The brain Flashcards
what is the brain?
An organ which is the source of conscious awareness and where decision-making takes place
A) What is the brain divided into
B) how is it connected?
A) 2 near-symmetrical hemispheres
B) a group of structures but the main one is the corpus callosum
What is the outer of the layer of the brain called?
the cerebral cortex
How does the brain control the body?
It’s contralateral, the left hemisphere controls the activity on the right side of the body while the right hemisphere controls the activity on the left side of the body
What is the cerebrum?
the largest part of the brain (at the top) which handles conscious thoughts and actions
How many lobes is the cerebrum made up of?
4
A) What does the frontal lobe control (give examples)?
B) What does the frontal lobe contain for movement?
A) Higher order thinking such as planning, decision-making and problem solving
B) Motor cortex which control voluntary movements on opposite sides of the body
A) What does the temporal lobe process?
B) what does the temporal lobe contain?
A) the location, volume and pitch of sounds
B) each lobe contains an auditory cortex which deals with sound information coming mainly from the opposite ear
A) what does the parietal lobe process?
B) what does the parietal lobe contain?
A) sensory information from the skin (touch, temperature, pressure) in a contralateral manner
B) An area of somatosensory cortex which is devoted to a particular body part which reflects that body part’s sensitivity to touch
A) What does the occipital lobe process?
B) What does the occipital lobe contain?
A) Everything we see in our right side of vision is initially processed by the left visual cortex before being shared via the corpus callosum with the right
B) each lobe contains a primary visual cortex ad several secondary areas
What is the limbic system in the brain?
The part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses
What is the function of the thalamus in the limbic system?
The brain relay station which receives information from senses and passes it to appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex for higher level processing
What is the function of the amygdala in the limbic system?
It regulates emotions such as fear and aggression, it ties emotional meaning to memories
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
controls motivational behaviours (hunger, thirst, fight or flight) and maintains temperature
What is the function of Broca’s area?
speech production
What is the function of Wernicke’s area?
language comprehension
what is the function of the hippocampus?
regulates learning, memory encoding and spatial navigation
what is the function of the cerebellum?
coordinates posture, balance and movement
What is localisation of function in the brain?
different areas of the brain control specific physical/ behavioural functions in the body
what is lateralisation of the brain?
different hemispheres of the brain control specific physical/behavioural functions in the body
Are male brains considered to be lateralised or localised?
They’re considered to be more lateralised than female brains. In tasks requiring spatial ability, males right hemispheres are shown to have higher levels of activity than the left. In females both hemispheres are equally active and therefore their brains are less laterised
