part 3 Flashcards
(31 cards)
What is the medulla?
The hindbrain structure that is the brainstem’s base; controls heartbeat and breathing.
What is the thalamus?
The forebrain’s sensory control center, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.
What is the reticular formation?
A nerve network that travels through the brainstem into the thalamus; it filters information and plays an important role in controlling arousal.
What is the cerebellum?
The hindbrain’s ‘little brain’ at the rear of the brainstem; its functions include processing sensory input, coordinating movement output and balance, and enabling nonverbal learning and memory.
What is the limbic system?
Neural system located mostly in the forebrain — below the cerebral hemispheres — that includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, thalamus, and pituitary gland; associated with emotions and drives.
What is the amygdala?
Two lima-bean–sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.
What is the hypothalamus?
A limbic system neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; it directs several maintenance activities (eating, drinking, body temperature), helps govern the endocrine system, and is linked to emotion and reward.
What is the hippocampus?
A neural center in the limbic system that helps process explicit (conscious) memories — of facts and events — for storage.
What is the cerebral cortex?
The intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells covering the forebrain’s cerebral hemispheres; the body’s ultimate control and information-processing center.
What are the frontal lobes?
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead. They enable linguistic processing, muscle movements, higher-order thinking, and executive functioning (such as making plans and judgments).
What are the parietal lobes?
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the top of the head and toward the rear; it receives sensory input for touch and body position.
What are the occipital lobes?
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying at the back of the head; it includes areas that receive information from the visual fields.
What are the temporal lobes?
The portion of the cerebral cortex lying roughly above the ears; it includes the auditory areas, each of which receives information primarily from the opposite ear. They also enable language processing.
What is the motor cortex?
A cerebral cortex area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements.
What is the somatosensory cortex?
A cerebral cortex area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations.
What are association areas?
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are not involved in primary motor or sensory functions, but rather are involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking, and speaking.
What is neurogenesis?
The formation of new neurons.
What is the corpus callosum?
The large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them.
What is split brain?
A condition resulting from surgery that separates the brain’s two hemispheres by cutting the fibers (mainly those of the corpus callosum) connecting them.
What is consciousness?
Our subjective awareness of ourselves and our environment.
What is cognitive neuroscience?
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with cognition (thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating).
What is dual processing?
The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.
What is blindsight?
A condition in which a person can respond to a visual stimulus without consciously experiencing it.
What is parallel processing?
Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously.
