The Brain: Our Control Center

1. The Brain: Our Control Center Mr. Roller JCHS Psychology Chapter 3 Section 2

2. Early Beliefs about the Brain • People did not attribute human psychological processes such as thinking to the working of the brain. • Instead it was widely believed that the body was inhabited by souls or demons. • Ancient Egyptians believed a little person dwelled within the skull and regulated behavior. • Aristotle believed the soul resided within the heart • Today, we recognize that the mind, or consciousness, dwells within the brain.

3. Parts of the Brain: The Hindbrain The Hindbrain • The medulla is involved in heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. • The pons regulates body movement, attention, sleep, and alertness. • The cerebellum is involved in balance and coordination.

4. Parts of the Brain: The Midbrain • Areas within the midbrain are involved in vision and hearing • Contains part of the Reticular Activating System, which is important for attention, sleep, arousal, and alertness.

5. Parts of the Brain: The Forebrain • The thalamus serves as a relay station for sensory stimulation • The hypothalamus is vital to the regulation of body temperature, the storage of nutrients, and various aspects of motivation and emotion. It is also involved in hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, caring for offspring, and aggression. • The limbic system is involved in learning and memory, emotion, hunger, sex, and aggression • The cerebrum makes up about 70 percent of the brain’s weight and is where most conscious and intellectual activities take place. • The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain. It is the part that thinks, and it also deals with memory, language, emotions, complex motor skills, perception, and more.

6. Diagrams of Human Brain

7. The Cerebral Cortex • The cerebral cortex has a left side and right side. • Each side is called a hemisphere. • The corpus callosum is the structure that connects the two hemispheres. • Information received by one side of the body is transmitted to the opposite hemisphere of the brain. • Each hemisphere is divided into four parts: • frontal lobe • parietal lobe • temporal lobe • occipital lobe

8. Fast Brain Facts

9. Senses and Motor Behavior • The occipital lobe is the primary visual area of the cerebral cortex. • The temporal lobe is the hearing, or auditory, area of the cerebral cortex. • Messages received from the skin’s sensory receptors are projected to the sensory cortex in the parietal lobe. • These sensations include warmth, cold, touch, and pain.

10. Association Areas • The association areas of the cerebral cortex shape information into something meaningful. • The association areas in the frontal lobes function as the brain’s executive center. • Association areas provide the core of the working memory. • The frontal region of the brain thus retrieves visual, auditory, and other kinds of memories. • Other association areas make possible the psychological functions of language.

11. Language Abilties • For nearly all right-handed people, language functions are based in the left hemisphere. • Language functions are also based in the left hemisphere of about two out of three left-handed people. • Wernicke’s area connects sounds and sights. When this area is damaged, people find it difficult to understand speech. • Broca’s area is involved in speech. When this area is damaged, people speak slowly and use simple sentences.

12. Left and Right Hemispheres • The left hemisphere is usually more involved in logic, problem solving, and mathematical computation. • The right hemisphere is more concerned with imagination, art, feelings, and spatial relations. • Split-brain operations have taught psychologists much of what they know about left- and right-hemisphere functioning. • Quiz Anyone???

13. Methods of studying the Brain • Accidents • Researchers are able to learn how the brain is related to psychological functions through the study of brain damage due to accidents. • Electrical Stimulation • Electrical stimulation of the brain has shown that specific areas are associated with specific types of sensations. • It is not a reliable research tool. • Lesions • Scientists can study a brain by cutting, removing, or destroying parts of it. • This method is used on laboratory animals. • Electroencephalogram • The EEG is a device that records electrical activity of the brain. • EEG readings can help diagnose certain psychological disorders and to help locate tumors.

14. Methods of studying the Brain • Brain Imaging • Brain imaging can provide information about • brain damage • cancers • difficult surgeries • Brain imaging techniques include • CAT scans • MRI scans • PET scans • fMRI scans

16. In Class Activity • You and a partner will choose one of the regions of the Brain from the following: • Hindbrain, Midbrain, Forebrain, Cerebral Cortex, or Association Areas • Your job is to create a fake facebook profile for that Brain area. • You may use your book or the internet to help you with your research information. • Your facebook profile must include the following • A picture of your Brain Area, Personal information such as: Hometown (Location in the brain), interests (What does it do), Friends: What other parts are located in your area and how do they work together, A wall (you must include at least 5 total posts 2 posts must come from two other Brain areas)