Psychology 1000 Lecture 4: 3.5_ The Brain

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Laura Fazakas- Dehoog

Document Summary

Central ns brain + spinal cord (active, energy consumer) The human brain has been evolving for perhaps 500 million years. Brain stem ( older" structures) shared with other lower order animals. More recently evolved structures (cerebrum) are built atop structures from our distant evolutionary past. Complex structures created based on the basic structures & natural selection favoured the new structures = more likely to survive. Commented [1]: the human brain consists of the hindbrain, the midbrain, & the forebrain, an organization that reflexes the evolution of increasingly more complex brain structures related to behavioral capabilities. Development (embryos) progress in the same order. 1st thing to develop is brainstem ( older" structures) Attached on the brain stem (medulla, pons) Where the spinal cord enters the brain, it enlarges to form the stalk-like structure of the brainstem which is attached to the cerebellum. Develops first because hindbrain controls heart rate.