Human Cognition Chapter 2

Front 1

Hindbrain:

Back 1

the part of the brain, containing some of the most evolutionary primitive structures, that is responsible for transmitting information from the spinal cord to the brain, regulating life support functions, and helping to maintain balance

Front 2

Medulla oblongata:

Back 2

a structure in the hindbrain that transmits information from the spinal cord to the brain and regulates life support functions such as respiration, blood pressure, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, and heart rate

Front 3

Pons:

Back 3

a structure in the hindbrain that acts as a neural relay center, facilitating the “crossover” of information between the left side of the body and the right side of the brain and vice versa. It is also involved in balance and in the processing of both visual and auditory information

Front 4

Cerebellum:

Back 4

part of the brain that controls balance and muscular coordination

Front 5

Midbrain:

Back 5

the part of the brain containing structures that are involved in relaying information between other brain regions, or in regulating levels of alertness

Front 6

Forebrain:

Back 6

the part of the brain containing the thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and the cerebral cortex

Front 7

Thalamus:

Back 7

a structure in the forebrain, involved in relaying information, especially to the cerebral cortex

Front 8

Hypothalamus:

Back 8

a structure in the forebrain that controls the pituitary gland and so-called homeostatic behaviors, such as eating, drinking, temperature control, sleeping, sexual behaviors, and emotional reactions

Front 9

Hippocampus:

Back 9

a structure of the brain in the medial temporal lobe, damage or removal can result in amnesia

Front 10

Amygdala:

Back 10

an area of brain tissue with extensive connections to the olfactory system and hypothalamus, though to be involved in mood, feeling, instinct, and short-term memory

Front 11

Cerebral cortex:

Back 11

the surface of the cerebrum, the largest structure of the brain, containing both sensory and motor nerve cell bodies

Front 12

Frontal lobe:

Back 12

a division of the cerebral cortex located just beneath the forehead containing the motor cortex, premotor cortex, and the prefrontal cortex

Front 13

Parietal lobe:

Back 13

a division of the cerebral cortex located at the top rear part of the head, contains the primary somatosensory cortex

Front 14

Occipital lobe:

Back 14

a division of the cerebral cortex located at the back of the head that is involved in the processing of visual information

Front 15

Temporal lobe:

Back 15

a division of the cerebral cortex located on the side of the head, involved in the processing of auditory information and in some aspects of memory

Front 16

Prefrontal cortex:

Back 16

a region in the frontal lobe that is involved with executive functioning

Front 17

Executive functioning:

Back 17

cognitive processes including planning, making decisions, implementing strategies, inhibiting inappropriate behaviors, and using working memory to process information

Front 18

Localization of function:

Back 18

the “mapping” of brain areas to different cognitive or motor functions; identifying which neural regions control or are active when different activities take place

Front 19

Faculty psychology:

Back 19

the theory that different mental abilities, such as reading or computation, are independent and autonomous functions, carried out in different parts of the brain

Front 20

Phrenology:

Back 20

the idea (now discredited) that psychological strengths and weaknesses could be precisely correlated to the relative sizes of different brain areas

Front 21

Aphasia:

Back 21

a disorder of language, thought to have neurological causes, in which either language production, language reception, or both are disrupted

Front 22

Primary somatosensory cortex:

Back 22

a region in the parietal lobe involved in the processing of sensory information from the body—for example, sensations of pain, pressure, touch, or temperature

Front 23

Ablation:

Back 23

removal of cells or tissues, often through surgical means

Front 24

Plasticity:

Back 24

the ability of some brain regions to “take over” functions of damaged regions

Front 25

Lateralization:

Back 25

specialization of function of the two cerebral hemispheres

Front 26

Corpus callosum:

Back 26

the large neural structure containing fibers that connect the right and left cerebral hemispheres

Front 27

Computerized axial tomography (CAT):

Back 27

an imaging technique in which a highly focused beam of X-rays is passed through the body from many different angles, different density of the organs of the body result in different deflections of the X-rays, which allows visualization of the organ

Front 28

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):

Back 28

a body-imaging technique in which a person is surrounded with a strong magnetic field, radio waves are directed at a particular part of the body, causing the centers of hydrogen atoms in those structures to align themselves in predictable ways, computers collate information about how the atoms are aligning and produce a composite three-dimensional image

Front 29

Positron emission tomography (PET):

Back 29

a brain-imaging technique that shows which areas of the brain are most active at a given point in time

Front 30

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI):

Back 30

an imaging technique that uses MRI equipment to examine blood flow in a noninvasive, non-radioactive manner

Front 31

Electroencephalography (EEG):

Back 31

a technique to measure brain activity, specifically, to detect different states of consciousness, mental electrodes are positioned all over the scalp, the waveforms that are recorded change in predictable ways when the person being recorded is awake and alert, drowsy, asleep, or in a coma

Front 32

Event-related potential (ERP):

Back 32

an electrical recording technique to measure the response of the brain to various stimulus events

Front 33

motor cortex

Back 33

a structure of the frontal lobe that controls fine motor movement in the body