THE BRAIN
Mrs. Martinez
Psychology I
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
A. Brain
B. Spinal Cord
a.
Spinal Reflexes- simple automatic responses to something.
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Somatic Nervous
System-
 Enables us to experience
sensations such as hot or
cold.
 Alerts us that parts of the
body have changed
position.
 Helps to maintain balance
and posture
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Autonomic Nervous
System-
 Sympathetic-activated when
someone is going into action
because of a stressful event.
(fight or flight response)
 Parasympathetic-restores the
body’s reserves of energy after
an action has occurred.
 Brings our body to a peaceful
state
THE BRAIN
 Composed of many parts that organize our
movements, create our thoughts, form our
emotions and produce our behaviors.
 Divided into 3 Sections:
 The lower level: medulla, pons
and cerebellum
 The middle level: Limbic system
which includes the amygdala,
hypothalamus, thalamus and
hippocampus.
 The outer level: the cerebrum
and cerebral cortex.
CEREBELLUM, MEDULLA, PONS
 Cerebellum: helps with balance and
coordination. Known as the little brain.
 Medulla: lower part of the brain stem.
Functions are involuntary and include
Breathing, heart rate and swallowing.
Pons: Sits directly above the medulla. It
is a message station between
cerebellum and cortex. Plays a key role
in sleeping and dreaming.
AMYGDALA, HYPOTHALAMUS,
THALAMUS, HIPPOCMAPUS
 Amygdala: almond shaped. Center for
many emotions specifically fear and
aggression. Sits next to hippocampus
 Hypothalamus: Hypo means “under”,
under thalamus. Very small but helps
regulate thirst, body temp., hunger and
blood pressure. Keeps us balanced.
 Thalamus: Relays motor and sensory
signals to the cerebral cortex.
 Hippocampus: involved with establishing
long term memory, Learning, and
Emotion, Latin for seahorse.
THE BRAIN
 Cerebral Cortex The part that makes us
uniquely human. It is the part that thinks!
 Composed of 2 sides (hemispheres)
 Connected by the corpus callosum:
a broad band of nerve fibers joining the
two hemispheres of the brain.
 The brain is composed of 4 lobes.
 frontal lobe-motor functions
 parietal lobe-sensory area
 occipital lobe-primary visual area
 temporal lobe-auditory area
THE BRAIN AND LANGUAGE ABILITIES
 Language abilitiesconcentrated in the
left hemisphere
 Broca’s area-located in the
frontal lobe. It enables us to
move our lips when speaking.
When damaged, people speak
slowly and with difficulty but
comprehension is good.
 Sarah and Broca's aphasia
 Wernicke’s area-located in the
temporal lobe. It pieces
together sounds and sights.
Damage to this area makes it
difficult to understand speech.
METHODS OF STUDYING THE BRAIN
 1. Accidents
 2. Electrical stimulation of the brain
 3. Electroencephalogram (EEG)-a device
that studies the electrical activity of the
brain.
4. SCANS
 CAT
MRI
PET
PHINEAS GAGE
 Read “What Happened to Phineas Gage?”
 Answer the following questions in complete sentences:
1.
Describe Phineas Gage’s accident.
2.How did Phineas Gage change after the accident?
3. How did Phineas Gage’s accident change scientists’
understanding of the brain?
Video clip: Phineas Gage