Brain Structure

1. Brain Structure

2. Hindbrain • structures in the top part of the spinal cord, controls basic biological functions that keep us alive.

3. Medulla • controls blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing  

4. Pons • connects the hindbrain with the mid and forebrain, also involved in the control of facial expressions

5. Cerebellum • portion of the lower brain that coordinates and organizes bodily movements for balance and accuracy

6. Midbrain • between the hind and forebrain, coordinates simple movements with sensory information

7. Forebrain • controls what we think of as thought and reason

8. Thalamus • portion of the lower brain that functions primarily as a central relay station for incoming and outgoing messages from the body to the brain and the brain to the body

9. Hypothalamus • portion of the lower brain that regulates basic needs (hunger, thirst) and emotions such as pleasure, fear, rage, and sexuality

10. Amygdala and Hippocampus • two arms surrounding the thalamus, important in how we process and perceive memory and emotion

11. The limbic system • TheHypothalamus, Amygdala and Hippocampus- • are grouped together and called because they all deal with aspects of emotion and memory

12. Central nervous system • brain and spinal cord

13. Peripheral nervous system- • all other nerves 

14. Somatic nervous system- • controls voluntary movements

15. Autonomic nervous system- • controls involuntary movements

16. Sympathetic nervous system- • speeds things up • prepares body for fight or flight

17. Parasympathetic nervous system- • brings the body back to normal

18. Cerebral cortex- • covers the lower brain • controls mental processes such as thought

19. Frontal lobes • contains the motor strip and frontal association area  

20. Parietal lobes • area that contains the sensory strip

21. Occipital lobes • area that interprets visual information

22. Temporal lobes • area responsible for hearing and some speech functions

23. Hormones chemical regulators that control bodily processes such as: • emotional responses • growth • sexuality

24. Pituitary gland • the master gland of the body that activates other glands and controls the growth hormone

25. Thyroid gland • controls and regulates the speed of bodily processes called metabolism

26. Adrenal glands • glands that release the hormone that causes excitement in order to prepare the body for an emergency

27. Adrenaline • chemical that prepares the body for emergency activity by increasing blood pressure, breathing rate, and energy level

28. Absolute thresholds minimum stimulation necessary to detect a stimulus 50% of the time • candle flame from 30 mi • watch ticking from 20 ft • wing of a bee falling on check from height of ½ inch • single drop of perfume in three-room apartment • one teaspoon of sugar in two gallons of water

29. Signal detection theory • absolute thresholds vary depending on experience, motivation, expectation, alertness (sister hearing baby cry)

30. Subliminal • any signal below threshold (by definition you will detect it some % of time)

31. Difference threshold • the minimum difference that a person can detect between two stimuli

32. Weber’s law • to perceive a difference, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount)