Post on 05-Jan-2016
transcript
The Brain
Brain Rap
How do we see the brain?• EEG- electrodes on the brain that record
brain waves
• CT- shows structure of the brain
• PET- use dye to show brain activity
• MRI- shows tissue responses to pulses of magnetic energy
–fMRI- distinguishes activity levels of individual brain cells during various mental processes
EEG
CT Scan
PET Scan
MRI
fMRI
The 3 Layers of the Brain
• Brain Stem
• Limbic System
• Cerebral Cortex
3 Layers of the Brain
1. Brain Stem (R-Complex)
2. Limbic System
3. Cerebral Cortex
Carl Sagan video
Major Parts of the Brain Stem
• Medulla- controls automatic functions
• Pons- regulates sleep and dreams
• Reticular Formation- core of BS; monitors incoming sensory info and attention
• Thalamus- receives info and prioritizes and distributes it accordingly
• Cerebellum- handles coordination and balance
Anatomy of the Brain Stem
Mike the Headless Chicken
Major Elements of the Limbic SystemExists in all mammals- involved in memory, emotion and
caring for young• Hippocampus- establishes LTM• Amygdala- controls emotion; holds emotionally
charged LTM; center of fear and aggression (Waterboy got this wrong- don’t confuse with medulla!)
• Hypothalamus- body’s blood lab- monitors heart-rate, body temp, etc- important in _____ division of the PNS
Cerebral Cortex
• Primates ONLY: where all critical thought occurs
Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex1. Frontal- movement,
thinking1. Motor cortex
2. Parietal- touch, spatial relationships
1. Somatosensory cortex
3. Occipital- vision1. Visual cortex
4. Temporal- hearing, speech, some LTM1. Auditory cortex
Phineas Gage
Motor and Somatosensory Cortex• Homunculus:
represents the amount of space on the M and S cortexes dedicated for each location on the body.– Which part of the
human body has most representation on these cortexes? 2nd most? Least?
Association Cortex• Majority of cerebral cortex is used to associate
information from all cortical regions.– It will combine information from all over the brain,
interpret the sensations, plan, decide and prepare us to act.
Cerebral Dominance• Tendency of each hemisphere to control certain
functions
Left Brain Right Brain
• Regulates + emotion• Speech muscles• Movement sequence• Spontaneous
speaking/writing• Word and # memory• Understanding what you
hear or read
• Regulates – emotion• Response to simple
command• Shape and music
memory• Understanding spatial
relationships and visual images
• Recognition of faces
Hemispherical Communication• Corpus Callosum: bundle of nerve fibers that
transfers information between the hemispheres of the brain