The Brain Most people think of psychology as dealing with the brain in a non biological way (ie tell me how you feel, tell me about your childhood) The reality is, however, that psychologist must have a detailed understanding of how the brain operates to understand how and why people act the way that they do

This is especially true of psychologist who lean towards the biological perspective There are several ways to look at the brain but the most common is to break the brain into three sections The forebrain which contains the Thalamus, the hypothalamus, the limbic system, the cerebrum, and the cerebral cortex

The Thalamus The thalamus serves mostly as a relay station for sensory information to the brain Sensory information is passed through the thalamus where it is directed to those areas of the brain which interpret it

The hypothalamus The hypothalamus is involved in aspects of motivation such as hunger thirst sex drive and aggression as well as regulating body temp.

The limbic system The limbic system is also tied to emotions of hunger, aggression, sex drive as well as memory Damage to the limbic system can cause impairment to the creation of new memories as well as increased or decreased levels of aggression

The Cerebrum The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain accounting for 70% of its weight The outside layer of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex this is where thinking occurs, language, memory, perception, and complex motor function occurs

The midbrain The midbrain is made up of the reticular activating system (middle part) The reticular activating system is responsible for attention, arousal, and sleep

The Hindbrain The medulla is involved with vital functions such heart rate and breathing The pons regulates movement, attention, sleep, and alertness The cerebellum controls balance and coordination

Of all the parts of the brain the cerebral cortex is what makes us different from other animals It is where thinking,and feeling take place The cerebral cortex is divided into two hemispheres the left and the right These hemispheres are connected by the corpus callosum

Each hemisphere of the brain is divided into four lodes The Frontal lobe (involved in motor functions) The Parietal lobe (involved in sensory) The Occipital lobe (involved in sight) The Temporal lobe (involved in hearing)

Within the cerebral cortex are areas called association areas Association areas shape information into meaningful images The association areas in the frontal lobe is where we solve problems, make plans, and decisions