1. Brain Structure and Function Standish - HSP3UC

2. Fun Facts About the Brain These facts will teach you interesting bits of information about the physical make-up of the human brain. Weight. The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs. Cerebrum. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and makes up 85% of the brain’s weight. Skin. Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain. Gray matter. The brain’s gray matter is made up of neurons, which gather and transmit signals. White matter. The white matter is made up of dendrites and axons, which create the network by which neurons send their signals. Gray and white. Your brain is 60% white matter and 40% gray matter. Water. The brain is made up of about 75% water.

4. “If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t” -Emerson Pugh, The Biological Origin of Human Values (1977)

5. Phineas Gage September 13 th, 1848 Phineas 25 years old Rutland & Burlington Railroad, Cavendish, VT Paving the way for new RR tracks “Tamping Iron” –1.25in x 3ft

7. Accident –Quick Recovery Months later: “No longer Gage” –Before: capable, efficient, best foreman, well-balanced mind –After: extravagant, anti-social, liar, grossly profane Stint with P.T Barnum Died 12 years later https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrULrWRlGBA Phineas Gage

8. Evolution of the Brain Reptilian  Paleomammalian  Neomammalian

9. The Brain Brainstem –responsible for automatic survival functions Medulla –controls heartbeat and breathing

10. BRAINSTEM  Heart rate and breathing CEREBELLUM  Coordination and balance Parts of the Brain amygdala pituitary hippocampus THALAMUS  Relays messages

11. The Cerebellum –helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance

12. The Limbic System Hypothalamus, pituitary, amygdala, and hippocampus all deal with basic drives, emotions, and memory Hippocampus  Memory processing Amygdala  Aggression (fight) and fear (flight) Hypothalamus  Hunger, thirst, body temperature, pleasure; regulates pituitary gland (hormones)

13. The Limbic System  Hypothalamus  neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; directs several maintenance activities  eating  drinking  body temperature  helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland  linked to emotion  (show video)

14. The Limbic System Show self stimulation clip

15. The Limbic System Amygdala –two almond- shaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion and fear

16. Charles Whitman August 1 st, 1966

17. The Brain Thalamus –the brain’s sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem –it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

18. The Cerebral Cortex Cerebral Cortex –the body’s ultimate control and information processing center

19. The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres

20. Planning, decision making speech Sensory Auditory Vision

21. The Cerebral Cortex Frontal Lobes –involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments –the “executive” Parietal Lobes –include the sensory cortex

22. The Cerebral Cortex Occipital Lobes –include the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field Temporal Lobes –include the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear

23. The Cerebral Cortex Frontal (Forehead to top)  Motor Cortex Parietal (Top to rear)  Sensory Cortex Occipital (Back)  Visual Cortex Temporal (Above ears)  Auditory Cortex

24. Motor/Sensory Cortex Contralateral Homunculus Unequal representation

25. VIDEO: Crash Course on your brain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHrmiy4W9C0 http://www.adaringadventure.com/life-coaching/30-amazing-facts-about-your-brain/

26. Sensory Areas – Sensory Homunculus Figure 13.10

27. The Cerebral Cortex  Aphasia  impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding) –see clips  Broca’s Area  an area of the left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech  Wernicke’s Area  an area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression

28. Language Areas Broca  Expression Wernicke  Comprehension and reception Aphasias LEFT HEMISPHERE

29. Paul Broca [1800s] Suggested localization

30. Techniques to examine functions of the brain 1. Remove part of the brain & see what effect it has on behavior 2. Examine humans who have suffered brain damage

31. 3. Stimulate the brain 4. Record brain activity

33. Brain Lateralization

34. Our Divided Brains Corpus collosum – large bundle of neural fibers (myelinated axons, or white matter) connecting the two hemispheres

35. Split Brain Patients Epileptic patients had corpus callosum cut to reduce seizures in the brain Lives largely unaffected, seizures reduced Affected abilities related to naming objects in the left visual field

36. Brain Plasticity

37. The ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences Persistent functional changes in the brain represent new knowledge Age dependent component Brain injuries

38. Environmental influences on neuroplasticity Impoverished environment Enriched environment

39. Sensation and Perception

40. Sensation The process by which the central nervous system receives input from the environment via sensory neurons Bottom up processing

41. Perception The process by which the brain interprets and organizes sensory information Top-down processing

42. The five major senses Vision – electromagnetic –Occipital lobe Hearing – mechanical –Temporal lobe Touch – mechanical –Sensory cortex Taste – chemical –Gustatory insular cortex Smell – chemical –Olfactory bulb –Orbitofrontal cortex –Vomeronasal organ?

43. Thresholds of the five major senses