Introduction to the Brain

An investigation of the role of the brains anatomies in

psychological phenomenas.

Ms. Carr
Nour Makarem 12SJM
Thursday, September 15th, 2016

A Glossary
Containing all the relevant key terms of the brain.
Cerebrum:
It is responsible for the integration of
complex sensory and neural functions and the
initiation and coordination of voluntary activity in
the body.

Amygdala:
Perform a primary role in the processing of
memory, decision-making, and emotional
reactions.
Hypothalamus:
Links the endocrine and nervous system; secretes
hypothalamic hormones to pituitary gland which
is in charge of homeostasis.

Cerebellum:
It plays a role in motor control, coordinates
and regulates muscular activity.
The Brain Stem:
The brain stem controls the flow of messages
between the brain and the rest of the body.
It includes the following:
Medulla Oblongata:
It controls the heart and lungs. Responsible for a
variety of autonomic functions. (i.e) vomiting to
sneezing.
Pons:
It is involved in the control of breathing,
communication between different parts of the
brain, and sensations such as hearing, taste, and
balance.
Limbic System:
It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure,
anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of
offspring).
It includes the following:

Corpus Callosum:
A broad band of nerve fibres joining the two
hemispheres of the brain.
Left Hemisphere:
Controls the right side of the body, and
completes tasks involving logic.
Right Hampshire:
Controls the left side of the body, and
completes tasks involving creativity.
The Frontal Lobe:
The part of the brain that controls important
cognitive skills in humans, such as emotional
expression, problem solving, memory, language,
judgment, and sexual behaviour.
The Parietal Lobe:
It processes sensory information within
seconds. (i.e. taste, temperature & touch)

Hippocampus:
The centre of emotion, memory, and the
autonomic nervous system.

The Temporal Lobe:

Receives and processes auditory sensory
input information.

Thalamus:
Plays a role in controlling the motor systems of
the brain which are responsible for voluntary
bodily movement and coordination.

The Occipital Lobe:

The visual processing centre of the brain.
Contains most of the anatomical region of the
visual cortex.

The Cerebral Cortex

The Frontal Lobe:
Higher level cognition.
Expressive reasoning.
The Parietal Lobe:
Somatosensory cortex.
Processes sensory information.
The Temporal Lobe:
Primary Auditory cortex.
Interprets sounds and language.
The Occipital Lobe:
Primary visual cortex.
Receives and interprets information from the eye.

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Evaluation of Studies
Studies that take the approach of the biological level of analysis.
Martin Seligman - Learned Helplessness Theory:
Learned helplessness is defined as the realisation or belief of helplessness such that the organism
afflicted gives up all attempts to combat the adverse stimuli.
Discovered by M. Seligman in 1967 following unethical shock experimentation on animals.
It intrigues me that through the observations of other animals behaviours we can make well evaluated
judges on our own human behaviours. I did want to know of more examples of how this applies to our lives
as humans in order to combat it and develop as a person. It is through the defiance of ones negative cognitive
biases one can succeed in todays world. This is relevant to psychology since the it has to do with human
behaviour. The results are reliable as there are many real world examples of this Learned Helplessness. It
is possible to generalise these findings to a human population not only based on evident examples but the
similarity in human physiology to that of an animals as proven by Darwins research.
Kasamatsu & Hirai - Monk Serotonin Study (Serotonin):
[Sensory deprivation] A process by which someone is deprived of normal external stimuli such as
sight and sound for an extended period of time, especially as an experimental technique in psychology.
Discovered by Kasamatsu & Hirai after observing monks hallucinate because of serotonin release to
to sensory deprivation (no food, no drinks, no talking & cold temperatures).
Whats most interesting to me about this study, are the findings. The brain is an organ so heavily
dependent on stimuli, that if confronted with none for extended periods of time, it will begin creating said
stimuli in order to function. So many parts of the brain are designated primary for stimuli, it makes enough
sense. However the affects are different for men and women, and Id like to know more about that. I dont
think the results would be more reliable if done in a more controlled environment, to test the affects of
removing specific stimuli. These findings can be generalised to the human population but arent as impactful,
nor can we relate it to real world scenarios - as far as Im concerned.

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