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31:001 ElementaryPsychologyFall2016 ProfessorVecera Brain&Behavior1:Einstein’sbrain I.WhatMakesUsSmart? A.Einstein’sbrain:Usedtoanswerthisquestion.Nostraightforwardanswer,though. Einstein’sbrainshowedsomedifferencesinoneregion,butnotmuchelse.Although“gross” neuroanatomydifferslittle,itdependsonwhereyoulook. B.Threemajordivisionsofthebrain:Therearethreemaindivisions,butit’sthelastofthese, theforebrain,thatsetshighermammalsapartfromotheranimals.It’salsowhatprobably madeEinsteindifferent. Threemajordivisionsofthebrain.Theseareverycoarsestructures,andeachoneofthemis composedofmanyparts. 1.Thehindbrain:Thisisthelowestsetofstructuresinthebrain.Thinkofthisasyourreptilian brainbecausemanyofthestructuresdothesamethinginhumansthattheydoinreptiles. 2.Themidbrain:Nextupthehierarchyofthebrainisthemidbrainregion.Thisisourbirdand amphibianbrainbecauseit’ssimilarinhumansandamphibians. 3.Theforebrain:Finally,wehavetheforebrain.Thisisahugeregionofbrainthatincludesthe cerebralcortex,plusseveralsubcorticalareas.(Subcorticalmeans“belowthecortex.”These arestructuresthatarebelowthegraymatterofthecortex.) II.AFewPartsofForebrain A.BasalGanglia:Importantformovement(thisistheregionthathasdepleteddopaminein Parkinson’sdisease) B.LimbicSystem:Asetofstructuresimportantforemotionaswellaslearningandmemory C.CerebralCortex:Whyisthecortexwrinkled?Lobes;occipital,parietal,temporal,frontal III.NeuropsychologyofCortex We’llinvestigatethepsychologicalfunctionssupportedbyeachofthelobes.Theideahereis thatpsychologicalbehaviorscanbelocalized—pinpointedto—differentregionsofthecortex. (But,weshouldn’toversimplifylocalizationoffunction.Complexbehaviorsrequiremanyareas workingtogether.) IV.HowCortexWorks Inunderstandingwhatmakesussmart,wealsoneedtolookbeyondlargebrainregions(“gross anatomy”).Weneedtoconsiderhowthoselittleneuronsarewired—howthey’reconnected withoneanother. Oneconsequenceofwiringisthatmapsarecreatedinthebrainfordifferentsystems.We’ll talkabouttouchandthesomatosensoryhomunculus.Therearetwokeypointstothis homunculus:1.Adjacentpointsontheskinsurfaceremainadjacentincortexand2.Some regionsoftheskinsurfacehavemorecortexdevotedtothem(e.g.,hands,lips). Onethingweseewithcortexisthatitisplastic(i.e.,malleable).Intouch,weseethisinthe changesinthehomunculusfollowingamputation.But,thisplasticityhassomelimitations,asis evidentinphantomlimbpainandthephantomlimbsyndromethatcanfollowamputationofa limb. Termsusedinthislecture hippocampus amygdala cerebralcortex/cerebralhemispheres occipitallobe parietallobe temporallobe frontallobe agnosia:impairmentinobjectrecognition aphasia:impairmentinlanguage amnesia:impairmentinmemory PhineasGage(thenameofapersonwe’lltalkabout) Somatosensoryhomunculus