Psych Section 1 Material Flashcards
Describe nervous system schematic
-areas that transfer
information (peripheral)
-areas that process that information (central)
Central Nervous System (CNS)
-The information processing center of your nervous system.
-Consists of the brain and the spinal cord
Cerebral Cortex
high-level thinking, sensory integration and processing, behavior planning and initiation
Cerebellum
muscle coordination, balance, posture
Brain Stem
basic life functioning
Dorsal Spine (up)
Collects sensory information from peripheral nervous system.
Ventral Spine (down)
Transmits behavior commands to peripheral nervous system.
Identify 3 major structures of brain
-Cerebral Cortex
-Cerebellum
-Brain stem
Medulla (brain stem area)
(breathing, heart-beat)
Pons (brain stem area)
(sleep)
Midbrain (brain stem area)
(temp. control, alertness)
Hypothalamus (brain stem area)
(hunger, digestion)
Thalamus (brain stem area)
(information relay station)
-receives incoming sensory
information and sends it to the cortex
What is the most dorsal (up) part of the brain stem known as?
limbic system.
The Limbic System
-The brain’s core.
-The information relay and emotion
processing center
Basal ganglia (limbic system)
are critical to voluntary
movement
Amygdala (limbic system)
is important for processing
memories, social cognition, paying
attention, and some emotions (fear).
Hippocampus (limbic system)
is involved in learning
and creating long-term memories.
The Peripheral Nervous System
-Serves the brain by providing it with sensory information and
by carrying out it’s motor commands
-Has two systems:
○ Autonomic: unconscious regulation of muscles and organs
○ Somatic: conscious control of certain muscles and the collection of sensory information
Sympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (automatic):
-Active when threatened
-Produces physiological arousal to ensure safety
-Signals processed by the sympathetic ganglia
● Adrenal glands activity
● Digestion stops
● Pupils dilate
● Muscles tense
● Heart-rate increases
● Sweating increases
Parasympathetic branch of the Autonomic Nervous System (automatic):
-Active when at rest
-Reduces physiological arousal to ensure longevity
-Signals processed by spinal nerves
● Blood vessels constrict
● Digestion starts
● Pupils constrict
● Muscles relax
● Heart-rate decreases
● Sweating decreases
Somatic Nervous System
Responsible for nearly all voluntary muscle movements as well as for processing sensory information that arrives via external stimuli including hearing, touch and sight
Identify anatomical directions
⬆️ DORSAL
⬇️ VENTRAL
➡️ POSTERIOR
⬅️ ANTERIOR
Anterior, Medial -><-, Lateral <–>, Posterior
Corpus Callosum
-a dense bundle of
myelinated axons (a.k.a. white matter) that connect the two cerebral hemispheres allowing them to share information
-If the corpus callosum is not formed due to a genetic abnormality, or surgically severed, the person will have a “split-brain”
Identify views/sections of brain
-Sagittal
-Horizontal
-Coronal
Identify lobes of cerebral cortex
-Frontal lobe
-Parietal lobe
-Temporal lobe
-Occipital lobe
Frontal Lobe
-Is essential for motor planning, language, judgment,
and decision-making.
-It is proportionally larger in humans than in any
other animal
Motor Cortex (frontal lobe)
The region for controlling your mouth,
your face, your hand, and the rest of
your body, are all roughly the same
size.
- strip of the frontal cortex anterior to the central sulcus that initiates all voluntary motions
Broca’s Area (frontal lobe)
-implicated in language production.
○ Also known as “the motor speech area” it specifically appears to be required for speech production and grammar
-Damage to this area can cause
expressive aphasia
Prefrontal Cortex (frontal lobe)
The most anterior part of the frontal
cortex, the prefrontal cortex is involved
in many high-level functions such as:
○ Self-control
○ Thinking about the future
○ Understanding cause and effect
○ Personality expression
○ Social behavior and language
○ Moral judgements
○ Decision making
○ Abstract thought
Parietal Lobe
involved in touch sensations, spatial reasoning,
visual attention, multisensory integration, and more.
Somatosensory Cortex (parietal lobe):
-A strip of the parietal cortex posterior to the central sulcus that receives all bodily (touch) sensations
Angular Gyrus (parietal lobe):
-A region of the parietal cortex posterior to the lateral fissure that is involved in understanding symbols and words
Occipital Lobe
involved in processing visual information
Primary Visual Cortex (occipital lobe)
-The most posterior part of the brain.
-All visual information is sent here first for the processing of basic information such as orientation, contrast, and motion
Temporal Lobe
-It contains the primary auditory area, the initial receiving area for auditory information.
-It is also involved in olfaction (smell),
highest-level visual processing (face/object recognition), memory, multisensory integration, etc.
Primary Auditory Area
Wernicke’s Area (temporal lobe)
-implicated in
language production.
-Also known as “the language comprehension area” it specifically appears to be required for
understanding written and spoken language.
-Damage to this area can cause receptive
aphasia.