The Brain Flashcards
(26 cards)
Brain Lesion
Experimentally destroys brain tissue to study behaviors after such destruction.
Usually, lesions are done for scientific or medicinal purposes.
Brain Scans - Electroencephalogram
An amplified recording of the electrical waves sweeping
across the brain’s surface, measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.
Brain Scans - MRI Scan ((magnetic resonance imaging)
uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images that distinguish among different types of brain tissue.
Brain Scans - fMRI Scan
Measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. The patient interacts with information during the scan to show that activity.
Brain Scans - PET Scan (Positron Emission Tomography)
A process that’s used to observe metabolic processes in the body and brain. The patient ingests a radioactive form of glucose, PET then takes pictures of it being used in the body/brain.
Brain Scans - CAT (CT) Scan (Computerized Tomography)
Combines a series of X-ray images to allow taken from
different angles, that create cross-sectional images of the body (bone) and brain.
Limbic System
A set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the temporal lobe, which controls emotion, behavior, motivation, learning, and memory.
Cerebral Cortex vs. Cerebrum
The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the cerebrum and the most prominent part of the brain.
The Cerebral cortex is made up of gray matter that covers the inner white matter of the cerebrum.
The Cerebral cortex is responsible for most of the sophisticated information processing of the brain
Frontal Lobe (Also called the prefrontal cortex)
Controls functions like:
- judgment
- planning
- producing speech sounds
- emotions (controlling them)
- personality
- temperament
- movement (motor cortex)
- Works w/the motor
cortex to make precise
movements
Frontal Lobe (Also called the prefrontal cortex)
Controls functions like:
- judgment
- planning
- producing speech sounds
- emotions (controlling them)
- personality
- temperament
- movement (motor cortex)
- Works w/the motor cortex to make precise movements
Motor Cortex
- Located at the back of the frontal lobe, largely responsible for voluntary movement of parts of the body.
- If parts of the motor cortex are stimulated,
corresponding parts of the body will move. - movements that are precise or delicate are
controlled by considerably larger portions of the
motor cortex
Homunculus
Given the proportionality of body parts to space in each
cortex, a homunculus is what the body would look like if it were proportionate to the space taken up in each cortex.
Parietal Lobe
Controls functions like:
- body position
- spatial reasoning like
- touch
- pressure
- temperature
- pain
- somatosensory cortex
Parietal Lobe
Controls functions like:
- body position
- spatial reasoning like
- touch
- pressure
- temperature
- pain
- somatosensory cortex
Sensory Cortex
- Located at the front of the parietal lobe, largely responsible for perceiving touch and pressure on
parts of the body. - If a part of the sensory cortex is stimulated, it
would cause the person to “feel” pressure on
the corresponding part of the body. - The more sensitive the area, the more surface
area of the cortex dedicated to it.
Temporal Lobe
Controls functions like:
- hearing (primary auditory cortex)
- storing long term memories
- speech and language
- understanding
Occipital Lobe
Controls functions like:
- all aspects of vision (primary visual cortex)
- each piece of visual cortex corresponds to a particular place on the retina…receiving only information from that place…the pieces are later put together to form the whole
Association Areas
Uncommitted (to sensory and motor functioning) areas of the cortex that are involved in higher mental functioning
Wernicke’s Area
In the left temporal lobe, responsible for
language comprehension and expression.
Broca’s Area
In the left frontal lobe, responsible for
directing motor movement involved in speech.
Hemispheres
- The hemispheres are roughly mirrored images of each
other. - The function as two separate brains other than
through the corpus callosum, through which all
activity on one side is communicated with the other. - Right side of the body is controlled by the left
hemisphere, and vice versa.
Left Hemisphere
Vision
- Words, Letters
Hearing
- Language sounds
Memory
- Verbal Memory
Language
- Speech, Grammar rules, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
Right Hemisphere
Vision
- Geometric patterns, Faces, Emotional expression
Hearing
- Nonlanguage sounds, Music
Memory
- Nonverbal memory
Language
- Emotional tone of speech
Spatial
- Geometry, Sense of direction, Distance, Mental rotation of shapes
Brain Plasticity (Also known as neuroplasticity)
- … is the brain’s ability to continuously change
throughout ones life due to it’s use (big takeaway
being if you don’t use it, you lose it). - Brain activity associated with a certain function can
be transferred to a different location, particularly if
the original area becomes damaged.
