Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Brain

Lesions: removal or destruction of some part of the brain
-frontal lobotomy

Electroencephalogram:

  • EEG
  • detects brain waves through their electrical output
  • used mainly in sleep research
Computerized axial tomography:
  • CAT scan
  • 3D x-ray of the brain
  • good for tumor locating, but tells us nothing about function
Magnetic resonance imaging:
  • MRI
  • more detailed picture of brain using magnetic field to knock electrons off axis
  • takes many still pictures and turns images into a movie like production 
Position emission tomography:
  • PET scan
  • measures how much of a chemical the brain is using (usually glucose consumption)

Pons
  • located just above the medulla
  • connects hindbrain with  midbrain and forebrain
  • involved in facial expression
Forebrain:
  • what makes us human
  • largest part of the brain
  • made up of thalamus, limbic system and cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex:
  • made of densely packed neurons we call "gray matter"
  • glial cells: supported brain cells
  • wrinkles are called fissures
  • if you lay brain out it would be as big as a large pizza
Hemispheres: divided into two hemispheres
  • contra lateral control: right controls left and vice versa
  • left hemisphere: logic and sequential tasks
  • right hemisphere: spatial and creative tasks

Frontal lobes: 
  • abstract thought and emotional control
  • contains motor cortex: sends signals to out body controlling muscle movements
  • contains Broca's area: responsible for controlling muscles that produce speech
  • damage to Broca's area is called Broca's aphasia: unable to make movements to talk
Parietal lobes: 
  • contain sensory cortex: received incoming touch sensations from rest of the body
  • most of the parietal lobes are made up association area
Association areas: any area not associated with receiving sensory information or coordinating muscle movements 

Occipital lobes:
  • deals with vision
  • contains visual cortex: interprets messages from our eyes into images we can understand
Temporal lobes:
  • process sound sensed by our rate 
  • interpreted in auditory cortex
  • NOT LATERALIZED
  • contains Wernike's area: interprets written and spoken speech
  • Wernike's aphasia: unable to understand language; the syntax and grammar jumble 
Brain plasticity: the idea that the brain, when damaged, will attempt to find new ways to reroute messages

Corpus callosum: bridge of nerve fibers that connects or divides the two hemispheres

Cerebrum: 
-largest part of the brain
-divided into left and right hemisphere and divided into lobes
-also contains the cerebral cortex (the gray matter)
-controls voluntary movement, coordinates mental activity, and its the center for all conscious living





2 comments:

  1. I found your notes very helpful, but I think that you are missing notes. Make sure you include the limbic system and their functions. They are essential for storing memories and controlling aggressive feelings. Also, I think it would be a good idea if you included a video to summarize the brain and how it works.

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  2. It's highly interesting how recently technology has over come numerous obstacles by accurately, identifying brain problems and helping individuals before its too late. Furthermore, your notes are very useful and highly accurate in understanding this unit.

    ReplyDelete