Psychology111 - Brain
•Description of the Brain:
weighs 1300 - 1400 g
•is the master control for the body
•it monitors and regulates the body's actions and reactions
•receives information from the senses about conditions outside and inside the body
•analyzes data and then sends messages to control body actions and functions
•Hindbrain
•Made up of:
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•Medulla Oblongata
•Narrow structure nearest the spinal cord
•Controls such as:
•Breathing
•Heart rate
•Blood pressure
•Pons
•Located just above the medulla
•Connects the top of the brain to the cerebellum
•Help maintain our sleep-wake cycle
Midbrain
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•Lies between the hindbrain and forebrain
•Crucial for hearing and sight
Forebrain
•Supported by the brain stem
•Consists of:
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•Thalamus
•Relays and translates incoming messages from the sense receptors - except those for smell
•Hypothalamus
•Governs motivation and emotions
•Play a role in coordinating the responses of the nervous system in times of stress
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•Cerebral Cortex
•Cerebrum’s outermost layer
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•Cerebral Hemispheres
•Located above the thalamus and hypothalamus
•Are what most people think of when they think of the brain
•Most recently evolved portion of the brain
•Regulate the most complex behavior
•Divided into four lobes:
•Optical Lobe
üLocated at the back of the head
üReceives and processes visual information
•Temporal Lobe
üLocated roughly behind the temples
üImportant to the sense of smell
üBalance and equilibrium
üEmotion and motivation
üSome language comprehension
üComplex visual processing
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•Parietal Lobe
üSits on top of the temporal and occipital lobes
üProcessing pain and touch sensation
üAssociated with:
•Cognition (calculating location and speed of objects)
•Movement
•Orientation
•Recognition
•Speech
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•Frontal Lobe
üPart of cerebral cortex
üGoal - directed behaviour
üConcentration
üEmotional control and temperament
üMotor projection and association areas
üCoordinates messages from other lobes
üComplex problem solving
üInvolved many aspect of personality
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•Encompasses structures that are critical for forming:
•Memories and experiencing pleasure, as well as
•Various motivational and emotional activities
Appears to play a central role in times of stress
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•Includes:
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•Hippocampus
üAll about memory and a little about learning
üPrimary role:
§Memory formation
§Classifying information
§Long-term memory
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•Amygdala
üHelps in storing and classifying emotionally charge memories
üProduce our emotions, especially fear
üTrigger responses to strong emotion such as:
§Sweaty palms
§Freezing
§Increased heart-beat/respiration
§Stress hormone release
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•Cerebral Cortex
üDivided into two hemisphere and are linked by:
•Corpus Callosum
•which they communicate and coordinate
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üRight Hemisphere
•Excels ate nonverbal and spatial tasks
•Controls the left side of the body
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üLeft Hemisphere
•Dominant in verbal tasks such as speaking and writing
•Controls the right side of the body
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Finally! Sorry sa delay! Oh, didn't include the brain facts. Too tiresome~