The Brain And Its Functions Flashcards
How do we study the brain?
Accidents, lesions, Electroencephalogram (EEG.), computerized axial tomography (CAT scan), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and position emission tomography (PET scan)
Accidents
Example Phineas Gage, spike damaged his pre-frontal cortex, altered his personality, higher order thinking, behavior, and temper control. Different parts of the brain controls different parts of the human behavior
Lesions
Destroys a part of the brain in an animal or human following by studying the behavior caused by the destruction or removal of the brain, example frontal lobotomy’s destruction of the frontal cortex/lobe
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Detect brain waves through their electrical output, lets the doctors know how your brain works
Computerized axial tomography (CAT scan)
3-D x-ray of the brain, good for locating abnormalities in the brain like tumors. Disadvantage of the CAT scan is that it tells nothing about the brain’s function
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Takes a more detailed picture of the brain. MRI takes many still pictures and turns images into movie like production
Position emmission tomography (PET scan)
Measures how much a chemical of the brain is using (usually glucose consumption)
What are the four structures of the brain?
Hindbrain, midbrain, for brain, and cerebral cortex
What structures are in the hindbrain?
Cerebellum, pons, medulla oblongata
Cerebellum
Allows you to do automatic movements and not to think about it, “little brain”, coordinates fine muscle movements, located at the bottom of the brain
Pons
Located at the top of the medulla oblongata, involved in the control of facial expression, connects the hindbrain to the midbrain and forebrain, allows biting, chewing, and swallowing
Medulla Oblongata
Located at the top of the spinal cord, regulates basic biological functions of the human body (example breathing, sneezing, etc.)
Midbrain
Located on top of the pons, most importantly changing levels of arousal (attention), focuses attention when aroused, damage to the midbrain makes you unarousable
What structures of the brain are needed for basic evolutionary and survival functions?
Hindbrain and midbrain
Forebrain
The largest forebrains in all species, largest part of the brain
Thalamus
Information center of the brain, takes information coming and leaving the brain, communication, sensory information in, motor functions out
Limbic system
Hypothalamus, pituitary gland, hippocampus, and amygdala
Hypothalamus
Important part of the brain, controls and regulates: body temperature, sexual arousal, hunger, thirst, endocrine system (hormones). One of the most powerful structures in the brain
Pituitary gland
A small structure at the base of the brain which releases a wide variety hormones that, in turn, control the activity of the body’s other hormone glands, tied in with endocrine system
Hippocampus
Involved in the processing and storage of memories
Amygdala
Involved and how we process memories, more involved in volatile emotions like anger
Cerebral cortex
High order thinking, personality. Contains gray matter, glial cells, and fissures.
Gray matter
Densely packed neurons
Glial cells
Support brain cells
Fissures
Wrinkles in the brain
Lobes of the cerebral cortex
Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, Temporel lobe, and occipital lobe
Hemispheres of the brain
Contralateral control, left and right hemisphere
Left hemisphere
Logic and Sequential tasks
Right hemisphere
Spatial and creative tasks
Corpus Colossum
Connects the right and left hemisphere
Frontal lobe
Abstract thought and emotional control. Contains motor cortex and Broca’s area.
Motor cortex
Sends signals to our body controlling muscle movements
Broca’s area
Responsible for controlling muscles that produce speech, damage involves not being able to speak
Parietal lobe
Behind frontal lobe, contains sensory cortex and of most of the parietal lobe has association areas
Sensory cortex
Receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of the body
Association areas
Any area not associated with receiving sensory information or coordinating muscle movements
Occipital lobe
Deals with vision, processes visual information
Temporal lobe
Processes sound, interpreted in auditory cortex, not lateralized, contains Wernike’s area
Wernike’s area
Interprets written and spoken speech, damaged won’t be able to understand that language anymore
Brain plasticity
The idea that the brain, when damaged, will attempt to find new ways to reroute messages, children’s brains are more plastic than adults
