psych revision

• Neurons


  Brain / nerve cells CNS
• Neural pathways


  • Where messages are sent
• Dendrites


  • Receive information
• Axon


  • Covered in Myelin
• Axon Terminal


  Send messages via Synapse by chemical reaction - Neurotransmitters
• Electrical reaction from dendrites

  Turns into a Chemical reaction at the axon terminal
• Sensory neuron


  Send information from sense organs, tendons + muscles TO CNS
• Motor neurons


  Send information TO cells in sense organs, tendon + muscles FROM CNS
• Interneurons


  Send info between neurons
• Neurotransmitters


  Chemical substances that send messages to other cells / neurons
• Synapses


  Where neurotransmitters go into the Synaptic gap before going into other cells / neurons
• Split brain experiment - Cutting the corpus callosum, disconnecting the left and right hemispheres
• Split brain was a radical treatment for epilepsy (and was successful in stopping/calming seizures)
• American neuropsychologist Roger Sperry -experiment
• Sperry tested 11 split brain patients and compared to "normal" intact brains

  Each patient was seated before a screen that flashed words or pictures to the right or left side of a black dot in the middle of the screen that the patient was focusing on
• Left hemisphere


  Controls verbal and analytics + right side of body
• Right hemisphere


  Controls nonverbal functions + movement of left side of body
• When images/pictures were flashed on the RIGHT side of the screen and processed through the LEFT side of the brain, patients could verbally state what they had seen
• When images/pictures were flashed on the LEFT side of the screen and processed through the RIGHT side of the brain, patients could not verbalise what they had seen, but could draw/grab what they had seen with their LEFT hand
• Split brain experiment proves hemispheric specialisation, most notably, that the left hemisphere controls language
• Cerebral Cortex


  Outer layer of the brain. Information processing activity. Areas divided into Sensory, Motor and Association
• Sensory cortex areas


  • Receive and process info from different senses
• Motor cortex areas


  • Receive, process, and send information about voluntary bodily movement
• Association cortex areas


  • Combine sensory, motor, and other information involved in higher thinking
• Hemispheric specialisation


  Left - verbal and analytical functions + movement of right body, Right - nonverbal functions + movement of left body
• Corpus Callosum


  Nerve fibres joining the two hemispheres
• Cerebellum


  Posture, balance and fine muscle movement. Decide what muscles to use for what. Rapid sequenced movement (typing). Voluntary movement. Associated with learning and memory connected to movement
• Damage to the cerebellum makes it difficult to coordinate muscles for daily activity and intricate movement, balance, and speech
• Medulla


  Involuntary responses vital for survival, breathing, swallowing, vomiting etc. Involved in sensation of touch, pressure and vibration
• Damage to the medulla is fatal, as are drugs that affect its function
• Pons


  Connects hindbrain to rest of the brain + relays messages. Involved in coordinating voluntary movement and forms part of the Reticular activating system which increases attention and wakes us up from sleep
• Damage to the pons can result in coma due to lack of arousal
• Midbrain


  Connects hindbrain and forebrain. Involved in movement arousal and sleep, and processing visual, auditory, and tactile sensory information. Processes info from eyes and ears and produces orienting movement
• Substantia Nigra


  Located in the midbrain and connects to the forebrain. Initiating voluntary limb movement, and dopamine
• Damage to the substantia nigra is related to movement disorders such as parkinsons
• Reticular Formation


  Runs through the brain stem to midbrain and forebrain / part of hind and midbrain connecting to forbrain. Screens incoming information for what's important and alerts higher brain centres, helps maintain consciousness, and regulates arousal and muscle tone
• Reticular activating system (RAS)


  A part of the Reticular formation. Extends out from reticular formation to different parts of the brain and spinal cord. Main functions - controlling attention levels (filter out weak/familier sensor info and highlight potentially important info and shift attention to it), and transition between sleep and wakefulness (increases/dampens arousal depending on feedback from upper + lower brain areas)
• Forebrain


  Largest part of the brain. Involved in cognitive processes (thinking, learning, memory, perception and personality + emotion). Includes the Hypothalamus, Thalamus, cerebrum and limbic system
• Hypothalamus


  Regulating internal environment of the body, controls hormones, influences behaviours with basic biological needs (hunger, sex, thirst, sleep, body temp). Is apart of the Limbic system so it's involved in emotions such as anger and fear
• Damage to the hypothalamus depending on exactly where and how severely, could result in an inability to regulate internal body functioning, such as maintaining a constant body temperature, problems with the normal sleep and waking cycle, an overwhelming urge to eat or uncontrollable anger