Unit 3 - The Brain

Question 1

Lesion

Answer 1

Tissue destruction; a brain lesion is a aturally or experimentally caused destruction of brain tissue.

Question 2

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

Answer 2

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain’s surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Question 3

Brainstem

Answer 3

The oldest part and central core of the brain; beginning where the spinal cord swells as it enters the skull; the brainstem is responsible for automatic survival functions.

Question 4

Medulla

Answer 4

The base of the brainstem; controls heartbeat and breathing.

Question 5

Reticular Formation

Answer 5

A nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.

Question 6

Thalamus

Answer 6

The brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.

Question 7

Limbic System

Answer 7

Doughnut-shaped neural system (including the hippocampus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with emotions and drives.

Question 8

Amygdala

Answer 8

Two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.

Question 9

Hypothalamus

Answer 9

A neural structure lying below the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion and reward.

Question 10

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 10

The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information processing center.

Question 11

Glial cells

Answer 11

Cells in the nervous system that support, nourish, and protect neurons.

Question 12

Frontal lobes

Answer 12

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments.

Question 13

Parietal lobes

Answer 13

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; receives sensory input for touch and body position.

Question 14

Occipital lobes

Answer 14

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.

Question 15

Temporal lobes

Answer 15

Portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears, includes the auditory areas, each receiving information primarily from the opposite ear.

Question 16

Motor Cortex

Answer 16

An area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.

Question 17

Sensory Cortex

Answer 17

Area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.

Question 18

Association Areas

Answer 18

Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions; rather, they are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.

Question 19

Aphasia

Answer 19

Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).

Question 20

Broca’s area

Answer 20

Controls language expression - an area, usually in the left frontal lobe, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Question 21

Wernicke’s area

Answer 21

Controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression, usually in the left temporal lobe.

Question 22

Plasticity

Answer 22

The brain’s ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience.

Question 23

Neurogenesis

Answer 23

The formation of new neurons.

Question 24

Corpus Callosum

Answer 24

The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.

Question 25

Split brain

Answer 25

A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them.

Question 26

Cognitive Neuroscience

Answer 26

The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (including perception, thinking, memory, and language.)