The Brain THE ORGAN THAT NAMED ITSELF

Stuff you have to know for Biology 12 THIS COULD BE ON THE TEST

The Brain

Parts of the Brain ▪ Medulla Oblongata - Part of the brain stem that controls heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, hiccuping and swallowing. ▪ Cerebrum - Largest portion of the human brain, involved in carrying out higher thought processes such as learning, memory, language and speech. Coordinated the activities of the other parts of the brain. ▪ Thalamus - Recieves all sensory input from visual, auditory, taste, smell and touch (somatosensory) organs, then processes this information and relays it to the cerebrum.

Parts of the Brain ▪ Cerebellum - Recieves sensory input from joints and muscles involving the location and position of the various body parts. Essential for posture, balance and coordination, as well as learning new motor skills. ▪ Corpus Callosum - Connects the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing communication between the left and right sides of the brain and body. ▪ Meninges - Protective membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal chord.

Neuroendocrine Control ▪ The Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland work together to regulate the release of hormones from the brain to the rest of the body ▪ Hypothalamus - Helps maintain homeostasis by regulating and responding to hunger, sleep, thirst, body temperature, and water balance. Also produces hormones and directs the actions of the pituitary gland. ▪ Pituitary Gland – Releases critical hormones for our life and development, such as oxytocin, antidiuretic hormone (ADH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and growth hormone (GH).

Neuroendocrine Control

▪ The hormones from these two parts of the brain direct actions all over the body ▪ Page 397:

Stuff you don’t have to know for Biology 12 THIS STUFF IS COOL AND AWESOME

The Lobes The Cerebrum of the Brain is separated into different lobes, based on structure and function ▪ Frontal lobe—conscious thought; damage can result in mood changes, social differences, etc. The frontal lobes are the most uniquely human of all the brain structures. Frontal lobe ▪ Parietal lobe—plays important roles in integrating sensory information from various senses, and in the manipulation of objects; portions of the parietal lobe are involved with visuospatial processing Parietal lobe ▪ Occipital lobe—sense of sight; lesions can produce hallucinations Occipital lobe ▪ Temporal lobe—senses of smell and sound, as well as processing of complex stimuli like faces and scenes. Temporal lobe

The Senses ▪ Different senses have receptors, which feed information to sensory neurons. These neurons carry information to the CNS, and to specific regions in the Cerebrum of the Brain. It is then processed, sorted, prioritized, and sent to the cortex for interpretation and storage.

Language and Speech ▪ Broca’s Area is the main location in the brain tasked with producing speech ▪ Wernicke’s Area is more focussed on comprehending what others say ▪ Notice the proximity both to the motor centers for the face (Broca’s) and the auditory cortex (Wernicke’s) ▪ Note: These only exist in the left hemisphere of the brain!

Left vs. Right Brained ▪ It is often thought that a person is “left brained”, meaning logical, analytical, or rational, or “right brained”, meaning visual, intuitive, or creative ▪ All people in fact use both hemispheres, but may place different emphasis on one or the other, resulting in certain tendencies ▪ In general, the left hemisphere processes more specific data, while the right is more general

Left vs. Right Brained 1.A ) It's fun to take risks. B ) I have fun without taking risks. 2.A ) I look for new ways to do old jobs. B ) When one way works well, I don't change it. 3.A ) I begin many jobs that I never finish. B ) I finish a job before starting a new one. 4.A ) I'm not very imaginative in my work. B ) I use my imagination in everything I do. 5.A ) I can analyze what is going to happen next. B ) I can sense what is going to happen next. 6.A ) I try to find the one best way to solve a problem. B ) I try to find different answers to problems. 7.A ) My thinking is like pictures going through my head. B ) My thinking is like words going through my head.

Left vs. Right Brained 8.A ) I agree with new ideas before other people do. B ) I question new ideas more than other people do. 9.A ) Other people don't understand how I organize things. B ) Other people think I organize well. 10.A ) I have good self-discipline. B ) I usually act on my feelings. 11.A ) I plan time for doing my work. B ) I don't think about the time when I work. 12.A ) With a hard decision, I choose what I know is right. B ) With a hard decision, I choose what I feel is right. 13.A ) I do easy things first and important things later. B ) I do the important things first and the easy things later. 14.A ) Sometimes in a new situation, I have too many ideas. B ) Sometimes in a new situation, I don't have any ideas.

Left vs. Right Brained 15.A ) I have to have a lot of change and variety in my life. B ) I have to have an orderly and well-planned life. 16.A ) I know I'm right, because I have good reasons. B ) I know I'm right, even without good reasons. 17.A ) I spread my work evenly over the time I have. B ) I prefer to do my work at the last minute. 18.A ) I keep everything in a particular place. B ) Where I keep things depends on what I'm doing. 19.A ) I have to make my own plans. B ) I can follow anyone's plans. 20.A ) I am a very flexible and unpredictable person. B ) I am a consistent and stable person. 21.A ) With a new task, I want to find my own way of doing it. B ) With a new task, I want to be told the best way to it.

Left vs. Right Brained - Scoring ▪ Give yourself one point for each time you answered "A" for questions: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21. ▪ Give yourself one point for each time you answered "B" for questions: 4,5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18. ▪ Add all points. Totals imply: 0-4: strong left brain 5-8: moderate left brain 9-13: middle brain 14-16: moderate right brain 17-21: strong right brain

Memory and Learning Types of memory: ▪ Sensory Memory – Only held for a few seconds, just long enough to process incoming information. High capacity (12+ items). ▪ Short-Term Memory – Briefly retain information for several seconds to several minutes. Tends to record acoustically. Can hold 4-5 Items. ▪ Long-Term Memory – Can store immeasurably vast quantities of information for a potentially unlimited amount of time. Tends to record semantically (meaning) and episodically (scenarios). ▪ Skill Memory – Involved in performing motor activities. Actions can become automatic with practice, and thus you may “never forget how to ride a bike”

Memory and Learning ▪ We tend to store memories near the sensory locations they are associated with in the cortex. ▪ The hippocampus acts as a bridge between these storage areas and the prefrontal area, where thoughts are being processed (which may general new memories).

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