Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the main function of the Broca's area?
What is the main function of the Broca's area?
Which brain structure is primarily responsible for conscious memory formation?
Which brain structure is primarily responsible for conscious memory formation?
What major function is associated with the cerebellum?
What major function is associated with the cerebellum?
Which part of the brain is responsible for processing auditory information?
Which part of the brain is responsible for processing auditory information?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary role of the thalamus in the brain?
What is the primary role of the thalamus in the brain?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary function of dendrites in a neuron?
What is the primary function of dendrites in a neuron?
Signup and view all the answers
Which component of a neuron is responsible for transmitting information away from the cell body?
Which component of a neuron is responsible for transmitting information away from the cell body?
Signup and view all the answers
What happens during reuptake in the context of neurotransmitters?
What happens during reuptake in the context of neurotransmitters?
Signup and view all the answers
Which structure is specialized to recognize specific neurotransmitters?
Which structure is specialized to recognize specific neurotransmitters?
Signup and view all the answers
What is a common misconception about brain usage related to the '10% myth'?
What is a common misconception about brain usage related to the '10% myth'?
Signup and view all the answers
What is the primary function of different brain regions?
What is the primary function of different brain regions?
Signup and view all the answers
Which part of the brain connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres?
Which part of the brain connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres?
Signup and view all the answers
What is NOT a function of the cerebral cortex?
What is NOT a function of the cerebral cortex?
Signup and view all the answers
What defines the folds and grooves in a healthy human brain?
What defines the folds and grooves in a healthy human brain?
Signup and view all the answers
What does the right hemisphere primarily rely on compared to the left hemisphere?
What does the right hemisphere primarily rely on compared to the left hemisphere?
Signup and view all the answers
What primarily causes the permanent loss of certain brain functions?
What primarily causes the permanent loss of certain brain functions?
Signup and view all the answers
Which of the following statements is correct about the cerebral hemispheres?
Which of the following statements is correct about the cerebral hemispheres?
Signup and view all the answers
How do neuroimaging studies contribute to our understanding of brain functions?
How do neuroimaging studies contribute to our understanding of brain functions?
Signup and view all the answers
Study Notes
Brain Activity
- All regions of the brain become active on brain scans.
- This occurs during various activities, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.
- Small brain region loss can cause permanent function loss or subtle behavior changes.
Brain Structure
- Different brain regions serve different functions.
- These regions interact with one another to generate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
- The brain is a complex network of interconnected circuits.
Cerebral Cortex
- The largest part of the brain.
- It contains gyri (folds) and sulci (grooves).
- These folds and grooves are not random and are present in every healthy human brain.
- The cerebral cortex analyzes sensory information and performs higher brain functions.
Cerebral Hemispheres
- The brain has two hemispheres: right and left.
- The corpus callosum, a large bundle of fibers, connects the two hemispheres.
- Some cognitive functions rely more heavily on one hemisphere than the other.
- The brain generates a many axons for movement.
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
- The cerebral cortex contains four lobes:
-
Frontal lobe: Responsible for thinking, language, and voluntary movement.
- Prefrontal cortex: Responsible for higher-order processes like decision-making and thinking.
- Broca's area: Responsible for speech production.
-
Parietal lobe: Responsible for sensory information, spatial awareness, and attention.
- Damage to the parietal lobe can lead to neglect of the contralateral side of the body, meaning if a disaster happens on the left side of the body, there's neglect on the right.
-
Temporal Lobe: Responsible for hearing, understanding language, and memory.
- Contains the auditory cortex.
- Occipital lobe: Processes visual information.
-
Frontal lobe: Responsible for thinking, language, and voluntary movement.
Subcortex
- The subcortex contains several structures, including:
- Thalamus: A sensory relay station to the cerebral cortex.
- Hypothalamus: Regulates basic drives like hunger, thirst, and body temperature.
- Hippocampus: Responsible for forming new conscious memories of facts (for example, making a map in your head, a mother's birthdate).
- Amygdala: Processes emotions, especially fear and aggression.
- Basal ganglia: Responsible for movement control, planning, and reward processing.
Cerebellum
- Located at the back of the brain.
- Controls balance, coordination, and motor skills.
- Plays a role in learning and memory.
Brainstem
- Connects the brain to the spinal cord.
- Controls essential bodily functions, including heart rate, breathing, and sleep.
- Consists of three parts:
- Midbrain: Involved in movement, auditory and visual processing, and reward pathways.
- Pons: Plays a role in sleep, breathing, and sensory information relay.
- Medulla: Controls breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.
Gray Matter and White Matter
-
Gray Matter is found in the cerebral cortex.
- Contains cell bodies and dendrites of neurons.
- Appears darker.
-
White Matter is found beneath the gray matter
- Made up of myelinated axons that connect different brain regions.
- Appears lighter due to the fatty myelin sheath.
Brain Protection
- The skull provides a hard outer layer of protection.
-
The meninges, three layers of membrane, provide further protection and cushioning.
- Dura mater(outermost)
- Arachnoid mater(middle)
- Pia mater (innermost)
Neuroplasticity
- The brain's ability to change and adapt throughout life.
- This can occur through:
- Synaptogenesis The formation of new synapses between neurons.
- Pruning: The elimination of unused synapses.
- Myelination: The insulation of axons by myelin sheaths.
- Neurogenesis: The generation of new neurons.
Neuroimaging Techniques
-
MRI Scans : Uses magnetic fields and radio waves to create detailed images of the brain.
- Allow researchers to visualize the structure of the brain and identify abnormalities.
-
fMRI Scans : Measure brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow.
- Can identify areas of the brain that are active during specific tasks or experiences.
-
PET Scans: A radioactive substance is injected into the body.
- The substance travels to the brain and allows researchers to measure brain activity.
- Disadvantages: Invasive procedure, less frequently used.
Brain Stimulation Techniques
-
TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation): Uses magnetic pulses to stimulate or inhibit specific brain regions.
- This allows researchers to study the role of different brain areas in cognition, behavior, and mood.
Behavioral Genetics
- The study of how genes and the environment influence behavior.
- Heritability: The proportion of variation in a trait that is due to genetic factors.
- Phenotypic variance: The observable differences in a trait among individuals.
Behavioral Genetics Methods
- Family studies: Compare the traits of family members to see how closely related they are.
-
Twin studies: Compare the traits of identical and fraternal twins to examine the relative contributions of genes and environment.
- Identical twins share 100% of their genes.
- Fraternal twins share 50% of their genes.
- Adoption studies: Compare the traits of adopted children to their biological and adoptive parents to tease apart genetic and environmental influences.
PSY - wk #4: Biological Psychology
- Neuroscientists study the relationships between behavior and the brain.
- Neuroimaging procedures are used to take pictures of the brain.
Brief Intro to the Brain
- Neurons are nerve cells specialized for communication.
- There are approximately 86 billion neurons in the brain.
- Intercellular communication: Each neuron makes tens of thousands of connections with other neurons.
- This results in approximately 160 trillion connections in the brain.
Neuron Structure
-
Cell Body (Soma): Contains the nucleus.
- Nucleus manufactures proteins.
- Dendrites: Receive information from other neurons and pass it to the cell body.
- Axon: Sends information to other neurons.
Steps of Signal Transmission
- Synaptic Transmission: Information travels through the axon to reach the axon terminal.
-
Action potential: An electrical signal travels along the axon, triggering the release of neurotransmitters from synaptic vesicles.
- Synaptic Vesicles: Spherical sacs containing chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that neurons use to communicate.
-
Synapse: Neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal into a gap between neurons, where they are received by receptors on the dendrites of nearby neurons.
- Reuptake: Some neurotransmitters are reabsorbed by the presynaptic neuron, recycling them for future use.
- Receptor Sites: Specialized locations on the dendrites that recognize and bind to specific neurotransmitters.
Neurotransmitters
- Acetylcholine: Involved in muscle movement, learning, and memory.
- Dopamine: Involved in mood, pleasure, attention, and movement.
- Serotonin: Involved in mood, sleep, appetite, and aggression.
- Norepinephrine: Involved in arousal, alertness, and stress response.
- GABA: The primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, calming neural activity.
- Glutamate: The primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, activating neural activity.
Myelin Sheath
- A fatty substance that insulates axons.
- Increases the speed of signal transmission.
- Damaged myelin can lead to neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.
The 10% Myth
- It's a common myth that humans only use 10% of their brains.
- Neuroimaging scans show that all regions of the brain are active at some point.
Studying That Suits You
Use AI to generate personalized quizzes and flashcards to suit your learning preferences.
Related Documents
Description
Explore the intricate structure and functions of the brain in this quiz. Learn how different regions interact and the role of the cerebral cortex and hemispheres in cognitive processes. Test your knowledge on how brain activity influences thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
