Chapter 6 Brain Flashcards
Somatic vs. autonomic and examples
Somatic: voluntary muscle movement, waving hand, blinking, shouting.
Autonomic: involuntary muscle movement, heart beating
What’s in the central nervous system
Brain and spinal cord
Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic
Sympathetic: expends energy (dealing with fight or flight)
Parasympathetic: conserve energy (recover from strenuous energy)
What are neurons?
Strands of long thin cells that messages travel to and from the brain
What are axons
Long fibers that carries impulses away from the cell body
What are dendrites
short, thin fibers which receives impulses from other neurons and send them to the cell body.
What’s the corpus callosum
Bridge between the two sides of the brain
What does the thalamus do
All sensory information besides smell
What’s the hypothalamus do
Controls hunger and thirst
What’s the pituitary gland do
“Master gland” controls the endocrine system and hormones
What do the pons do
Bridge between the spine and brain. Also works to produce sleeping chemicals
What does the medulla do
Controls involuntary actions such as heartbeat, breathing, and reflexes
What’s the cerebellum do
Helps control posture, balance, and coordination
What’s the primary motor cortex do
Controls movement
What does the frontal lobe do
Executive functions, thinking, planning, organizing, and problem solving
