The BRAIN Chapter 3

Three sections of the brain HINDBRAIN MIDBRAIN FOREBRAIN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snO68aJTOpM

HINDBRAIN: parts Medulla – involved in vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing Pons- located in front of medulla – involved in regulating body movement, attention, sleep, and alertness Cerebellum- involved in balance and coordination

MIDBRAIN - parts Reticular Activating System- (ras) – important for attention, sleep, and arousal – makes us alert

FOREBRAIN – parts: Thalamus– serves as a relay station for sensory stimulation. Transmits sensory information Hypothalamus- involved in many aspects of behavior and physiological functions – vital in regulating of body temperature, storage of nutrients, aspects of motivation and emotion, hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, caring for offspring, and aggression- can lead to unusual eating or drinking behaviors Corpus Callosum- the structure that connects the two hemispheres

Limbic System- forms a fringe along the inner edge of the cerebrum- involved in learning, memory, emotion, hunger, sex, and aggression Cerebrum- makes up large part of the brain about 70% of the weight – surface is called the cerebral cortex – outer layer of brain – makes us uniquely human – the part that thinks – deals with memory, language ,emotions, complex motor functions, perception, and more

Four lobes of the brain Frontal- involved in motor control, motivation, planning, and emotion Temporal- involved in hearing and memory Occipital- involved in sight Parietal- helps bring together information from the senses and is involved in language https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIo6ck75EZc

Nervous system body’s primary information system Central Nervous System- consists of the brain and spinal cord Spinal cord- connects the peripheral nervous system to the brain – info travels to and from the brain via the spinal cord -deals with reflexes – enables pain reflex

Peripheral Nervous System Links the central nervous system with the body’s receptors, muscles, and glands

Two components of the Peripheral Nervous System: Somatic NS- controls movements of our skeletal muscles – transmits sensory messages to the central nervous system Autonomic NS- controls the glands and the muscles of our internal organs regulates body’s vital functions (heartbeat, digestion, glandular activity)

Two parts of the Autonomic NS: Sympathetic NS-arouses us for defensive action – accelerates heartbeat, slows digestion, raises blood pressure Parasympathetic NS- restores body back to normal