Summary 1.4 Biological Psychology: The Human Body - Dictionary

1.4 Term Dictionary + Functions


Problem 1: Brain and body 
Anatomy:
 Sagittal plane  into left and right part
 Horizontal plane  into superior and inferior (perpendicular to sagittal and
coronal)
 Coronal plane  into ventral and dorsal (belly and back) sections
 Cross section  a transverse (horizontal) cut through a structure or tissue
 Medial  toward the center/middle (closest)
 Lateral  away from the center/middle (sideways)
 Contralateral - right eye processed left hemisphere (diagonal)
1. Different parts of the brain:
- Forebrain (prosencephalon)  The most anterior (front) of the three primary regions of the
embryonic brain
 Cerebrum (telencephalon)  two hemispheres (left and right) located beneath the cortical
hemispheres
o Function: directing movements and balance
o Cerebral cortex  an area of the brain resembling a folded sheet of grey tissue that covers
the rest of the brain – two cerebral hemispheres
 Function: directs the brains higher cognitive and emotional functions
o 4 Lobes:
 Frontal lobe  behavior/personality/emotions or “the boss of the brain” –
executive function
 Parietal lobe  coordination/motor memory or sensation with the outer world
 Temporal lobe  general (sensual) memory/language or hearing
 Occipital lobe  vision or more particular face recognition, movement, memory
info and etc.
- Sulci (lines, indentations), gyri (protrusions), fissures (separate different lobes)
 4 gyri:
o Precentral (frontal lobe)
o Post central (parietal lobe) + senses
o Superior (temporal lobe) – hearing
o Cingulate (near corpus callosum).
 3 fissures:
o Calcarine fissure  occipital lobe, primary visual cortex
o Lateral fissure  separates temporal lobe from frontal and parietal
o Sylvian fissure  separates temporal lobes from cerebral hemisphere
o Central fissure  separates parietal from frontal
 Corpus callosum (white matter)  axons of neurons which connect the two hemispheres of the
brain
 Thalamus/hypothalamus/epithalamus (diencephalon)

, o Limbic system (around brain stem)  a series of subcortical structures which connect the
cortex with other parts of the brain
o Function: regulating emotional and motivation behavior and memory
o thalamus  transmits nerve impulses, up sensory pathways to the cerebral cortex &
function  sort sensory info
o hypothalamus (keeping homeostasis & VIP for ANS)  regulating motivated behavior (e.g.,
appetite) and release of hormones to the pituitary gland
 mammillary body  relay impulses to the thalamus & recognitional memory
o hippocampus (between thalamus and cerebral cortex)  the transfer of information from
short-term to long-term memory
o Pineal gland (between cerebrum and thalamus)  releases hormones into the body
(melatonin) (between cerebellum and thalamus)
o olfactory bulbs  sense of smell
o amygdala  role in basic emotions, aggression, and the development of emotional
memories
o cingulate cortex (cingulate gyrus)  -reparation, anticipation, and decision-making
processes activate it
- Basal ganglia: a bunch of neurons with the same function, namely: caudate nucleus, putamen,
globus pallidus
o Function  planning and directing movement
- Optic chiasm (close to the pituitary gland)  the endings of the optic nerves extend to the back of
the brain in the occipital lobe (primary visual cortex)
- The ventricles are 4 in total:
o Two laterals
o One that divides thalamus in left and right
o Fourth that connects with the third in the center of medulla and goes down the spinal cord
- Midbrain (Mesencephalon)  relays sound input to the auditory cortex (part of the Brain stem)
 Tectum  the upper surface of the midbrain
o Superior colliculus: vision
o Inferior colliculus: hearing
 Tegmentum  red nucleus in the midbrain, receiving input from cerebellum
o Reticular formation  a network of many nuclei: VIP for functions like breathing or blood
circulation and etc.
o Cerebral aqueduct (between tectum and tegmentum)  periaqueductal gray (gray matter
surrounding the cerebral aqueduct
o Substantia nigra  dopamine, facilitates readiness
 Ventral tegmental area (VTA)  critical to the development of behavioral reward and
behavioral sensitization
- Hindbrain (Metencephalon & Myelencephalon) 
o Pons  part of the Brain stem (sleep and arousal)
o Cerebellum (small back brain)  plays important role in movement and cognition (also
motion memory)

, o Medulla oblongata  the central core of the Brain stem that connects the brain with the
rest of the body
o Reticular formation  runs through the Brain stem, also in Midbrain  alerts the cerebral
cortex to incoming sensory signals and serves to regulate arousal levels
2. Central and Peripheral Nervous system
o CNS  Spinal cord and brain  sends information to the peripheral nervous system  the
brain processes and interprets sensory information sent from the spinal cord
 Brain:
 Cerebral spinal fluid  goes into the brain verticals (produced in the
choroid plexus) - it cushions the brain (protects from damage)
 Body-blood barrier - protects brain from toxic substances in the blood
that could be transmitted into the brain (active transport - using energy to
bring in substances the brain needs)
 Spinal cord:
 Layout: gray matter - contained in dorsal part, ventral part has motor nerves
 meninges  three membranous coverings, protective of the spinal cord
(both brain and spine) & has 3 layers:
 1st layer: Dura mater  tough outermost layer
 2nd layer: Arachnoid membrane  delicate and thin
 3rd layer: Pia mater  internal delicate membrane covers brain
surface, follows contours (gyri and sulci)
 Cranial nerves: 6 pairs (total of 12) of nerves that originate in the brain.
Each has a different function for sense/movement in the head and neck
area.
o PNS  connects to the rest of the body
 Autonomic  regulates the internal environment
 Sympathetic  mobilizes energy (psychological arousal)
 Parasympathetic  conserves energy (psychological relaxation)
 Somatic system  regulates the interaction with the external environment
- Neuron  a cell specialized in receiving information and passing it on to other cells
o Cell body (soma): integration of information and generation of signals
o Cell nucleus: location of the DNA
o Dendrites (branches): collection of information from other neurons
o Axon: passing the signal over long distances
o Myelin sheaths: covering the axon, also protects and speeds up the connection
o Nodes of Ranvier: the small ‘interruptions’ of axon between the Myelin
o Presynaptic (axon) terminals: information crossing to the synapses
o Synapses (axon terminals): boutons that transmit the signal to the next neuron
- Types of neurons:
o Local neuron  neurons without axons, exchange information to closest neighbors
o Sensory neurons  inspect sensation, carry info to brain (Afferent)
o Afferent neurons  the neurons that carry sensory impulses towards the CNS
o Motor neurons  from brain to muscle (body) (Efferent)