Download Unit Three- The Brain

Psychology
Unit 2- The Parts and Functions
of the Brain
Conscious vs. Subconscious
The Brain From Top to Bottom
Web Quest Scavenger Hunt
Visit the site: http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_d.html
Directions: Answer the following questions about the Brain as they correspond to the different categories on the
website. Have fun!
The Four Lobes of the Brain
1.
Click on “From the Simple to the Complex” – Anatomy by Level of Organization
a. Drag your cursor over the different lobes of the brain to find out what they are called, where they are
located and what they do.
Frontal Lobe:
Parietal Lobe:
Temporal Lobe:
Occipital Lobe:
2.
On the left had side of the page are ORANGE, RED, BLUE squares that are links to other pages, click on the
ORANGE top left link that will bring you to: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html
a. Play around with the 3-D brain and get a feel for the location for each lobe.
b. Go to EXPLORE THE BRAIN, in the drag down menu search the brain for the following functions:
Where are these functions located?
Touch
Emotion
Taste
Movement
Speech
Short –term Memory
3. Label the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain:
Which hemisphere controls the right side of your body?
Which hemisphere controls the left side of your body?
The Nervous System
The brain is something like the body’s ____________________. It must be kept quickly informed of the body’s
_______________ and of the _________________ available in the environment to satisfy them. For this
purpose, the brain relies on a vast network of _______________ distributed throughout the body: the
_______________. Together with the brain and the ____________________, the nerves constitute the
_________________________. To distinguish the control centers from the information pathways, we divide
the nervous system into two sub-systems: The _____________________Nervous System and the
_______________ Nervous System.
4.
Drag your cursor over the Central Nervous System and the
Peripheral Nervous System. Label the drawings to the left.
a. What does the Central Nervous System do for the body?
b. What are the two subdivisions of the Peripheral Nervous
System exist? What are each responsible for?
The Wired Brain and the Hormonal Brain
5. Click on the other Sub-Topic in “From Simple to Complex” – Function by Level of Organization
a. The Brain’s wiring consists of Axons, what are Axons? What do they do?
b. Neural circuits link the different parts of our brains to each
other so that each part of the brain knows what the other
is doing—what other major responsibilities do neural
circuits perform in our bodies?
c. What are the three steps in every reflex? Describe what
each step means.
d. What function does the neural circuit that links Wernicke’s Area to Broca’s Area serve?
6.
What is the major difference between the speed of the way the hormonal brain and the wire brain
communicate?
7. What are three examples of hormonal states of the brain?
8. Go back to the main menu—click on Evolution and the Brain
a. Describe the three layers of the brain and what they
are primarily responsible for controlling:
i. Reptilian:
ii. Limbic:
iii. Neocortex:
9. Visit http://www.learner.org/discoveringpsychology/brain/brain_flash.html and look more closely at what parts
specifically make up the three layers of the brain.
a. List the five parts of the Central Core, give a brief description of each part.
b. List the three parts of the Limbic System, give a brief description of each part.
c. List the four parts of the Cerebral Cortex, give a brief description of each part.
Memory
10. Click on “Memory and the Brain” – How Memory Works
a. What is short-term memory? What part of the brain controls short-term memory?
b. What is the hippocampus? How does this part of the brain help form the long-term memory?
11. Click on the other Sub-Topic-- Forgetting and Amnesia
a. Why do we forget?
b. What is the difference between forgetting and amnesia?
c. What are two specific things you can do to improve your memory?
12. Click on the first ORANGE “Beaker” Link and go to: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chmemory.html and
play at least three of the short-term memory games.
a. Describe the game you played. How well did you do?
b. Describe the game you played. How well did you do?
c. Describe the game you played. How well did you do?
13. How does Amnesia affect your brain?
a. What are the two types of amnesia and how do they affect your memories differently?
Movement
14. What is the Motor Cortex? Where is it located?
a. What information does your motor cortex need from other lobes of your brain before it can carry out
any movements?
b. Read the information written in the ORANGE TEXT BOX. Then Click on the first ORANGE “Beaker” Link
and go to: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/brain/probe.html and probe the brain!!!
Activation Sequence of Motor Areas
The basic function of the brain is to ____________________
which are, first and foremost, movements. Several different regions of
the ________________ are involved in controlling the body's
movements. These regions are organized into a hierarchy like the
_____________________. On an ancient galley, for example, the ______________ determined the
destination for a voyage by assessing the various factors that might make such a trip worthwhile. Then his
_________________ calculated the direction that the ship had to travel to reach that destination, based on
weather conditions. Finally, the lieutenants transmitted their orders to the ___________ manning the oars, who
used their muscles to move the ship in the desired direction.
Similarly, in the _______________________, planning for any given movement is done mainly in the
forward portion of the ___________________. This part of the cortex receives information about the
individual's current position from several other parts. Then, like the ship's captain, it issues its commands, to
_______________. Area 6 acts like the ship's lieutenants. It ______________________________________ to
achieve the required movement, then issues the corresponding orders to the "rowers"—
_____________________________, also known as Area 4. This area in turn activates specific muscles or
groups of muscles via the motor neurons in the _____________________________.
15. Click on “From Thought to Language”—Communicating in Words
a. Who is Paul Broca? How and what did he discover?
b. Who is Carl Wernicke? What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
c. What is the name of the nerve fibers that connects the two areas?
When you _______________________________, an auditory
signal is processed first in your brain’s primary auditory cortex,
which then sends it on to the neighboring
___________________________. Wernicke’s area associates
the structure of this signal with the representation of a word
stored in your ______________, thus enabling you to retrieve the
meaning of the particular word. In contrast, when you
______________________, the information is perceived first by your ____________________, which
then transfers it to the _____________________, from which it is sent on to __________________.
16. What are the two most lateralized parts of the brain? What, then, is Brain Lateralization?
a. What does it mean when someone is ambidextrous?
b. Why is the right side of our brain in control of our left-side of our body and vice versa?
17. How do we communicate without words? What are some examples?
a. What is the difference between denotative and connotative language?
b. Why might someone misunderstand what you are saying if they have right hemisphere
damage?
18. Click on the “Senses”—Vision. Skim the reading. How are the fields of vision tied to the hemispheres
of the brain?
a. Scroll back up to the top and click on the ORANGE “Beaker” Link and go to:
http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/experience_jaune06.html and play around with your blind
spot. Click on some of the “Beaker” links at the bottom of that page to continue to test your
blind spot.
Can you create your own blind spot test?
19. Click on “Emotions and the Brain”—Fear, Anxiety, Anguish
a. What is the amygdale? What is its major role?