Download Psychology - Wando High School

Unit 3B:
The Brain
The Tools of Discovery:
Having Our Head Examined
Introduction
Lesion

tissue
destruction; a
brain lesion is a
naturally or
experimentally
caused
destruction of
brain tissue.
Recording the
Brain’s Electrical
Activity
Electroencephalogram (EEG)


Amplified recording of
the waves of electrical
activity that sweep
across the brain’s
surface.
Measured by
electrodes placed
on the scalp.
CT (Computed Tomography) scan
 Series
of X-ray photographs
 Taken from different angles
 Combined by computer into a
composite representation of a
slice through the body.
 CAT scan

http://video.about.com/orthopedics/CAT-Scans.htm
PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan
 Visual
display of
brain activity that
detects where a
radioactive form of
glucose goes while
the brain performs a
given task.
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
 Technique
that uses magnetic fields and
radio waves to produce computergenerated images of soft tissue.
 MRI scans show brain anatomy.
fMRI (Functional MRI)
 Technique
for revealing bloodflow and,
therefore, brain activity by comparing
successive MRI scans.
 fMRI scans show brain function.
Brain
Module 8: The Brain
4 Lower-Level
Brain Structures:
#1: Brainstem
 Oldest part of the brain
 Shared in common w/ other mammals
 Earliest parts to evolve
 Spinal
cord and
brain meet
 Automatic survival
functions
Medulla
 Base
of brainstem
 Controls life-supporting functions
 Heartbeat, breathing
 Damage = Death
Reticular Formation
 Nerve
network up and down
spinal cord to the thalamus.
 Controls level of alertness;
arousal
 Damage = Coma
 Cat
#2: Thalamus
 Sits
atop the brainstem
 Brain’s sensory switchboard
 Receives information from all senses
except smell

passes them to higher brain regions
#3: Cerebellum
 “Little
brain”
 Controls balance, muscle
coordination and memories
on how to use your body.


Walking
Playing guitar
 Damage
= Loss of fine
coordination skills; jerky
movements
 Alcohol…
#4: Limbic System
 Doughnut-shaped
neural system
(including the hippocampus, amygdala,
and hypothalamus) located below the
cerebral hemispheres; associated with
emotions and drives.
Amygdala
 Controls
emotional responses such
as fear, aggression, rage, anger.
Hypothalamus

Regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature,
sexual behavior and the fight or flight
reaction to stress.
Hippocampus
Processes
new memories for
permanent storage.
Damaged: Amnesia
The Amazing Human Brain!!!
 Film
Time….
 http://player.discoveryeducation.com/in
dex.cfm?guidAssetId=9BE0695B-36654189-84C8-A747E4E5FE8C
The Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral Cortex
 Control
and information processing center
 Contains 30 billion nerve cells
 Divided into 4 lobes
 85% of brains weight
 Brain weighs 2.5-3.5 lbs.
Longitudinal, Central, Lateral
Fissures
 Divides
brain into hemispheres
 Called lobes
Structure of the Cortex
 Glial

4
cells (“glue cells”)
cells in the nervous system that
support, nourish,
and protect
neurons.
Lobes
Frontal Lobes
 Making
plans and judgments
 Speaking and muscle movements
Parietal Lobes
 Processing
and mathematical reasoning
 Receives sensory input for touch and
body position
Occipital Lobe
 Interprets
visual information
 Located in the back of the head
Temporal Lobes
 Auditory
areas
 Receiving information primarily from
the opposite ear.
Functions of the Cortex
Motor Functions
 Motor Cortex


Rear of frontal lobes
Controls voluntary
movements
 Mapping
the
Motor Cortex
Functions of the Cortex
Sensory Functions
 Sensory


Cortex
front of the parietal
lobes
registers and
processes body
touch and
movement
sensations.
Functions of the Cortex
Functions of the Cortex
Association Areas
 Association

areas
Frontal lobes
• Phineas Gage
Parietal lobes
 Temporal lobes

Association area
 areas
of the cerebral cortex that are not
involved in primary motor or sensory
functions; rather, they are involved in
higher mental functions such as learning,
remembering, thinking, and speaking.
Phineas Gage
 Film
Time….
 http://www.pbs.or
g/saf/1302/video/
watchonline.htm
Language
 Aphasia
 impairment of language, usually caused by
left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s
area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s
area (impairing understanding).
Broca’s Area
 Left
frontal lobe
 Expressive language; muscle movement
 Damaged = form ideas but not express
them as speech

Ex. A stroke
Wernicke’s Area
 Left
temporal lobe
 Controls receptive language; our ability
to understand what someone else says
Language
Language
Language
Language
Language
Language
Brain Plasticity
Plasticity
 The
ability of the brain tissue to take on
new functions
 Greatest in childhood
 Important if parts of the brain are
damaged or destroyed
Module 8: The Brain
Hemispheric
Differences:
Language and
Spatial Abilities
Right Hemisphere
 Spatial
abilities
 Connections between words
 Perceive, organize, distance
Left Hemisphere
 Language
functions
 2 important parts of left brain:


Broca’s area
Wernicke’s area
Splitting the Brain
 Vogel

and Bogen
Corpus-callosum
• large band of neural
fibers connecting the
two brain
hemispheres and
carrying messages
between them
 Split


Brain
a condition resulting from
surgery that isolates the
brain’s two hemispheres
by cutting the fibers.
Cut to prevent seizures
Half the Brain…
 Film
Time….
 http://www.pbs.org/saf/1302/video/watc
honline.htm
 5. The Divided Brain
Right-Left Brain Differences
Left/Right Hemisphere Specialization
LEFT

Analytic thought


Logic



Facial recognition
 Emotional processing
 Holistic thought
Conclusions based upon a
logical or consecutive order
Language


Step by step process
RIGHT
Using words to
name/describe/define


Math & Science

Number use, awareness of
time, symbols, facts & linear
reasoning
Intuition


Insight based upon “hunches”
Creativity


Seeing “big” picture before
understanding details
Demonstrative with minimal
word use, understanding
relationships
Art & Music

Putting pieces together to form
“wholes”
The Brain and Consciousness
 Consciousness



our awareness of ourselves and our
environment.
Evolutionary
Psychologists
Consider
consequences
Cognitive Neuroscience
 Cognitive


neuroscience
the interdisciplinary
study of the brain
activity linked with
cognition (including
perception,
thinking, memory
and language).
Relating brain states
with conscious
experiences.
Dual Processing
The principle that information is often
simultaneously processed on
separate conscious and unconscious
tracks.
 Conscious left brain
 Intuitive right brain
 Conscious
 Unconscious

The End
The Brain’s Right Hemisphere
 Spatial
abilities; connections between words
 To perceive or organize things in a given
space, judge distance, understand geometric
objects, etc.
 Helps in making
connections
between
words
Motor Cortex
 Area
at the rear of the frontal lobes
 Controls voluntary movement
 Different parts of the cortex control
different parts of the body.
 The motor cortex in the left hemisphere
controls the right side of the body and
visa versa.
Somatosensory Cortex
 Located
in the front of the parietal lobes
 Registers and processes body senses
 Soma is Greek for “body.”
Brainstem and Thalamus
The Frontal Lobe
 Play
“The Frontal Lobes: Cognition and
Awareness” (9:05) Segment #7 from
The Mind: Psychology Teaching
Modules (2nd edition).
Brain Structures – Cerebral Cortex
 Insert
“Brain Structures” Video #2c
from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for
Psychology.
 Instructions for importing the video file
can be found in the ‘Readme’ file on the
CD-ROM.
Brain Structures – Cerebral Cortex
 Insert
“Brain Structures” Video #2d
from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for
Psychology
 Instructions for importing the video file
can be found in the “Readme” file on
the CD-ROM.
Brain Structures – Cerebral Cortex
 Insert
“Brain Structures” Video #2e
from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for
Psychology.
 Instructions for importing the video file
can be found in the ‘Readme’ file on the
CD-ROM.
Brain Structures – Cerebral Cortex
 Insert
“Brain Structures” Video #2f
from Worth’s Digital Media Archive for
Psychology.
 Instructions for importing the video file
can be found in the ‘Readme’ file on the
CD-ROM.
Split Brain Patient
 Play
“The Divided Brain” (6:46)
Module #5 from The Brain: Teaching
Modules (2nd edition).
Language and the Brain
 Play
“Language Centers in the Brain”
(3:39) Segment #16 from Psychology:
The Human Experience.
Broca’s and Wernicke’s Areas
 Play
“Language and Speech: Broca’s
and Wernicke’s Areas” (7:44) Module
#6 from The Brain: Teaching Modules
(2nd edition).
Brain Specialization
 Insert
“Brain Imaging” Video #2b from
Worth’s Digital Media Archive for
Psychology.
 Instructions for importing the video file
can be found in the ‘Readme’ file on the
CD-ROM.
Brain Plasticity
 If
desired, play “A Case Study of Brain
Damage” (5:18) Segment #4 from
Psychology: The Human Experience.
This clip provides an introduction for
segment #5 on Brain Plasticity.
 Play “Brain Plasticity” (6:21) Segment
#5 from Psychology: The Human
Experience.
Brain Plasticity
 Play
“Brain Anomaly and Plasticity:
Hydrocephalus” (7:02) Module #7 from
The Brain: Teaching Modules (2nd
edition).
Corpus Callosum
 Tand
of neural fibers that connects the
two brain hemispheres and carries
messages between them
 Is sometimes cut to prevent seizures
Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral Cortex