What are the 3 major divisions of the brain?
Forebrain
Midbrain
Hindbrain
An area of the brain that coordinates information coming into and out of the spinal cord
Hindbrain
What are the main regions of the Hindbrain?
Cerebellum
Pons
Reticular formation
Medulla
What are the main regions of the Midbrain?
Tegmentum
Tectum
This part of the brain is important for orientation and movement
Midbrain
This part of the brain is critical for complex cognitive, emotional, sensory, and motor functions
Forebrain
What are the main regions of the Forebrain?
Cerebral Cortex
Subcortical Structures
An extension of the spinal cord into the skull that coordinates heart rate, circulation, and respiration
Medulla
A brain structure that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and levels of arousal.
Reticular formation
A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.
Cerebellum
A brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain.
Pons
A part of the midbrain that orients an organism in the environment.
Tectum
A part of the midbrain that is involved in movement and arousal.
Tegmentum
The outermost layer of the brain, visible to the naked eye and divided into two hemispheres.
Cerebral Cortex
Areas of the forebrain housed under the cerebral cortex near the very centre of the brain.
Subcortical Structures
A subcortical structure that relays and filters information from the senses and transmits the information to the cerebral cortex.
Thalamus
A subcortical structure that regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sexual behaviour.
Hypothalamus
A group of forebrain structures including the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the amygdala, which are involved in motivation, emotion, learning, and memory.
Limbic System
A structure critical for creating new memories and integrating them into a network of knowledge so that they can be stored indefinitely in other parts of the cerebral cortex.
Hippocampus
A part of the limbic system that plays a central role in many emotional processes, particularly the formation of emotional memories.
Amygdala
A set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements.
Basal Ganglia
A network of glands that produce and secrete into the bloodstream chemical messages known as hormones, which influence a wide variety of basic functions, including metabolism, growth, and sexual development.
Endocrine System
The “master gland” of the body’s hormone-producing system, which releases hormones that direct the functions of many other glands in the body.
Pituitary Gland
What are the smooth surfaces of the cortex called?
Gyri
What are the indentations in cortex called?
Sulci
What are Hormones?
Chemical messengers; Influence several basic functions, such as metabolism, growth, sexual maturation
A thick band of nerve fibres that connects large areas of the cerebral cortex on each side of the brain and supports communication of information across the two hemispheres.
Corpus Callosum
A region of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information.
Occiptal Lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex whose functions include processing information about touch.
Parietal Lobe
A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.
Temporal Lobe
The region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement.
Frontal Lobe
Areas of the cerebral cortex that are composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex.
Association areas
Neurons that are active when an animal performs a behaviour, such as reaching for or manipulating an object, and are also activated when another animal observes that animal performing the same behaviour.
Mirror Neurons
Represents skin areas on the contralateral surface of the body
Somatosensory Cortex
Is a rendering of the body in which each part is shown in proportion to how much of the somatosensory cortex is devoted to it
Homunculus
Functions that were assigned to certain areas of the brain may be capable of being reassigned to other areas of the brain to accommodate changing input from the environment.
Brain plasticity