psychology - UNIT1AOS2 Flashcards
hindbrain:
the region at the base of the brain, located around and including some of the brainstem. its responsible for coordinating basic survival functions including movement, breathing rates, heart rates and digestion. it is the first brain region to develop.
pons:
relays info between different brain areas, acting as a bridge by transmitting info between different areas. has an important role in regulating the respiratory system and controlling sleep, dreaming and waking, as well as involuntary behaviours, such as blinking.
medulla:
a mass of neutrons that primarily function to regulate autonomic processes such as respiration, heart rate, blood pressure and digestion. has an important role in initiating actions including coughing, sneezing and vomiting. it connects the brain to the spinal cord, creating a pathway through which neural signals are transmitted.
cerebellum:
primarily functions to monitor and coordinate skeletal muscle movements. it received info about the position of the body in space, and planned motor movements from other brain regions. it uses this info to calculate how to move smoothly, then communicates this motor info to the skeletal muscles which carry out the movements. its also involved in maintaining balance and posture, and controlling voluntary movements involving sequences, forming and consolidating procedural memories about how to perform movements.
midbrain:
a region at the centre of the brain, between the hindbrain and forebrain and is part of the brainstem. it is responsible for relaying info between the hindbrain and forebrain, between structurally higher brain areas and the spinal cord. every sensory or motor message that is transmitted between the brain and spinal cord passes through it, such as processing sensory info, coordinating motor movements relating to sensory stimuli and regulating sleep and psychological arousal.
reticular formation:
a network of neutrons located predominately in. the midbrain and extends along the brainstem. it filters neural info that is travelling to the brain and directs these messages to various areas/ structures of the brain, integrating and relaying neural info relating to survival and reflective functions, regulates sleep, wakefulness and consciousness and regulates psychological arousal and alternates through the reticular activating system.
forebrain:
the forebrain is a large and predominate brain region that is located at the top and front of the brain. it has an important role in sophisticated mental processes, including cognition, perception, learning, language and memory. this region is highly complex and contains extremely intricate neural networked, which enables these higher order functions to occur.
cerebrum:
a large expanse of brain mater and the largest structure in the human brain. its divided into two cerebral hemispheres which are connected by the corpus callous. it has a crucial role in various mental processes and behaviours such as coordinating sophisticated mental processes including cognition, perception, judgement, language and problem solving, performing complex functions including receiving and processing sensory info and inviting voluntary motto movements.
hypothalamus:
functions to maintain optimal biological functioning by regulating internal processes including hormonal levels. hunger, thirst, body temp and blood pressure. thus, it has an important role in maintaining homeostasis, which is the balanced state that our bodies experience at rest. it is a component of the limbic system, which has a role in functions relating to emotional and motivated behaviours, such as pleasure seeking or pain averting behaviours as well as being active when you experience emotions in response to environmental stimuli.
thalamus:
functions as a filtering system and relay centre for sensory info, excluding smells detected by the nose. has an important role in attention, ensuring only the most relevant info is received by the brains higher areas. also relays motor signals between higher and lower areas involved in motor control and through connections with the reticular formation, it is involved in regulating arousal, activity and alterness.
