Parts of the Brain

Question 1

Thalamus

Answer 1

all sensory messages (except smell) are routed through here on the way to the cortex; sends messages from the cortex to medulla and cerebellum

Question 2

Medulla

Answer 2

controls most basic functions such as heartbeat and breathing (base of brain stem)

Question 3

Reticular formation

Answer 3

nerve network; enables alertness from coma to wide awake; filters incoming sensory information (above Pons and below Thalamus)

Question 4

Pons

Answer 4

helps coordinate automatic and unconscious movements (above Medulla)

Question 5

Brainstem

Answer 5

Coordinates the body

Question 6

Basal ganglia

Answer 6

-(deep beneath cerebral cortex) process information on movement and in fine-tuning the activity of brain circuits that determine best possible response in a given situation

Question 7

Cerebellum

Answer 7

helps coordinate voluntary movement; enables nonverbal learning and memory (underneath occipital and temporal lobes)

Question 8

Limbic system

Answer 8

coordinates emotions like fear and aggression, basic drives like sex and hunger, and formation of episodic memories

Question 9

Hippocampus

Answer 9

linked to memory; processes conscious episodic memories; works with amygdala to form emotionally charged memories (inner part of the brain)

Question 10

Amygdala

Answer 10

linked to emotion; helps process emotions, especially fear and anger (lima bean shape)

Question 11

Hypothalamus

Answer 11

regulates body temperature and ensures adequate food and water intake; involved in sex drive; directs the endocrine system via messages to the pituitary gland (below the Thalamus)

Question 12

Corpus callosum

Answer 12

band of axons connecting the hemispheres

Question 13

Ventricles

Answer 13

a series of cavities that carry cerebrospinal fluid which cushions blows and reduces the pressure at the base of the brain and carries away toxic waste and moves hormones between widely separated regions of the brain (middle of brain)

Question 14

Prefrontal cortez

Answer 14

in front of frontal lobe; carries out executive functions

Question 15

Motor cortex

Answer 15

controls the body’s right side (left hemisphere section)

Question 16

Sensory cortex

Answer 16

receives input from the body’s right side (left hemisphere section)

Question 17

Visual cortex

Answer 17

back of brain

Question 18

Auditory cortex

Answer 18

enables perception of sound

Question 19

Association areas

Answer 19

Most developed part of the brain and necessary for perceptional activities like recognizing objects

Question 20

Broca’s area

Answer 20

vital role in generation of speech (lies in the third frontal convolution)

Question 21

Wernicke’s area

Answer 21

involved in comprehension of speech (located in the posterior third of the upper temporal convolution of the left hemisphere of the brain)

Question 22

Fusiform gyrus

Answer 22

responsible for receiving the presence of a face (lower part of temporal lobe)

Question 23

Frontal lobe

Answer 23

involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

Question 24

Parietal lobe

Answer 24

includes the sensory cortex

Question 25

Occipital lobe

Answer 25

includes the visual areas; they receive visual information from opposite visual field

Question 26

Temporal lobe

Answer 26

includes the auditory processing areas