The Brain & Neuropsych

• Brain


  The organ in your head made up of nerves that processes information and controls behaviour
• Hemisphere

  Half of the brain
• Cerebrum


  The largest part of the brain where higher processing happens; it includes the cortex
• Cortex


  The outer layer of the brain
• Spinal chord

  A pathway of nerves inside the spine, which connects the brain to the rest of the body through the peripheral nervous system
• Brainstem


  The part of the brain that connects the spinal chord to the upper brain
• Reflexes


  Actions that are automatic and do not require conscious thought
• Frontal lobe


  The area at the front of the brain responsible for decision-making and impulse control
• Temporal lobe


  The area on the side of the brain that controls hearing and memory
• Parietal lobe


  The area at the top of the brain that plays an important role in perception and sensations of touch
• Occipital lobe


  The area at the back of the brain that controls vision
• Cerebellum 


  An area of the brain near to the brainstem that controls motor movements
• Lateralisation of function


  The different jobs that are done by each half of the brain; each hemisphere will have different specialist roles
• Corpus callosum


  A thick bundle of nerve fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain so they can communicate with each other
• Broca's area


  A part of the left hemisphere of the brain that controls speech production
• Spatial awareness


  The ability to negotiate space and navigate our way around our environment
• Central nervous system (CNS)


  The brain and spinal chord, which relays messages from the brain to the rest of the body to instruct it what to do
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS)


  The system of nerves that connect the CNS to the skin, muscles, and organs in the body
• Neurotransmitters


  Chemicals found within the nervous system that pass messages from one neuron to another across a synapse
• Neuron


  A nerve cell that transmits information
• Synaptic transmission


  The process by which neurotransmitters are released by a neuron, move across the synaptic gap and are then taken up by another neuron
• Synapse


  A gap between two neurons that allows messages, in the form of neurotransmitters, to pass from one cell to another
• Axon


  The long structure that connects the cell body of a neuron to the terminal button at the end of the cell
• Terminal button


  The end of a neuron
• Vesicles


  Small sacs containing neurotransmitter molecules
• Receptors


  Special sites on neurons that are designed to absorb neurotransmitter molecules
• Neurological damage


  Damage to the body's central and peripheral nervous system
• Visual agnosia


  The inability to recognise things that can be seen
• Prosopagnosia


  face-blindness, an inability to recognise faces
• Pre-frontal cortex


  The area of the brain's cortex at the very front of the frontal lobe, immediately behind the forehead
• Agnosia


  The inability to interpret sensations and thus to recognise things
• Fusiform face area (FFA)


  Part of the temporal lobe, close to the occipital lobe, that is thought to help in face recognition
• White matter


  Brain and spinal chord tissue, consisting mainly of nerve fibres
• EEG 


  A method of measuring brain activity using electrodes placed on the scalp
• MRI


  A method of studying the brain using electromagnets
• PET


  Imagery showing the amount of energy being used throughout the brain