The Micro-Brain
These branch-like extensions receive signals from other neurons and carry them toward the cell body.
What are dendrites?
Named after the Latin word for "seahorse", this structure is critical for forming new long-term memories.
What is the Hippocampus?
Meaning "Little Brain" in Latin, this structure coordinates voluntary movement, balance, and fine motor skills.
What is the Cerebellum?
This lobe, located at the very back of the head, is primarily responsible for processing visual information.
Wha tis the Occipital Lobe?
This technique uses magnetic fields and radio waves to produce a high-resolution, still image of the brain's soft tissue.
What is an MRI?
This fatty tissue layer insulates axons and helps speed up the transmission of neural impulses.
What is the Myelin Sheath
These two lima-bean-sized clusters are the brain's "alarm system," primarily regulating emotions like fear and aggression.
What is the Amygdala?
This part of the brainstem is essential for life, controlling involuntary functions like heartbeat and breathing.
What is the Medulla?
Often called the "Executive" of the brain, this lobe handles decision-making, planning, and personality.
What is the Frontal Lobe?
By measuring the consumption of radioactive glucose, this scan shows which brain areas are most active during specific tasks.
What is a PET scan?
This "feel-good" neurotransmitter is associated with the brain's reward system.
What is Dopamine?
This "master switchboard" relays incoming sensory information (except smell) to the correct areas of the cerebral cortex.
What is the Thalamus?
This large band of neural fibers connects the two brain hemispheres and allows them to communicate with each other?
What is the Corpus Callosum?
This lobe contains the primary auditory cortex and is essential for processing sounds and language.
What is the temporal lobe?
This "functional" version of an MRI tracks blood flow and oxygen levels to reveral both brain structure and activity in real time.
What is an fMRI?
This tiny gap between the axon tip of the sending neuron and the dendrite of the receiving neuron.
What is the Synapse?
This small structure regulates the "Four Fs" (Fighting, Fleeing, Feeding, and Mating) and maintains homeostasis.
Meaning "bridge", this brainstem structure connects the cerebellum to the rest of the brain and helps regulate sleep and dreaming?
What is the Pons?
Located at the top and back of the head, this lobe processes sensory information like touch, pressure, and spatial orientation.
What is the Parietal Lobe?
Often used in sleep studies, this tool records the waves of electrical activity sweeping across the brain's surface via electrodes on the scalp.
What is an EEG?
This "excitatory" neurotransmitter is the most abundant in the brain and is involved in memory; too much of it can cause migraines and seizures.
What is Glutamate?
Located in the left temporal lobe, this area is responsible for language comprehension: damage here leads to "word salad">
What is Wernicke's Area?
This finger-shaped network of neurons inside the brain stem controls arousal and alertness; if severed, it leads to a permanent coma.
What is the Reticular Formation?
Found specifically in the left frontal lobe, damage to this area results in difficulty producing speech, even if the person understands what they want to say.
What is Broca's Area?
This "old school" X-ray technique takes multiple cross-sectional photos to detect major structural damage or tumors, though it doesn't show function.
What is a CT scan?