The Brain

• The brainstem connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord and controls basic functions such as breathing and heart rate.
• The Hind brain is located at the base of the brain close to the back of the skull.
• The Hind brain controls basic survival functions.
• The Hind brain consists of the Cerebellum and the medulla.
• The Cerebellum co-ordinates voluntary movement and balance receiving information from the spinal cord.
• The Cerebellum is affected by excessive alcohol consumption as drunk people often struggle to maintain balance and co-ordination.
• The Medulla connects to the brain and the spinal cord it regulates essential organ's involuntary actions heart rate, digestion, swallowing, sneezing.
• The Medulla talks to the Autonomic Nervous System that changes the body's systems to fit whatever it needs at the moment increased arousal, flight or fight etc.
• The Medulla responds to the info from the Autonomic Nervous System then sends signals to the heart to up the heart rate increase breathing etc.
• The Midbrain is located between the Hind and Forebrain.
• Reticular formation a network of neurons that connect from the spinal cord up to the brain stem to the Midbrain.
• The Reticular Formation has varied functions selective focus, attention, alertness and physiological arousal.
• Nerve Fibres alert sensory Neurons to stimuli and carry impulses to the Central Nervous System.
• The Reticular Formation annoys the cortex with important sensory information to keep it active eg. being awake / state of consciousness.
• The Nervous system can be divided into 2 distinct parts the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
• The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) can be further divided into the Somatic Nervous System (SNS) and the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS).
• The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) can be even further divided into the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).
• Validity is are you testing what you think you are?
• Reliability is if the experiment were to be repeated would the same results occur.
• Independent Variable - Controlled by the researcher
• Dependant Variable - Aspect being measured
• Quantitative data - measurable or numeric data
• Qualitative data - quality or observable data
• The Brain is divided into Left and Right Hemispheres
• The Left Hemisphere controls language skills, speech, comprehension, speech production, logical, rationalising, analytical thinking and Sequential processing.
• The Right Hemisphere controls facial recognition, detection of emotion, perceptual grouping, spatial relationships and imagery.
• The Cerebrum is the largest part of the forebrain
• Contralateral organisation: on or affecting the opposite side of the body.
• The brain is split into 4 major parts the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes.
• Lobotomy: surgical removal of a small portion of the frontal lobe of the brain.
• Broca's area: is responsible for the production of articulate speech + understanding of grammatical sentence structures.
• Neurons' messages are transmitted chemically across neurons and electrically within the neuron itself.
• axon: a thin fibre that carries the neural message away from the soma
• Myelin Sheath: A fatty tissue that protects the axon
• Nucleus: The centre of the soma that contains the neuron's genetic material.
• Dendrite: The branches at the end of a neuron that recieve information from other neurons.
• Axon Terminal: The end of an axon that receives signals from other neurons.
• Soma: The cell body that sends neural messages down the axon.
• 1. Dendrite
  2. Soma
  3. Nucleus
  4. Axon
  5. Myelin Sheath
  6. Axon Terminals
• EEG - Electroencephalograph