Psychology: Parts of the Brain Flashcards
medulla
part of the brainstem; it is also responsible for heartbeat, breathing, swallowing etc
Brainstem
part of the brain responsible for automatic survival functions (breathing, heartbeat)
reticular formation
controls wakefulness and arousal
thalamus
brain’s sensory switchboard, directs message to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex
cerebellum
helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance
limbic system
ring of structures that regulates important functions such as memory, fear, aggression, hunger, thirst
the limbic system includes within it the hypothalamus, hippocampus and amygdala
hypothalamus
below the thalamus that helps regulate hemostatic functions such as hunger, thirst, body temperature
also responsible for the fight or flight mechanism, emotion, pleasure and sexual functions
hippocampus
processes and stores memories
amygdala
controls emotional responses such as fear and anger
corpus callosum
connects the two brain hemispheres and allows the to communicate with one another
frontal lobes
responsible for advanced cognitive abilities such as judgement and planning
parietal lobes
includes the somatosensory cortex and general association areas used for processing information
occipital lobes
visual processing areas of the brain
temporal lobes
auditory processing center
motor cortex
control voluntary movement