PY 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Medulla Oblongata, Occipital Lobe, Parietal Lobe

• School: University of Alabama
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PY 101
• Professor: racheldelacy

Document Summary

Broca"s area- first supporting evidence that the brain has different areas with different functions. If spinal cord is damaged, neurons can"t fire (paralysis) Reticular formation: alertness, if damaged become tired. Brain stem: midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata, all deal with survival instincts (breathing, heart beating) The outer layer of brain tissue, forms the convoluted surface of the brain: site of all thoughts, perceptions and complex behaviors, each cerebral hemisphere has four lobes. Corpus callosum: a massive bridge of millions of axons, connects the hemispheres and allows information to flow between them: this structure is cut in the split brain operation. Gray matter: dominated by neuron"s cell bodies. White matter: consists mostly of axons and the fatty myelin sheaths that surround them. Regions of cerebral cortex, below parietal lobe and in front of occipital lobe: hearing, facial recognition, object recognition, learning, understanding language, emotional reactions. Important for sense of touch and for attention to environment: primary somatosensory cortex, somatosensory homunculus.