Medulla
Controls heartbeat and breathing (Component of the brain stem)
Cerebellum
Controls balance
Reticular Formation
Controls alertness and arousal (Component of the brain stem)
Corpus Callosum
Band of fibers connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain
Cerebral Cortex
The body's ultimate control and processing center that covers the cerebrum
(Higher thought)
Thalamus
The relay station between the body and the brain
Hypothalamus
Controls sex, hunger, thirst, rage
Pituitary Gland
Controls the hypothalamus by stimulating it to trigger the release of hormones
Frontal Lobe
Personality, judgement, problem solving, reasoning, and decision making
Parietal Lobe
Sensory
Temporal Lobe
Speech, language, and hearing
Occipital Lobe
Sight/Vision
Left Brain
Language, logic, speech (Controls right side of the body)
Right Brain
Creativity, music, drama/acting (Controls left side of the body
Amygdala
Part of the limbic system that's involved in aggression and fear
Glial Cells
Cells that support, nourish, and protect neurons
Motor Cortex
Area at the rear of the frontal lobes that controls voluntary movements
Somatosensory Cortex
Area at the front of the parietal lobes that processes body touch and movement sensations
Association Areas
Areas of the cortex involved in higher mental functions like learning and speaking
Plasticity
The brain's ability to reorganize after damage to build new pathways based on experience
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons
Cognitive Neuroscience
The field of study linking the brain and other aspects of the nervous system to cognition
Dual Processing
Conscious and unconscious processes occurring at the same time
Mind
The _______ is what the brain does
Limbic System
Linked to emotions, memory, and drives
Pons
Helps coordinate movement (Component of the brain stem)
Split Brain
A condition resulting from surgery that isolates the brain's two hemispheres by cutting the corpus callosum
Lesion
Tissue destruction
EEG
An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface
PET Scan
A visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task
MRI
A technique that uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce computer-generated images of soft tissue
fMRI
A technique for revealing bloodflow and brain activity (Shows brain function)
Brainstem
The oldest part and central core of the brain, responsible for automatic survival functions
Neural Prosthetics
Electrodes planted in the brain that enable movement by simply thinking about that move
Motor or Sensory
The __________ cortex has more of it devoted to the face than any part of the body