The Brain

The Brain

The Brain

• Made up of neurons and glial cells
• Glial cells support neural cells
• Lesions- Cutting into the brain and looking for change; Brain tumors also lesion brain tissue
• Three Parts: Hindbrain, Midbrain, Forebrain
• Brain Structures:
• Medulla Oblongata
• Heart Rate
• Breathing
• Blood Pressure
• Pons
• Connects hindbrain, midbrain and forebrain together
• Involved in facial expressions
• Cerebellum
• Located in the back of our head-means little brain
• Coordinates muscle movements
• Like tracking a target
• Midbrain
• Coordinates simple movements with sensory information
• Contains the reticular formation: arousal and ability to focus attention
• Thalamus
• In Forebrain
• Receives sensory information and sends them to appropriate areas of forebrain
• Like a switchboard
• Covers everything but smell
• Limbic System
• Emotional control center
• Made up of three parts:
• Hypothalamus
• Pea sized in brain, but plays an important role
• Controls: Body Temperature, Hunger, Thirst, Sexual Arousal (libido)
• Endocrine System
• Amygdala
• Vital for our basic emotions
• Hippocampus
• Involved in memory processing
• Cerebral Cortex
• Top layer of our brain
• Contains wrinkles called fissures
• The fissures increase surface area of our brain
• Laid out it would be about the size of a large pizza
• Brain Hemispheres:
• Divided into a left and right hemisphere
• Contralateral controlled- left controls right side of body and vice versa
• Brain Lateralization
• Lefties are better at spatial and creative tasks
• Righties are better at logic
• Split-Brain Patients
• Corpus Collosum attaches the two hemispheres of cerebral cortex
• When removed you have a split-brain patient
• Cerebral Cortex is Made up of four lobes:
• Frontal Lobes
• Abstract thought and emotional control
• Contains Motor Cortex- sends signals to our body controlling muscle movements
• Contains Broca’s Area- responsible for controlling muscles that produce speech
• Damage to Broca’s Area is called Broca’s Aphasia- unable to make movements to talk
• Parietal Lobes
• Contains Sensory Cortex- receives incoming touch sensations from the rest of the body
• Most of the Parietal Lobes are made up of Association Areas
• Association Areas
• Any area not associated with receiving sensory information or coordinating muscle movements
• Occipital Lobes
• Deals with vision
• Contains Visual Cortex- interprets messages from our eyes into images we can understand
• Temporal Lobes
• Process sound sensed by our ears
• Interpreted in Auditory Cortex
• Not Lateralized
• Contains Wernike’s Area- Interprets written and spoken speech
• Wernike’s Aphasia- Unable to understand language; the syntax and grammar jumbled