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Electrical activity in the brains billions of neurons sweeps in regular waves across its surface
Measure with an electroencephalogram (EEG)
Neuroimaging Techniques
CT (computed tomography) scan
X-ray photo to reveal brain damage
Brain Stem
Oldest and innermost region Begins where the spinal cord swells slightly after entering the skull
Slight swelling is the medulla (controls heartbeat and breathing)
Just above medulla sits the pons (helps coordinate movements)
Crossover point where most nerves to and from each side of the brain connect with the bodys opposite side Manages life-sustaining functions
Brain Stem
Reticular formation
Inside the brainstem and between your ears Finger-shaped network of neurons that extend from the spinal cord right up to the thalamus May be responsible for our ability to attend to new stimuli in the environment May play a role in dreaming
Dream signals may originate here and then the cortex takes those signals and reorganizes them into the dream story as best as it can
Special Note
The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and the left side of brain controls the right side of the body
Thalamus
Sits at the top of the brainstem Joined pair of egg-shaped structures Act as the brains sensory switchboard Receives info from all the sense (except smell) and routes it to the higher brain regions that deal with seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching A hub through traffic passes en route to various destinations
Thalamus
Also receives some of the higher brains replies, which it then directs to the medulla nd to the cerebellum
Smell
An old sense Travels to the olfactory cortex and then to the thalamus for processing Seems that our brains adapted other senses after smell, causing them to be processed differently
Cerebellum
Extending from the rear of the brainstem Baseball sized little brain Two wrinkled halves Enables one type of nonverbal learning and memory Helps us judge time, modulate our emotions, and discriminate sounds and textures
Cerebellum
Coordinates voluntary movement
With assistance from the pons
Tells the brain what to expect form the bodys own movements Damage:
Have difficulty walking, keeping your balance, or shaking hands Movements would be jerky and exaggerated
Note:
These older brain functions (brainstem, Thalamus, Cerebellum) all occur with any conscious effort Our brain processes most information outside of our awareness
We are aware of the results of our brains labor but not of how we construct the visual image
The midbrain
Thalamus Cerebellum Limbic System Governs hormones, memory processing, and sensory input
Less vital than brainstem functions, but no less important
Amygdala
In the limbic system 2 lima bean sized neural clusters Influence aggression and fear Works the frontal lobe to regulate emotional responses
Supplies the emotional feelings while the frontal lobe makes the judgment regarding the appropriate expression of the emotion
Hypothalamus
Just below (hypo) the thalamus Important link in the chain of command governing bodily maintenance
Hunger, thirst, body temperature, sexual behavior
Monitors blood chemistry and takes orders from other parts of the brain Helps keep the bodys internal environment in a steady state
Hypothalamus
Divided into 2 sections
Lateral side (LH)
Controls hunger
NTs that work in the reward centers are similar to drugs like cocaine and LSD
These drugs activate the reward centers
Cerebrum
Two large hemispheres that contribute 85% of the brains weight Specialized work teams that enable our perceiving, thinking, and speaking
Cerebral Cortex
A thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells Brains thinking crown Bodys ultimate control and informationprocessing center Covers the cerebrum like bark on a tree
Each carry our many functions and many functions require the interplay of several lobes
Temporal
Controls hearing
Occipital
Controls vision
Visual information goes to other areas that specialize in tasks such as identifying words, detecting emotions, and recognizing faces
Parietal
Controls touch and sensory processing
Oligodendroglia
Found in the CNS Produce myelin
Schwann Cells
Found in PNS Provide myelin
Astrocytes
Star shaped Form most of the matrix in which neural cells are embedded and envelop blood vessels in the brain Absorb dead neural cells
The lobes of the brain are separated by major gyri on the cortex
Frontal lobe
Bordered in the rear by the central fissure
A long gyrus going vertically down the center of the cortex
More prominent on the left side
Temporal lobes
Bordered on the top by the lateral fissure
a long gyrus running horizontally from front to back
Two hemispheres
Separated by the longitudinal fissure
Largest of the gyri Almost completely down to the corpus callosum
Demo
The left and right limbs are controlled by opposite sides of the brain
Right hand/ right foot Right hand/ left foot
Point to remember
There are 2 of each lobe One for each hemisphere!!
More on lobes
The motor cortex is in the frontal lobes
Frontal lobes decision making function works with the motor cortex to create purposeful movement
Sensory Cortex
The cortical area that specializes in receiving information from the skin senses and from the movement of body parts In the front of the parietal lobes Parallel to and just behind the motor cortex
Association Areas
Neurons here integrate information Link sensory inputs with stores memories
a very important part of thinking
Association Areas
Found in all 4 lobes
Association Areas
In frontal lobes
Enable judgment, planning, and processing of new memories Damage to frontal lobes
Have intact memories, high scores on intelligence tests, and great cake-baking skills Would NOT be able to plan ahead to begin baking a cake Alter personality, removing ones inhibitions Phineas Gage
Association Areas
Parietal lobes
Enable mathematical and spatial reasoning Area on the underside of the right temporal lobe enables us to recognize faces
Damage
Would be able to describe facial features and to recognize someone's gender and age, yet be strangely unable to identify the person as, say, your grandmother.
Language
Aphasia
An impaired use of language Result from damage to any one of the several cortical areas
Aphasia
Brocas area
Disrupts speaking
Remember Tan?
Wernickes area
Disrupts understanding Can speak only meaningless words
Angular gyrus
Able to speak and understand but unable to read aloud
Then received and understood in the nearby Werkickes area Then sent to Brocas area Which controls the motor cortex as it creates the pronounced word
Aphasia
Depending on which link in the chain is damaged, a different form of aphasia occurs The brain operates by dividing mental functions
Language
The majority of left-handed people process language in the left hemisphere The other lefties fall into 2 categories
Some have all language abilities in the right hemisphere Some have a mixed pattern
To sum it up
Specialization and Integration
Describe the brains functioning
Evidence that when one sense is lost, the others compensate and become more acute
Certain functions can take over a damaged part to repurpose that part for a new function
New function typically is related to its original purpose but now used with another sense that has taken over that process
Like touch taking over the reading function from vision that has been lost
In right
Effects are less visibly dramatic
Split Brain
The conscious left hemisphere is the interpreter or press agent that instantly constructs theories to explain our behavior The left is more active when a person deliberates over decisions When the rational left brain is active, people more often discount disagreeable info
Split Brain
The right hemisphere understands simple requests, easily perceives objects, and is more engaged when quick, intuitive responses are needed. Right surpasses the left at copying drawings and at recognizing faces. Right is skilled at perceiving emotion and at portraying emotions through the more expressive left side of the face Right hemisphere damage more greatly disrupts emotion processing and social conduct
Split Brain
The brains 2 halves can simultaneously carry out different functions with minimal duplication of effort It is a biologically odd but smart couple, each seemingly with a mind of its own
Point to ponder
Results of split brain research may be due in part to the condition of the patients brains after experiencing years of debilitating epilepsy Could the brains organization in these patients be due to epilepsy? Or is the specialization of the brain the same in all people?
Dual Processing
When the brain operates on 2 levels during perception, memory, thinking, language, and attitudes
Conscious, deliberate high road Unconscious, automatic low road
Much of our everyday thinking, feeling, and acting operates outside our conscious awareness Foot and hand demo