U1 (AP) 1.4-1.6 Flashcards
medulla
involved in autonomic functions (heart rate, breathing, blood pressure) and some reflexes (swallowing, vomiting, sneezing)
pons
connects the brainstem and cerebellum, involved in movement and sleep.
reticular formation
responsible for control of arousal and attention for survival
midbrain
area between the hindbrain and forebrain and coordinates various muscle movements as well as sensory(auditory and visual) information.
thalamus
responsible for receiving sensory signals coming from the spinal cord and sending it to the corresponding parts of the forebrain.
hypothalamus
responsible for motivation for survival (eating enough), sexual motivation, and the fight or flight response.
amygdala
involved in intense emotions mostly anger aggression and fear. Also responsible for “flashbulb” or emotionally intense memories.
hippocampus
+ which two conditions is it linked to (diseases)
responsible for converting short-term memories into long-term memories. all memories that are encoded MUST go through this area first because researchers know that damage to this area interferes with memory encoding and learning.
(disruption causes anterograde amnesia and possibly Alzheimer’s)
frontal lobe
front part of our brain, contains the prefrontal cortex and the motor cortex. ALSO Broca’s area but ONLY ON LEFT frontal lobe. Usually.
prefrontal cortex
+ damage consequences?
responsible for thinking, judgment, problem-solving, emotional and impulse control
damage to this area may cause lack of impulse control and problems with judgment and thinking (ex. Phineas Gage)
motor cortex
controls our voluntary movements by controlling our muscles. Is contralateral, meaning the motor cortex on the left HS controls the right side of our body and vice versa.
+ more diverse and precise areas get more tissue in this area.
parietal lobe
top of our head. contains the somatosensory cortex.
somatosensory cortex
registers our sense of touch and body position. contralateral: left somatosensory cortex controls right side of the body and vice versa.
+ more diverse and precise areas of the body get more tissue in this area.
occipital lobe
back of our head. contains the visual cortex, is responsible for the sense of vision. damage here may cause blindness.
visual cortex
sense of vision: left half of each retina is processed by the left visual cortex and right half of each retina is processed by the right VC.
temporal lobe
contains the primary auditory cortex and the auditory association cortex. Responsible for hearing and understanding language! (contains Wernicke’s area, usually only on the LEFT temp.lobe.)
primary auditory cortex
sense of hearing. not lateralized, one side is processed by both cortices on both sides (L+R)
auditory association cortex
distinguishing between sounds
(also not lateralized like the primary auditory cortex)
Broca’s Area
named after paul broca.
responsible for speech articulation. (expressing yourself) bc it controls the muscles used in speech. Damage to this area may cause Broca’s aphasia which is inability to speak properly.
wernicke’s area
responsible for understanding and comprehending language.
contralateral hemispheric organization
the idea that each side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body.
hemispheric specialization/brain lateralization
specialization of function of each hemisphere
left: logical, analytical
right: spatial, creative
association area
any area in the cerebral cortex that is not associated with receiving sensory information or controlling muscle movements. instead, they might be resonsible for higher order functions like abstract thinking, humor and judgment.
cerebral cortex
thin layer of interconnected neurons covering the hemispheres of the brain. It is the brain’s ultimate control and information processing center.
