AP Psych Biological Bases (focus on Brain) review 3

Controls flow of messages between brain and the rest of the body

• Regulates central nervous system

• Begins on top of spinal cord after entering skull

• Breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure

• Crossover Point: Nerves for each side of the brain connect with the opposite side of the body

The Base of the brain stem

• Controls heartbeat and breathing

Part of brainstem linking medulla oblangata and thamalus

• Connects upper/lower parts of brain

• Acts as a relay station for the cortex and cerebellum

• Relays signals related to sleep and arousal

Located above the pons and smallest part of brainstem

• Responsible for transmitting hearing and visual information

  • Also coordination and motor coordination

• An assitant, not central processing area

  • M is for MID AF

Nerve network that travels through the brainstem and thalamus

• F in formation is for FILTERS incoming stimuli and relays info into other brain areas

• Enables/controls arousal and states of consciousness (alertness/sleep)

  • Cats were experimented on specifically with their RF

    • Zapping the RF instantly woke them up

    • Severing the RF put them in a permanent coma

• Reticular Activating System (RAS): Part of RF, regulates sleep-wake cycle

  • Turns on/off processing stimuli so you can get some sleep brodie

Extends from bottom rear of brainstem

• “Little brain”

• Processes sensory input retaining to coordinates movement and balance

• Enables non-verbal learning/memory

• Helps us judge time, modulate emotions, discriminate sound/textures

• Injuries = trouble walking, keeping balance, jerking

• DOES A LOT MORE THAN MOTOR ACTIVITY FROM STUDIES

The mammalian brain

• Connects “old” brain parts with “neo/new mammalian” brain

• Associated with emotion, behavior, motivation

• Consists of

  • Thamalus

  • Amygdala

  • Hippocampus

  • Hypothalamus

    • Technically the pituitary gland as well

Top of brainstem

• Brain’s sensory control center

• Directs incoming sensory info to sensory-receiving areas in the cortex, transmits replies to cerebellum and medulla

• Like a travel-hub

  • Th is for travel hub, or traffic hub

  • Controls 4 of 5 total senses

Neural clusters linked to aggression and fear

• Animal research

  • Removing amygdala, animal becomes docile/mellow, completely unafraid

• Electrical stimulation

  • Can produce massive aggression or fear (cats being afraid of mice for example)

Processes conscious memories

• Seahorse shape

• if it breaks, humans lose the ability to form new memories of facts/events

• involved in spaital awareness (perception of bodily self in relation to objects)

Located below thalamus, governs many bodily “maintenance” activites

• Governs endocrine systems via pituitary gland

• 2 Sides: Lateral/Ventromedial Hypothalamus

• Lateral Hypothalamus (LH) = Regulates hunger

  • If damaged, no appetite

  • “limit hunger”

• Ventromedial Hypothalamus (VMH) = Regulates satiety/fullness

  • If damaged, never feel full

  • “very much hunger”

Evolutionary perspective = animals/humans are built with a reward center associated with sex, drinking, and eating

• Since we feel pleasure from doing these things, it helps us keep doing it

• Some maladaptive behaviors like drugs, alcohol, binge eating, etc can become associated in the reward center too

• The 4 F’s: FIGHTING, FLEEING, FEEDING, MATING (AYO)

The neo-mammalian brain

• thin surface layer of interconnected neural cells that acts as our body’s control and information-processing center

  • covers the 2 hemispheres of the brain

• enable perceptions, speaking, thinking- more sophisticated, complex activities

• 20+ billion neurons and over 300 trillion synaptic connections

The two hemispheres of the brain and largest part

Neural networks in the brain contribute ? % of its weight

interior is filled mainly with axons connecting the cortex to other regions of the brain

Elevations/bumps and depressions/grooves that gives the brain its wrinkly shape

Outost layer of cerebral cortex (visible)

• Comprised of neuron cell bodies (somata) and unmyelinated axons

Inner layers of the cerebrum

• Comprised of myelinated axons of neurons

Cells in nervous system that support/nourish/protect neurons

• Neurons are like queen bees, they can’t feed/protect themselves

• There’s 3 types

  • Oligodendroglia

  • Schwann Cells

  • Astrocytes

Produce myelin/regenerate axons

• In PNS

Each hemispheres’ cortices are subdivided into 4 ?

Located in front, behind forehead

• Thinking/judgement, speech, muscle movements, problem-solving skills

Located beside ears

• Hearing

Located in back of head

• Vision

Top/Back of head

• Touch/sensory processing

Technically there’s ? lobes for each left and right side of the brain

In parietal lobes; registers/processes body touch, sensation of movement

• Receives incoming sensory info (like an inbox)

• More sensitive regions has the samatosensory cortex be more deovted to them (lips, rats’ whiskers, owls’ hearing)

Area at rear of frontal lobes; controls movement

• Sends messages out to body (Outbox, movement, motor activity)

• Body parts that require precise control and higher sensitivity occupy more motor cortex space (fingers, mouth) than others (back, calves, etc)

• Fritsch/Hitzig (1870): Stimulated with a shock animals’ motor cortex which forced them to move parts of their body

  • Stimulating one hemisphere of the brain had a reaction with the opposite side of the body (Crossover Point)

? = Sensory/Afferent neurons

? = Motor/Efferent neurons

The brain has no ? receptors so it doesn’t feel pain

• Doctors keep patients awake during brain surgery to observe responses

  • In other words, if they stop doing a certain activity, they done goofed

75% of the cerebral cortex that is dedicated to higher level cognitive functions

• thinking, speaking, learning, memory

• primarily involved in processing/integrating info from the senses

  • to provide you with your perceptual experience

    • how you interpret sensory input

• Harder to map and “place” some of these functions

  • doesn’t have specific locations as clearly: complex mental functions don’t reside in one place, but have interconnections with other parts of brain

• IN ALL 4 LOBES

Memory, language, attention skills result from ? (2 words) activity among different brain areas

In front of frontal lobe

• enable judgment, planning, processing of new memories, emotional control

• damage can alter personality and lower inhibitions (Phineas Gage)

  • Inhibitions = Voluntary restriction of yourself

Enables math/spatial reasoning, spatial awareness (of your body)

Enables facial recognition

• If damaged = loss of facial memory

Located in left frontal lobe

• Disrupts speaking ability, but comprehension is fine (Broca’s Aphasia)

• Broca is for babbling, improperly formed words and slow speech

Left temporal lobe

• Disrupts comprehension AND expression

  • You can’t comprehend anything and you speak gibberish (Wernicke’s Aphasia)

• Wernike is for WORSE, you’d rather have Broca’s

Each ? usually performs/assists with its own functions

Intuition, spatial, creative

Logical, verbal, linear tasks

Most daily thoughts/feelings/actions operate unconsciously

• Intensely focusing on a task only increases brain activity 5% above baseline (normal functioning) rate

• There’s still activity in a diminshed conscious (sleeping)

• The brain interprets numerous stimuli/events simultaneously

  • Brain taking incoming info and connects it to established, older info

• Brain lets in relevant info, filters out what we don’t need to consciously notice

  • Automatic functions are largely ignored

• We have a manual override function (conscious) over what is automatic (unconscious) like manually breathing