The Big Four
This lobe is the "CEO" of the brain. It is responsible for decision-making, personality, and motor control.
What is the frontal lobe?
This "little brain" at the base of the skull is essential for balance and coordinated movement.
What is the cerebellum?
This is the name for a single nerve cell.
What is a neuron?
He survived a 3-foot iron rod through his head and proved the frontal lobe is linked to personality.
Who is Phineas Gage?
This neurotransmitter is known as the reward chemical, linked to pleasure and addiction.
What is dopamine?
What is the occipital lobe?
This almond-shaped structure is the "fear center," processing emotions like anger and anxiety.
What is the amygdala?
These branch-like structures receive signals from other neurons.
What are dendrites?
This patient had his hippocampus removed to stop seizures and could never form a new memory again.
Who is Patient H.M.?
This neurotransmitter is often targeted by antidepressants to help regulate mood and sleep.
What is serotonin?
This lobe helps you process sounds and is also heavily involved in memory.
What is the temporal lobe?
These are the two main divisions of the nervous system.
What is the Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems?
This is the tiny gap between two neurons where chemical messages are sent.
What is the synapse?
If you have damage to this area in the left frontal lobe, you can understand speech but struggle to speak words.
What is Broca's Area?
This is the long, tail-like part of the neuron that sends the electrical signal away from the cell body.
What is the axon?
This lobe handles your "body senses," like touch, temperature, and where your limbs are in space.
What is the parietal lobe?
This structure acts as the relay station, sending sensory data (except smell) to the right part of the brain.
This is the fatty insulation that wraps around axons to make signals travel faster.
What is myelin?
This famous doctor's area in the temporal lobe is responsible for understanding the meaning of language.
This "fight or flight" system kicks in when you are stressed or scared.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
This deep groove separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe.
What is the central sulcus?
This structure controls "survival" functions like hunger, thirst, and body temperature.
What is the hypothalamus?
This is the specific "threshold" voltage a neuron must hit to fire an action potential.
-55 mV
This term refers to the brain's ability to "re-wire" itself or change after an injury.
What is neuroplasticity?
These are the helper cells in the brain that support and protect neurons.
What are glial cells?