Biological Bases of Mental Life and Behaviour

Question 0

Hindbrain

Answer 0

The part of the brain above the spinal cord that includes the medulla, cerebellum and parts of the reticular formation. It links the brain to the spinal cord, sustains life by controlling the supply of air and blood to cells in the body, and regulates arousal level

Question 1

Spinal Cord

Answer 1

Sends information from sensory neurons in various parts of the body to the brain, and it relays motor commands back to muscles and organs via motor neurons

Question 2

Medulla Oblongata

Answer 2

The lowest brainstem structure, an extension of the spinal cord that links the cord to the brain. Controls vital physiological functions such as heartbeat, circulation and respiration

Question 3

Cerebellum

Answer 3

A large structure at the back of the brain involved in coordinating smooth, well-sequenced movements and in maintaining balance and posture. New research shows it to be involved in sensory and cognitive processes such as learning to associate one stimulus with another

Question 4

Reticular Formation

Answer 4

A diffuse network of neurons that extends from the lowest parts of the medulla in the hindbrain to the upper end of the midbrain, serving to maintain consciousness, regulate arousal levels, and modulate the activity of neurons throughout the central nervous system

Question 5

Midbrain

Answer 5

The section of the brain above the hindbrain involved in some auditory and visual functions, movement, and conscious arousal and activation

Question 6

Tectum

Answer 6

A midbrain structure involved in vision and hearing

Question 7

Tegmentum

Answer 7

Midbrain structure that includes a variety of neural structures, related mostly to movement and conscious arousal and activation

Question 8

Forebrain

Answer 8

Involved in complex sensory, emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes. It consists of the hypothalamus, thalamus and cerebrum.

Question 9

Subcortical Structures

Answer 9

Structures within the cerebrum, such as the basal ganglia and limbic system, which lie below the cortex

Question 10

Hypothalamus

Answer 10

The brain structure situated directly below the thalamus involved in the regulation of eating, sleeping, sexual activity, movement and emotion

Question 11

Thalamus

Answer 11

A structure located deep in the centre of the brain that acts as a relay station for sensory information, processing it and transmitting it to higher brain centres

Question 12

Limbic System

Answer 12

Subcortical structures responsible for emotional reactions, many motivational processes, learning and aspects of memory

Question 13

Amygdala

Answer 13

A brain structure associated with the expression of rage and fear and calculation of the emotional significance of a stimulus

Question 14

Hippocampus

Answer 14

A structure in the limbic system involved in the acquisition and consolidation of new information in memory

Question 15

Basal Ganglia

Answer 15

A set of structures located near the thalamus and hypothalamus involved in the control of movement and in judgments that require minimal conscious thought

Question 16

Cerebral Cortex

Answer 16

The many-layered surface of the cerebrum, which allows complex voluntary movements, permits subtle discriminations among complex sensory patterns and makes symbolic thinking possible

Question 17

Association Areas

Answer 17

The areas of cortex involved in putting together perceptions, ideas and plans

Question 18

Primary Areas

Answer 18

The areas of the cortex involved in sensory functions and in the direct control of motor movements

Question 19

Cerebral Hemispheres

Answer 19

The two halves of the cerebrum

Question 20

Corpus Callosum

Answer 20

A band of fibres that connects the two hemispheres of the brain

Question 21

Occipital Lobes

Answer 21

Brain structures located in the rear portion of the cortex, involved in vision

Question 22

Parietal Lobes

Answer 22

Brain structures located in front of the occipital lobes, involved in a number of functions, including sense of touch and the experience of ones own body in space and in movement

Question 23

Somatosensory Cortex

Answer 23

The primary area of the parietal lobes, located behind the central tissue, which receives sensory information from different sections of the body

Question 24

Frontal Lobes

Answer 24

Brain structures involved in coordination of movement, attention, planning, social skills, conscience, abstract thinking, memory and aspects of personality

Question 25

Motor Cortex

Answer 25

The primary zone of the frontal lobes responsible for control of motor behaviour

Question 26

Brocas Area

Answer 26

A brain structure located in the left frontal lobe at the base of the motor cortex, involved in the movements of the mouth and tongue necessary for speech production and in the use of grammar

Question 27

Temporal Lobes

Answer 27

Brain structures located in the lower side portion of the cortex that are important in audition (hearing) and language

Question 28

Wernickes Area

Answer 28

A brain structure located in the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension

Question 29

Lateralised

Answer 29

Localised to one or the other side of the brain

Question 30

Split Brain

Answer 30

The condition that results when the Corpus Callosum has been surgically cut, blocking communication between the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 31

Gene

Answer 31

The unit of hereditary transmission

Question 32

Chromosomes

Answer 32

Strands of DNA arranged in pairs

Question 33

Degree of Relatedness

Answer 33

The probability that two people share any particular gene

Question 34

Monozygotic Twins (MZ, or identical)

Answer 34

Twins identical in their genetic make-up, having developed from the Union of the same sperm and egg

Question 35

Dizygotic Twins (DZ, or fraternal)

Answer 35

Twins who, like other siblings, share only about half of their genes, having developed from the union of two sperm with two separate eggs

Question 36

Heritability Coefficient

Answer 36

The statistic that quantifies the degree to which a trait is heritable

Question 37

Heritability

Answer 37

The extent to which individual differences in phenotype are determined by genetic factors or genotype