Test 2: The Brain Flashcards
Membrane
A sheet of tissue that covers or connects organs.
Meninges
The layers of membrane under the skull surrounding the brain.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical messengers released by the axon that travel across the synapse (a gap) to neighbouring neurons.
Neuroimpulses
The messages that travel along a neuron.
Cerebrospinal fluid
The fluid that surrounds and protects the brain.
Corpus callosum
Nerve tissue connecting the two hemisphere of the brain.
Cerebellum
A primitive part of the brain responsible for balance and motor coordination.
Cortex
Outer layer of the brain where most processes take place, such as thinking.
Lobe
A clearly obvious division of an organ, such as in the brain or ear.
Contralateral
They control the opposite sides of the body.
Hemispheres
Half of a sphere; in psychology, the left or right half of the brain.
Spatial neglect
Damage to one hemisphere of the brain that results in loss of awareness for the contralateral (opposite side) of the body.
Change blindness
When objects around you change without you realising.
Brain banks
An organisation that collects, organises, handles and distributes brain tissue.
Hallucinations
Mistaken perceptions, illusions; experiencing something that is not real. Hallucinations can be visual, auditory or tactile.
When does the brain develop?
- The brain begins to develop from the moment the sperm enters the egg during fertilisation.
Fourteenth day?
- By the fourteenth day of life the zygote is developing its nervous system.
End of eight weeks?
- By the end of the eighth week, the foetus is 1.8cm in length and it is producing 250 000 neuroblasts a minute which will eventually turn into neurons.
Eighth month?
- By the eighth month of pregnancy, the development of the brain is almost complete.
Weight of brain when we are born?
- When we are born, our brain weighs 400 grams.
At one year old?
- By the time we are one, our brain weighs a kilogram.
Adult brain?
- The average weight of an adult brain is 1.4kg.
CNS:
Is the brain and the spinal cord.
PNS:
Anything outside the brain and spinal cord.
Dendrites:
Branch-like extensions at the front end of a neuron that receive messages from other neurons.
Soma:
The cell body of a neuron, containing its nucleus and DNA.
Axon:
A cable-like extension from the cell body of a neuron that sends messages to other neurons.
Myelin sheath
Fatty, white insulating tissue that surrounds the axon of neurons.
Endorphins
Chemical substances in our brains that act as natural painkillers in times of pain or stress. Endorphins can also cause people to feel better after spontaneous exercise.
Acetylcholine:
A neurotransmitter that plays a large role in learning.
Dopamine:
A hormone that plays an important role in cognitive functions such as memory, problem solving and attention. It is also known as the ‘pleasure’ hormone, as it provides feelings of enjoyment and happiness.
How many neuron connections are there in the brain?
40 quadrillion different patterns of connections.
Frontal lobe:
Decision making, problem solving, movement, motor control
Temporal lobe:
Hearing, speech, memory
Cerebellum:
Balance, motor coordinaton
Occipital lobe:
Vision, visual processing
Parietal lobe:
movement, processing information
Brain care:
- Exercise
- Diet
- Sleep
Right Brain functions:
Art awareness, creativity, Imagination, Insight, Music awareness etc.
Left Brain functions:
Analytic thought, Logic, Language, Reasoning, Science and maths, Written, Number skills.
