psychology- chapter 5 - the brain
Terms
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- What is a lesion?
- something that destroys brain cells
- What is clinical observation?
- oldest method, brain bank- Boston- 3000 brains- "normal"/injured/diseased individuals
- How do you manipulate the brain?
- researchers stimulate different areas of the brain by destroying brain cells in different areas- to see the effects on behavior
- Electroencephalogram
- or EEG o Hans Berger o Flat electrodes- head o Wires- machine- translate electrical activity- lines o Lines- brainwaves- info- strength, rhythm- neural activities
- What is a positron emission tomography scan and what does it measure?
- o Radioactive energy- maps brain activity o Injection of radioactive glucose o Brain structures active- absorption of injection o Glucose decays- gamma rays o Where gamma rays from- brain most active
- What is a MRI and how does it work?
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Brain- detailed picture Head surrounded- magnetic field Brain exposed- radio waves- disrupts spinning atoms When atoms- normal spinning- release energy- highly concentrated
- What is a fMRI?
- Reveals blood flow- brain activity Reveals info- compared to MRI’s Example- two brains associated with lying Left prefrontal cortex Anterior cingulated cortex
- What is the Brain stem and what is its function?
- o Hind brain- brain meets spinal cord o Earliest part to evolve- “Life support Systemâ€
- What is the part of the brain that regulates heart rate, breathing, digestion, and blood pressure?
- Medulla Oblongata o Located above brain stem o Point- nerves- cross each other- higher brain centers
- What part of the brain controls facial expressions, maintains sleep wake cycles, and helps with movement coordination?
- the pons o Located above medulla o Connects brainstem- rest of brain o Produces chemicals- maintains sleep wake cycles o Control facial expressions o Linked with rest of brain and is part of movement coordination
- What part of the brain controls arousal and alertness?
- the reticular formation o Between ears o Attaches spinal cord and hypothalamus o Receives incoming message- alert signals- higher parts of brain o Sleep – turned down
- What is the egg shaped "relay station"?
- the thalamus, o Relays info- appropriate areas- brain- neural projections- brain- neural projections
- What part of the brain is called little brain and coordinates voluntary output body movements?
- the cerebellum o Little brain- maintain balance and posture o Coordinates voluntary output body movements o Damage: dizziness, slurred speech, loss of balance
- What is the limbic systems job or associated with?
- o Doughnut shaped- located- brainstem, cerebral hemispheres o Associated- emotions, motives, memories hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, septum
- What is the hippocampus' job and what happens when you damage it?
- o Learning, memory formation, and defensive/aggressive behavior o Damage= anterograde amnesia
- What structure of the limbic system controls emotions?
- amygdala o 2 lima bean-like structures o Emotional reactions (crying, aggression, fear)
- Where is the pleasure center located in the brain and damage to this area causes what?
- septum. o Pleasure center o Inhibits aggression o Damage: septal rage
- What is the hypothalamus' job?
- o Controls body temperature, libido, hunger, thirst, emotions, endocrine system
- What parts of the brain has wrinkles and is separated into a right and left hemisphere?
- cerebral cortex o Interconnected neural cells- covers- 2 hemispheres of brain o Most recently evolved o 2-3 ft spread out- made up of convolutions- wrinkles o Right and left hemisphere- deep cleft- from front to back
- How many lobes does the cerebral cortex have and what percent of the brain's weight does it contribute?
- o 80% of brain’s weight o 20-23 billion nerve cells- glial cells o 4 lobes- separated by fissures- folds that separate different lobes
- What part of the brain receives and coordinates info from other lobes?
- Frontal lobe Behind forehead o Receives, coordinates info from other lobes
- What part of the brain lies above the occipital and temporal lobes and holds primary somatosensory cortex?
- parietal lobe o Top of occipital and temporal lobes o Behind frontal lobe o Sensory information from all body o Holds primary somatosensory cortex
- What does the occipital lobe process ?
- o Receives, processes visual info- back of hemispheres- sight
- What is the temporal lobes job and what does it hold?
- o Above ears- front of occipital lobe o Regulates hearing, ability to understand language, memory processing, balance, equilibrium o Holds auditory cortex o Hearing
- What is the motor cortex?
-  Arc shaped  Behind frontal lobes- runs across brain- ear to ear  Parts of region stimulated- one hemisphere- opposite side- body respond
- What does the sensory cortex do?
-  Incoming sensory signals- touch, pressure, temp, pain- registered- primary somatosensory cortex
- What does association areas help us do and where are they located?
- o Learning, remembering, thinking, speaking o Associate sensory info- stored memories o Found in all four lobes
- What are disorders that stem from damage to association areas?
-  Apraxia- organizing bodily movements  Agnosia- hard time registering sensory input  Alexia- can’t read
- What is a language impairment called and what hemisphere is damaged?
- o Aphasia- impairment- language- damage- left hemisphere of brain
- What association area control language expression?
- Broca's area o Paul Broca o Control expression of language o Expressive- important- controlling muscles- speech
- What is Wernike's area and who found it?
- o Carl Wernike o Controls language reception o Area- understand spoken language o Damage- difficulty comprehending language o Receptive
- What receives info from visual field and recodes it to auditory code?
- the angular gyrus o Helps us to read out loud o Receives info- visual field- recodes- auditory o Code- Wernike’s area- meaning
- What is Geschwind?
- - how we can use language o When we read out loud  Words registered- visual field  Words-Angular Gyrus- transformed- auditory code  Code sent to, understood- Wernike’s area  Meanings- Broca’s area  Pronounces words with motor cortex and Broca’s area together
- Describe plasticity and its usefulness to blind and deaf people.
- o Brain ability- modify/change itself o Most plasticity- young children o Most useful- deaf or blind  Blindness • Certain fingers- read Braille- area of brain association with fingers grows- sense of touch moving- visual cortex  Deafness • Temporal lobe waiting- auditory stimulation- looks for signals- process
- What does the left hemisphere of the brain specialize in?
-  reading, writing, math, reasoning, understanding
- What does the right hemisphere of the brain specialize in?
-  vision, emotion
- What does the corpus callosum and what is its function?
- o work- contrilateral fashion - hemispheres connected
- What did the psychologists Vogel and Bogen find out when they cut the Corpus Callosum in humans with epileptic seizures?
- o Vogel and Bogen  Research on epileptic seizures- overabundance- brain activity- hemispheres  Cut corpus callosum- usually successful  2 hemispheres functionally isolated- no communication • Left hemisphere- right side of body and visual field • Right hemisphere- info- left side of body visual field
- In a split-brain patient what side of the brain does what?
- o Performing perceptual task- increased activity- right hemisphere o Speaking doing math- increased activity- left hemisphere
- What are the percentages of people in the world that are right and that are left? Which sex is more likely to have the least common condition?
- o 90% people- right handed- left handed- 10%  More males are left handed o Handedness develops before cultures has any influence  9 out of 10 fetuses sucking right thumb o Left handedness more common- musicians, mathematicians, architects, artists o Percent of left handers go down as we age o Cultural influences