the brain

Question 1

what are the components of the brain

Answer 1

hindbrain, midbrain, forebrain

Question 2

hindbrain structures and functions

Answer 2

• pons: regulates sleep, arousal, controls breathing and some muscle movement
• medulla: vital bodily functions- breathing, HR, swallowing, coughing
• cerebellum: muscle movement- posture, balance, smooth and precise movements

Question 3

midbrain structures and functions

Answer 3

reticular formation: is a network of neurons that involves the reticular activating system- filters incoming sensory info by focusing on what’s important and regulates arousal

Question 4

forebrain structures and functions

Answer 4

• hypothalamus: regulates the body’s internal environment eg. temp, thirst, hunger sleep
• thalamus: all sensory info received and directed to appropriate parts of the brain
• cerebrum: higher order thinking

Question 5

what is the role of the forebrain

Answer 5

supports bodily functions and it is the link between the spinal cord and the brain. Important for balance and movement

Question 6

what is the role of the midbrain

Answer 6

regulation of sleep, motor movement and arousal

Question 7

what is the role of the hindbrain

Answer 7

responsible for higher order thinking, problem solving, planning, memory, language, emotions and body movement

Question 8

Contralateral organisation

Answer 8

means that the left primary motor cortex is responsible for the movement of the right hand side of the body and vice versa

Question 9

what is the role of the cerebral cortex

Answer 9

to process complex sensory info, the initiation of voluntary movements, language, symbolic thinking and the regulation of emotion

Question 10

what are the lobes of the cerebral cortex

Answer 10

frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital

Question 11

Hemispheric specialisation

Answer 11

refers to the idea that one cerebral hemisphere exerts greater control over a particular function

Question 12

role of the right hemisphere

Answer 12

behavioural - controls voluntary movement of the left side of the body
cognitive - verbal tasks, analysing, logical reasoning

Question 13

role of the left hemisphere

Answer 13

behavioural - controls voluntary movement of the right side of the body
cognitive - non verbal tasks, creativity, emotions, spatial awareness, facial recognition

Question 14

frontal lobe functions

Answer 14

Primary motor cortex: responsible for voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.
Associations areas: Broca’s area- responsible for the production of clear and fluent speech, and grammatical structure of sentences

Question 15

parietal lobe functions

Answer 15

Somatosensory cortex: responsible for receiving and processing sensations. located behind the frontal lobe, separated by the central fissure.
Association areas: involved in spatial awareness and spatial skills.

Question 16

occipital lobe functions

Answer 16

Concerned with vision - info from the left side of each retina is processed in the left occipital lobe and vice versa.
Association areas: integrating visual info with other lobes

Question 17

temporal lobe functions

Answer 17

Processes auditory info - sensations received in ears.
Association areas: Wernicke’s area- responsible for comprehension of speech, and other areas are associated with memory and facial recognition.

Question 18

what is the corpus callosum

Answer 18

a thick band of fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex