1. The Brain

2. The Brain Made up of neurons
23 billion nerve cells and 300 trillion synapses
Glial cells –
My husband is my glial cell. He takes care of me!!!
Whose yours?

3. Ways we Study the Brain

4. Accidents Phineas Gage Personality changed after the accident.
What did this tell us?
That different part of the brain control different aspects of who we are.

5. Lesions Frontal Lobotomy Surgical destruction of the brain tissue
Lobotomy - consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain

6. Electroencephalogram
EEG
Detects brain waves through their electrical output.
Used mainly in

7. Computerized Axial Tomography
CAT Scan
3D X-Ray of the brain.

8. Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MRI

9. Positron Emission Tomography
PET Scan
Concentration of glucose
Radioactivity decays rapidly, so limited to monitoring short tasks
Maps areas of the brain responsible for specific activities such as movement or speech

10. Functional MRI
Identifies most active areas of the brain during a specific mental task
Identify regions of the brain that handle pain

11. Brain Structures
Scientists divide the brain up into three parts.

12. Brain Regions
– medulla, pons, reticular formation, thalamus, cerebellum
Hippocampus, Amygdala, Hypothalamus
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe,
Oldest to newest Regions
In more evolved creatures are the limbic system and cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex - most highly developed part of the human brain – responsible for thinking and information processessing

13. Brain Stem Part of the brain with the oldest ancestry 5 Regions:
Medulla
Pons
Reticular formation
Thalamus
Cerebellum
NOT consciously aware of brain stems functions
secretary of all the functions your body needs to stay alive, like breathing air, digesting food, and circulating blood.
secretarye of all the functions your body needs to stay alive, like breathing air, digesting food, and circulating blood.
In charge of all of the functions your body needs to stay alive ie. Breathing, digestions, blood circulation, controls involuntary muscles – stomach heart,
Brains secretary – sorts through all of the messages that brain and rest of body send back and forth

14. Limbic System EMOTIONAL CONTROL CENTER of the brain.
REWARD CENTER of the brain (hypothalamus)
Located between the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres
Made up of Hypothalamus, Amygdala and Hippocampus.
Only mammals and humans have a limbic system – gives us capability for emotions and memory
Drug addiction and cravings are associate with the limbic systems pleasue

15. Areas of the Cerebral Cortex
Divided into eight lobes, four in each hemisphere
The association areas—areas that are free to process all kinds of information
Association areas are located in the cerebral cortex
Regions not assoc with motor and sensory cortex
¾ of cortex is Uncommitted to sensory or muscular activity (motor cortex or sensory cortex)
Association areas – involved in higher mental functions such as learning, remembering, thinking and speaking
Ex. Enables you to recognize me as your favorite teacher!
Anticipate you will receive a detention for your bad behavior in class or suspended for drinking at a football game
Know that you will get called down to Short’s office if you are fighting in the hallway

16. Figure 3B.13 Left hemisphere tissue devoted to each body part in the motor cortex and the sensory cortex As you can see from this classic though inexact representation, the amount of cortex devoted to a body part is not proportional to that part’s size. Rather, the brain devotes more tissue to sensitive areas and to areas requiring precise control. Thus, the fingers have a greater representation in the cortex than does the upper arm.
© 2011 by Worth Publishers

17. Association Areas Locate in cerebral cortex
Not directly involved in sensory and motor activity (sensory cortex, motor cortex, visual cortex or auditory cortex)
Involved in higher mental functions such as
Example:

18. Figure 3B.16 Areas of the cortex in four mammals More intelligent animals have increased
“uncommitted” or association areas of the cortex. These vast areas of the brain are responsible for integrating and acting on information received and processed by sensory areas.
© 2011 by Worth Publishers

19. Language Development Aphasia – Frontal Lobe Temporal Lobe
Broca’s Area –
Temporal Lobe
Wernicke’s Area –
Parietal Lobe
Angular Gyrus –
Aphasia – impairment of language caused usually by a stroke
Subfunctions of speech are produced in different areas of the brain
Broca’s - Involved in controlling speech = left frontal lobe
Wernicke’s – involved in understanding and producing meaningful speech – left temporal lobe
Angular gyrus – enables you to read aloud

21. The Divided Brain Plasticity – . Neurogenesis –
The younger you are, the more plastic your brain is.
Contraint induced therapy - teaching a patient to regain the use of an impaired limb by limiting the use of the good limb
Neurogenesis –
Functions of one brain area taking over the functions of another damaged brain area
Constraint induced therapy – Teaching a patient to regain the use of an impaired limb by limiting his or her use of the good limb
rewire damaged brains by forcing patients to use a nonfunctioning limb.
Feeling the existance of an amputated part of the body is a result of brain plasticity
Neurogenesis - Recent brain research contradicts previously held beliefs, indicating that new neurons are actually formed in the brain.
Physical exercise, sleep and exposure to stimulating environments can help to form new neurons
Christopher Reeves was able to regain some functioning in his lungs and fingers (moved finger on national television) = some hope for neurogenisis if spinal cord damaged
What can you do to produce
new neurons?

22. Hemispheres
Brain Lateralization - divided into a left and right hemisphere.
Contralateral controlled- left controls right side of body and vice versa.
Left Brain –
Right Brain –
Brain lateralization – specialization of each hemisphere recognize faces with right hemisphere, but not left
Perceive an optical illusion – right hemisphere
Read facial emotion – right hemisphere
Adding a series of numbers – left brain
What certain words have in common – inferences
Left handedness = genes or prenatal factors may influence, but identical twins are unlikely to share meaning…not likely genetic

23. Split-Brain Patients Sperry and Gazzaniga
Corpus Callosum – connects two brain hemispheres and carries messages between them
Removed in patients with severe epilepsy
When removed you have a split-brain patient.
Corpus callosum – quickly transfers info from one side of the brain to others
Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked, patients said they saw ART
Psychologist Michael Gazzaniga asked split-brain patients to stare at a dot as he flashed HE·ART on a screen. HE appeared in the left visual field, ART in the right. When asked to point to the word with their left hand, patients pointed to HE
Can simultaneously copy different figures with the right and left hand

24. Figure 3B.22 The information highway from eye to brain Information from the left half of your field of vision goes to your right hemisphere, and information from the right half of your visual field goes to your left hemisphere, which usually controls speech. (Note, however, that each eye receives sensory information from both the right and left visual fields.) Data received by either hemisphere are quickly transmitted to the other across the corpus callosum. In a person with a severed corpus callosum, this information sharing does not take place.
© 2011 by Worth Publishers

25. Figure 3B.23 Testing the divided brain When an experimenter flashes the word HEART across the visual field, a woman with a split brain
However, if asked to indicate with her left hand what she saw, .
From Gazzaniga, 1983

26. Figure 3B. 25 Which one is happier
Figure 3B.25 Which one is happier? Look at the center of one face, then the other. Does one appear happier? 

27. The Brain and Consciousness
Dual Processing –