The Brain (Unit 2) Flashcards
Hippocrates
recognized that people’s injuries to the head altered their thoughts and actions
(the brain is the center of human functioning)
Phineas Gage (1848)
dynamite hit him in the head and he didn’t die
electroencephalogram (EEG)
records electric activity in the brain using electrodes
Stimulation
Areas of the brain can be stimulated electrically, chemically, or magnetically to observe outcome
Lesions
cut tiny parts of an animal’s brain to observe the resulting behavior
CT scans
computed tomography
PET scans
use radioactive glucose injections
MRI
(magnetic resonance imaging) shows soft brain tissue
fMRI
(functional MRI) shows brain activity
Hindbrain
reptilian or old brain; basic homeostatic function
Midbrain
mammalian brain; contains the limbic system, regulates appetite and sex drive
Forebrain
Also called the human or new brain; processes information from the external world
The Primitive Brain
The brainstem is the oldest part of the brain from the swelling spinal cord to its entry into the skull; responsible for automatic survival functions
Medulla
controls breathing, heart rate, and some of the body’s reflexes
Pons
Serves as a bridge between the brain and the spinal cord, produces chemicals the body’s need for sleep
reticular formation
in brainstem (extending from spinal cord to thalamus); filters out irrelevant stimuli to conserve energy;
thalamus
on top of brainstem; directs messages to sensory areas in cortex and transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla
Cerebellum
controls posture, balance, coordinates voluntary movements; role in memory, regulating emotions, and processing environment
The Limbic System
system of neural structures; at border of brainstem and cerebrum; associated with emotions like fear, aggression, drives for food and sex
Amygdala
controls violent emotions such as rage and fear
Hippocampus
forms memories, damage may cause amnesia
Hypothalamus
keeps body at homeostasis by regulating hunger, thirst, sexual behavior; controls “fight or flight” response
The Forebrain
associated with thinking and memory; 80% of brain’s weight
Cerebral Cortex
1/4 thick outer which allows us to learn and store complex info., read, and make projections
Cerebrum
largest part of brain containing frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobe
frontal
thinking, personality
parietal
body sensations
occipital
vision
temporal lobe
hearing, smell, vision
Epilepsy
central nervous system disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal, causing seizures
Seizures
from simply staring blankly for a few seconds to a complete loss of consciousness and violent convulsions
Division of labor
called lateralization or hemispheric specialization
how are the two hemispheres connected?
by the corpus callosum; information is shared and processed by both sides of the brain
left brain functions
right side of body control, math, and science skills. written and spoken language, objectivity, analytical, logic, reasoning
right brain functions
left side of body control, 3D shapes, music, art, intuition, creativity, subjectivity, synthesizing, Emotion, Face recognition
The Split Brain Operation
disrupt the major pathway between the brain hemispheres, but leave each hemisphere functioning almost completely independently; prevents seizures from spreading from one hemisphere to another; by Micheal Gazzniga and Roger Sperry; affects reading and speaking coordination
cognitive neuroscience
attempts to understand the divide between our conscious interpretation and automatic perception of external stimuli
parallel or dual processing
filtering simultaneously occurring events into our cognitive awareness or automatic perception
Behavioral genetics
studies how individual differences arise through the interaction of genes and the environment
Twin studies
compare the rates that a given behavioral trait is shared among identical and fraternal twins
Adoption studies
compare those rates among biologically related relatives and adopted relatives
Chromosomes
Long strands containing DNA situated in the nucleus of a cell
Genes
Pieces of DNA inside each cell that tell the cell what to do
Genome
The set of complete instructions for making an organism, containing all the genes in that organism
The ultimate question about adoption studies
How much of an effect does parenting have?
Temperament Studies
a person’s stable emotional reactivity and intensity. Identical twins express similar temperaments, suggesting heredity predisposes temperament
Heritability
the extent to which the differences among people are attributable to genes; % of the variability in a population due to genetics
Genes and how they work
can influence traits that affect response; the environment can affect gene activity; stressful environment can trigger genes to manufacture neurotransmitters leading to depression
Molecular Genetics
tries to identify genes that put people at risk for disorders; helps parents decide whether to abort or not
