PSY 1101 - Chapter 03: Biology & Neuroscience (Pt. 4)

Question 1

What is the Hypothalamus?

Answer 1

Its so powerful its called the brain within the brain
- it controls and regulates a variety of functions that are essential for survival and for living

Question 2

What are the Drives to the Hypothalamus?

Answer 2

Drives: hunger, thirst, sex

Question 3

What is Homeostasis?

Answer 3

the hypothalamus controls and regulates homeostasis (the internal balance of the body)
- keeps it within a narrow healthy range (for example, body temperature)

Question 4

What are Social Bonds?

Answer 4

attachments, the hypothalamus plays an important role in the formation of social bonds

Hypothalamus is responsible for the production of oxytocin

Question 5

What is Oxytocin?

Answer 5

The formation of emotional bonds
- the love hormone

Question 6

What two systems does the Hypothalamus Control?

Answer 6

1. Endocrine System
2. Autonomic System

Question 7

What is the Cerebral Cortex?

Answer 7

the youngest part of the brain = outer layer of the brain
- cortex is the most complex relative to body size
- 2 hemispheres

Question 8

What is the Cerebral Cortex Responsible for?

Answer 8

Responsible for our most complex mental functions such as reading, learning
- cortex makes us adaptable

Question 9

How much of the Cerebral Cortex is Visible?

Answer 9

only ⅓ of our cerebral cortex is visible, the rest is hidden in those grooves (its like scrunched up)

Question 10

What is the Corpus Callusom?

Answer 10

a bundle of fibres that the two hemispheres use to communicate with one another

Question 11

What is the Left Hemisohere?

Answer 11

Receives information from the right side of the body
- Controls the right side of the body

Question 12

What is the Right Hemisphere?

Answer 12

Receives information from the left side of the body
- Controls the left side of the body

Question 13

What are the Four Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex?

Answer 13

1. Frontal
2. Parietal
3. Temporal
4. Occipital

Each lobe consists of two areas: Primary and Association

Question 14

What are the Primary Areas?

Answer 14

Primary areas are found in each lobe
- they are linked and associated with the processing of either motor or sensory information

Question 15

What are the Different Primary Areas?

Answer 15

1. Primary Visual Cortex
2. Primary Auditory Cortex
3. Primary Sensory Cortex

Question 16

What is the Primary Visual Cortex?

Answer 16

Located in the occipital lobes
- Processes visual information

Question 17

What is the Primary Auditory Cortex?

Answer 17

Located in the Temporal Lobes
- Processes auditory information

Question 18

What is the Primary Sensory Cortex?

Answer 18

Also known as Primary Somatosensory Cortex
- located in the parietal lobes
- arches from one ear to the next
- receives information from the skin, muscles and joints
- Processes information pertaining to touch, pain, temperature etc.

Question 19

What is the Parietal Cortex?

Answer 19

The right part of the parietal cortex receives info from the left side of the body and vice versa.

• each body part is represented in the parietal cortex
• adjacent body parts are serviced by adjacent areas in the brain

Question 20

What is the Primary Motor Cortex?

Answer 20

Located in the frontal lobes
- arches from one ear to the next and it controls voluntary movements
- the left part services the right part of the body and vice versa
- adjacent body parts are serviced by adjacent areas in the brain

Question 21

What are Association Areas?

Answer 21

Association areas are found in each lobe and they are linked and associated with higher and more complex mental functioning (e.g., reasoning)
- involved in the processing of complex motor or sensory information

Question 22

What is the Association Area of the Frontal Lobes?

Answer 22

Executive Function

• Attention
• Planning
• Decision making
• Abstract thinking
• Some aspects of memory
• Some aspects of personality
• Some aspects of language (Broca’s area language production)
• Impulse control
• Emotions
• The last area of the brain to be myelinated and to mature

Question 23

What is the Association Area of the Temporal Lobes?

Answer 23

• Some aspects of language (Wernicke’s area: understanding language)
• Recognizing faces
• Music
• Some aspects of memory
• God spot

Question 24

What is the Association Area of the Parietal Lobes?

Answer 24

• Nonverbal thinking (e.g. math, spatial reasoning)
• Sense of space

Question 25

What is the Association Area of the Occipital Lobes?

Answer 25

Processing of complex visual information