Vocab
This "little brain" is located at the back of the brainstem and helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance.
What is the cerebellum?
This lobe of the brain is primarily associated with processing visual information.
What is the occipital lobe?
This is another name for the cell body of a neuron.
What is the soma?
This brain-scanning technique records waves of electrical activity produced by the brain.
What is an EEG?
This roughly almond-shaped structure is involved in experiencing emotions such as fear.
What is the amygdala?
This lobe is primarily associated with processing auditory information, including what you hear.
What is the temporal lobe?
These structures branch off from the neuron and primarily receive information from other neurons.
What are dendrites?
This brain-imaging technique produces highly detailed images of the brain's soft tissue and structure.
What is an MRI?
This seahorse-shaped structure in the limbic system plays an important role in processing new memories for permanent storage.
What is the hippocampus?
A person suffers brain damage and afterward has difficulty producing the muscle movements necessary for speech. What area is most likely affected?
What is Broca's area?
This is the electrical impulse that travels down the axon when a neuron fires.
What is an action potential?
During a split-brain operation, doctors sever the major structure that normally allows the two cerebral hemispheres to communicate with one another. What is it?
What is the corpus callosum?
This structure is located above the brainstem and acts somewhat like a relay station, directing sensory information toward the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.
What is the thalamus?
A person can hear other people speaking but has difficulty understanding what they are saying. What area of the brain is most likely involved?
What is Wernicke's area?
A neuron either fires or does not fire once it reaches its threshold. What principle describes this?
What is the all-or-nothing principle?
A person suddenly encounters a dangerous situation. Their heart rate increases, blood vessels constrict, and blood pressure rises as their body prepares to respond. Which division of the nervous system is responsible?
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Identify this structure and explain why damage to it could be especially dangerous: it is located in the brainstem and controls basic life-support functions such as breathing and heartbeat.
What is the medulla? Damage can interfere with vital automatic functions such as breathing and heart rate and can therefore be life-threatening.
A patient suffers a serious head injury and afterward has problems with planning, decision-making, voluntary movement, and aspects of personality. What major lobe is most likely affected?
What is the frontal lobe?
Identify the neurotransmitter based on the following clues: it is involved in muscle action, learning, and memory. A different neurotransmitter is associated with Parkinson's disease, while another is associated with hunger, sleep, and mood.
What is acetylcholine?
A person is experiencing problems with movement associated with Parkinson's disease. Doctors explain that certain neurons producing an important neurotransmitter have died. Identify the neurotransmitter
What is dopamine?