum beneath the cortex is composed primarily of axons (white matter).
