Brainstem Functions and Instincts

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of the occipital lobe?

Hearing and sound recognition

Language comprehension

Visual processing (correct)

Visuospatial processing

What is the effect of damage to the right parietal lobe?

Unawareness of the left side (correct)

Loss of ability to read or write

Inability to understand spoken words

Difficulty recognizing parts of one's own body

What is the role of the temporal lobe in language?

Language comprehension (correct)

Visuospatial processing

Language production

Hearing and sound recognition

What is the effect of damage to the left temporal lobe?

Inability to understand spoken words Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the parietal lobe?

Visuospatial processing Signup and view all the answers

What is the effect of damage to the occipital lobe?

Affects the person's field of vision Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the brain stem?

To control the body's vital functions such as heart rate and breathing Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the brain is responsible for regulating motor activities and coordination?

Cerebellum Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of the hypothalamus?

To maintain the body's internal environment at optimal levels Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of the medulla?

To regulate vital bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary characteristic of the reptilian brain?

It is rigid and compulsive Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the brain is involved in the formation of emotional memories?

Amygdala Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the brain is responsible for recording memories of behaviors that produced agreeable and disagreeable experiences?

Limbic brain Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the limbic system?

To facilitate emotion and motivated behavior Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the thalamus in the brain?

To receive and transmit sensory information Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the pons?

To regulate sleep, arousal, and muscle tone Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the reticular formation?

To regulate sleep, arousal, and muscle tone Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the brain is responsible for human language and abstract thought?

Cerebral Cortex Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of the midbrain?

To process sensory information and guide motor movements, and to play a role in pain relief Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the hippocampus in the brain?

To form and store memories Signup and view all the answers

What is the outer covering of the cerebral hemispheres?

Cerebral Cortex Signup and view all the answers

What is a characteristic of the neocortex?

It is flexible and has almost infinite learning abilities Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of an injury to the right occipital lobe?

Loss of vision in the left field Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the left hemisphere of the brain?

Speech and verbal tasks Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the corpus callosum in the brain?

To connect the two hemispheres Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the ventral stream in the extrastriate cortex?

To determine the location of objects Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of damage to the Broca's area of the brain?

Disruption in one's ability to speak Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the Wernicke's area of the brain?

To understand speech Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of Electroencephalography (EEG) in research on the brain?

To measure the electrical activity of the brain Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between the left and right hemispheres of the brain?

The left hemisphere is specialized for speech and verbal tasks, while the right hemisphere is specialized for motor movement and emotion Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of an injury to the right hemisphere of the brain?

Loss of motor movement and emotion Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of Computerized Tomography (CT) in research on the brain?

To study the structure of the brain Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of Wernicke's area in the brain?

Understanding language comprehension Signup and view all the answers

What happens when only Wernicke's area is damaged?

Individuals have pure word deafness Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex in the brain?

Controlling higher mental processes Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which the fertilized egg multiplies and restores the full number of chromosomes in each cell?

Mitosis Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the biologically determined characteristics passed from parents to their offspring?

Heredity Signup and view all the answers

What is the substance that serves as the basic unit of heredity?

DNA Signup and view all the answers

What is the result of the sperm joining with the female's chromosomes during fertilization?

46 chromosomes Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a disease caused by genes impacting the chemicals in the brain?

Huntington's disease Signup and view all the answers

What is the process by which information enters the brain and is processed simultaneously at several points?

Parallel processing Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the flow of information from the sensory association areas to the posterior language area and then to Broca's area?

Speech production Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

The Brain and Its Functions

The most powerful and oldest of our coping brain functions is the reptilian brain, which controls the body's vital functions and includes the brainstem and the cerebellum.
The brainstem regulates the bodily processes and consists of the medulla, pons, and reticular formation.
The cerebellum is concerned with the regulation of motor activities and damage to this area results in jerky, poorly coordinated muscle functioning.

The Midbrain and the Limbic Brain

The midbrain contains an extension of the reticular activating system and primitive centers concerned with vision and hearing.
The limbic brain emerged in the first mammals and is responsible for recording memories of behaviors that produced agreeable and disagreeable experiences, thus responsible for emotions.
The main structures of the limbic brain are the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the hypothalamus.

The Hypothalamus and the Thalamus

The hypothalamus influences reactions ranging from sweating and salivating to shedding tears and changes in blood pressure and plays a vital role in maintaining the body's internal environment at optimal levels.
The thalamus is the "great relay station" and receives input from all senses except olfaction, performs some preliminary analyses, and then transmits information to other parts of the brain.

The Neocortex

The neocortex first assumed importance in primates and culminated in the human brain with its two large cerebral hemispheres that play a dominant role.
The cerebral hemispheres are responsible for the development of human language, abstract thought, imagination, and consciousness.
The neocortex is flexible and has almost infinite learning abilities and has enabled human cultures to develop.

The Cerebral Cortex

The cerebral cortex is the outer covering of the cerebral hemispheres and is responsible for the development of human language, abstract thought, imagination, and consciousness.
Portions of the parietal lobe are involved with visuospatial processing, and damage to this area produces a number of effects depending on whether it is damage to the right or left hemisphere.

The Temporal Lobe

The temporal lobe plays a key role in hearing and contains a sensory area that receives input from the ears.
The temporal lobe also plays a role in language comprehension, and damage to this area results in inability to understand spoken words.

The Occipital Lobe

The primary function of the occipital lobe is visual, and it contains sensory areas that receive input from the eyes.
Damage to this area affects the person's field of vision, and objects in a particular location can't be seen, but the rest of the visual field may be unaffected.

The Hemispheres

The two hemispheres of the brain show a considerable degree of lateralization of function, with each specializing in the performance of somewhat different tasks.
The left hemisphere is the verbal hemisphere, specialized for speech and other verbal tasks, while the right hemisphere specializes in the control of certain motor movements and in the comprehension and communication of emotion.

Research on the Hemispheres

Scientists gain knowledge of the functions of the hemispheres through studies of individuals whose hemispheres have been isolated due to accidents or surgery for medical reasons.
They also gain knowledge from studying individuals in whom the two hemispheres are connected in the normal way.
The corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres and enables corresponding regions of the left and right cerebral hemispheres to communicate.

The Brain and Visual Perception

Human beings are visual creatures, and we can recognize a number of objects and use this information to react to these objects.
We possess specialized cells that are equipped for analyzing different aspects of the visual world.
The information from our eyes arrives at the extrastriate cortex and then divides into two separate streams: the ventral and the dorsal.

The Brain and Speech

The integration of different regions in the brain allows us to produce and understand speech.
The Broca's area is crucial for speech production, and damage to this area results in disruption in one's ability to speak.
The Wernicke's area is responsible for understanding what others are saying, and damage to this area produces three major symptoms: inability to recognize sounds, inability to understand the meaning of words, and inability to convert thoughts into words.

The Brain and Higher Mental Processes

The brain controls reasoning, problem-solving, planning, and all other higher mental processes.
The prefrontal cortex plays a key role in reasoning and other higher mental functions.
Information that enters the brain is processed simultaneously at several points in the brain, and when a complex task enters the brain, it is broken down into several parts and is then processed by different modules of the brain.

Heredity

Heredity is defined as the biologically determined characteristics passed from parents to their offspring.
The information of every cell in the body is found in the chromosomes, which contain genetic material called DNA.
When the sperm and egg cells combine, the genetic material from the male and female combines to form a new cell with 46 chromosomes.

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Description

This quiz covers the oldest and most powerful part of our brain, responsible for coping mechanisms, vital functions, and reptilian brain structures.