PSYA01H3 Lecture 8: Lecture 8
Document Summary
Brain can be subdivided into different parts; speci c parts of the brain are responsible for different functions/behaviours. Cerebral cortex place where high level perception of the world occurs and where controlled motor activities originate; the outside of the brain. Cortex is the place where all our controlled interactions with external world occur. Corpus callosum connects the 2 hemispheres; very dense bit of tissue which acts like communication lines between the 2 sides, causing the brain to function as a single brain. Contrasts with more basic brain regions which are devoted to monitoring and controlling internal behaviours and automatic responses to external stimuli; e. g. thalamus, pons, cerebellum, etc. Humans have a lot of cortical area compared to other animals but midbrain is there for every animal because it does basic survival functions, helping us react to threats; midbrain is primitive and cortex is newer. At brains in animals started to fold in amongst themselves over evolutionary period.
