Psychology

• Parts of the brain

  • Forebrain
  • Midbrain
  • Hindbrain
  • Cerebrum
  • Cerebellum
  • Pons
  • Medulla oblongata
  • Parietal lobe
  • Temporal lobe
  • Occipital lobe
  • Frontal lobe
  • Thalamus
  • Hypothalamus
• Hindbrain


  • Medulla (connects spinal cord to brain, vital for breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, reflexes)
  • Pons (involved in sleep, dreaming, walking, breathing, coordination)
• Cerebellum


  • Coordinates fine muscle movements, regulates posture and balance, organises and adjusts muscle activity
• Midbrain


  Reticular formation (regulates sleep, arousal, muscle tone)
• Forebrain


  Cerebrum (numerous neural pathways connect with mid/hindbrain to coordinate brain activity)
• Cerebral Cortex


  • Outer portion of the brain, convoluted to increase surface area, divided into 2 hemispheres, association areas perform multiple functions
• Cerebral Hemispheres


  Connected by Corpus Callosum, left hemisphere primarily for verbal and analytical functions, right hemisphere primarily for non-verbal functions
• Left Hemisphere


  • Verbal and analytical functions (language, reasoning, critical evaluation, planning)
• Right Hemisphere


  • Non-verbal functions (spatial, visual, face/pattern recognition, creative thinking, emotion recognition)
• Frontal Lobe


  Largest lobe, role in thinking, feeling, behaving, coordinates functions of other lobes, responsible for planning and initiating voluntary movements
• Parietal Lobe


  Attention, spatial reasoning, sensing body position
• Primary Somatosensory Cortex


  Receives and processes information from skin and body
• Temporal Lobe


  Memory, facial recognition, object identification
• Primary Auditory Cortex


  Receives and processes sounds, processes verbal sounds in left hemisphere, non-verbal sounds in right hemisphere
• Wernicke's Area


  Comprehension of speech, interpreting sounds of human speech
• Occipital Lobe


  Integrates visual information
• Primary Visual Cortex


  Receives and processes information from the eyes
• Hypothalamus


  Regulates internal environment, hormones, homeostasis
• Limbic System


  Interconnected group including amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, controls emotional and motivated behaviour, certain types of memories
• Neuroplasticity


  Brain's ability to change and adapt based on experiences, through synaptogenesis (growth of new synapses) and synaptic pruning (eliminating unnecessary synapses)
• Experience-expectant neuroplasticity


  Brain changes as a response to what is expected to learn (e.g. eyesight, knowing how to see)
• Experience-dependent neuroplasticity


  Brain changes that occur due to life experiences
• Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)


  Brain injury that occurs after birth, can affect cognitive, sensory, memory, language, and visual functioning
• Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)


  Repeated head injuries leading to memory loss, hormone control issues, personality changes, and can be fatal