All Flashcards
What is the Medulla Oblongata?
Part of the brainstem that controls heartbeat and breathing.
What is the Pons?
Part of the brainstem that helps coordinate movement and sleep.
What is the Cerebellum?
Brain structure that coordinates smooth, precise movements and maintains balance.
What is the Cerebral Cortex?
The brain's outer layer, responsible for higher-level thinking.
What is the Corpus Callosum?
Connects the two hemispheres of the brain, allowing them to communicate.
What is Broca's Area?
Area in the left frontal lobe that controls speech production.
What is Wernicke's Area?
Area in the left temporal lobe that handles language comprehension.
What is Brain Plasticity?
The brain's ability to reorganize and adapt in response to experience or injury.
What is EEG?
Electroencephalography; measures electrical activity in the brain using scalp electrodes.
What is fMRI?
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; detects changes in blood flow related to neural activity.
What is TMS?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; temporarily disrupts neural activity to study brain-behavior relationships.
What is Optogenetics?
Allows researchers to control the activity of specific neurons using light-sensitive proteins.
Compare Broca's Aphasia and Wernicke's Aphasia.
Broca's Aphasia: difficulty producing speech. Wernicke's Aphasia: difficulty understanding language. Both result from damage to the left hemisphere.
Compare the functions of the Right and Left Hemispheres.
Right Hemisphere: processes spatial, nonverbal, and holistic information. Left Hemisphere: handles language, logic, and analytical tasks.
Compare EEG and fMRI.
EEG measures electrical activity, good for studying sleep. fMRI detects blood flow changes, provides detailed images of brain activity.
Compare the functions of the Motor Cortex and the Sensory Cortex.
Motor cortex controls voluntary movements; sensory cortex processes sensory information like touch and pain.
Compare the roles of the Hippocampus and the Amygdala.
Hippocampus is involved in memory formation and retrieval; amygdala plays a role in emotion and social perception.
Compare the functions of the Pons and the Medulla.
Both are part of the brainstem. Pons helps coordinate movement and sleep. Medulla controls heartbeat and breathing.
Compare the effects of damage to the Frontal lobe and the Temporal lobe.
Frontal lobe damage can lead to personality changes and impaired judgement. Temporal lobe damage can lead to hearing loss and language impairments.
Compare the use of PET scans and fMRI in brain research.
PET scans use radioactive tracers to visualize brain metabolism. fMRI detects changes in blood flow related to neural activity.
Compare the effects of TMS and Optogenetics.
TMS temporarily disrupts neural activity. Optogenetics allows researchers to control the activity of specific neurons using light-sensitive proteins.
What is the effect of damage to the Medulla Oblongata?
Can disrupt vital functions like breathing and heartbeat, potentially leading to death.
What is the effect of damage to the Reticular Activating System (RAS)?
Can lead to coma or disorders of consciousness.
What is the effect of damage to the Cerebellum?
Causes difficulty coordinating movements, maintaining balance, and motor learning.
What is the effect of damage to the Occipital Lobe?
Can cause visual deficits, such as blindness or difficulty interpreting visual information.
What is the effect of damage to the Temporal Lobe?
Can lead to hearing loss, language impairments, or changes in personality.
What is the effect of damage to the Parietal Lobe?
Can cause deficits in touch perception, spatial reasoning, or attention.
What is the effect of damage to the Frontal Lobe?
Can lead to changes in personality, impaired judgment, or difficulty with executive functions.
What is the effect of severing the Corpus Callosum?
Prevents communication between the two hemispheres, leading to specialized functioning in each.
What is the effect of a stroke affecting the left hemisphere?
Can impair language abilities, motor skills on the right side of the body, and emotional processing.
What causes Broca's aphasia and what are its effects?
Caused by damage to Broca's area; results in difficulty producing fluent speech.