Psychology Lecture 9-10-14

Resting potential/Neuron at rest: -70

Nervous system: all nerve cells in the body- the bodys speedy
electrochemical communication system
CNS: brain and spinal cord
PNS: sensory and motor neurons that connect to the CNS
o Connects to: autonomic (automatic things your body doesheart beating, breathing); somatic (voluntary movements
like bones and muscles)
Sympathetic NS: fight or flight
Parasympathetic NS: rest and digest
Nerves: consist of neural cables containing many axons. They
are a part of the peripheral nervous system and connect
muscles, glands, and senses
SAME:
o Sensory -> Afferent
o Motor -> efferent
CNS:
o the brain and neural networks- interconnected neurons
form networks in the brain and are complex. They modify
with growth and experience.
o The spinal cord and reflexes: skin to flame example- you
will jerk your finger away from the brain before you
actually have a thought that you have touched fire
because your sensory and motor reflexes are quicker than
your thoughts
The brain: the brainstem is the oldest part of the brain, beginning
where the spinal cord swells and enters the skull.
Brainstem:
o Medulla: controls heartbeat and breathing, base of the
brainstem.
o Thalamus: the brains sensory switchboard, located on the
top of the brainstem.
o Reticular formation: a nerve network that plays an
important role in controlling arousal
o Cerebellum: the little brain attached to the rear of the
brainstem- helps coordinate voluntary movements and
balance.

Ways to study the brain

Brain Lesion: experimentally destroying brain tissue to study
animal behaviors after such destruction
Clinical observation

Electroencephalogram (EEG): measures the electrical waves

sweeping across the brains surface
PET scan: positron emission tomography; a visual display of brain
activity that detects a radioactive form of glucose while the brain
performs a given task.
MRI Scan: magnetic resonance imaging; uses magnetic fields and
radio waves to produce computer-generated images to
distinguish among different types of brain tissue
The cerebral cortex
The structure of the cortex: divided into 4 lobs
o Frontal lobe: forehead
o Parietal lobe: top to rear of head
o Occipital lobe: back of head
o Temporal lobe: sides of head
Motor cortex: area at the rear of the frontal lobes that control
voluntary movements
Sensory cortex (parietal cortex): receives info from the skin
surface and sense organs
Visual function: the functional MRI scan shows the visual cortex is
active as the subject looks at faces
Auditory function: a functional MRI scan show the auditory cortex
is active in patients who hallucinate
Association areas: more intelligent animals have increased
uncommitted or association areas of the cortex.
Divided brain: there are two hemispheres of the brain, connected
by connecting fibers/corpus callosum
Split brain patients: when the corpus callosum is severed, objects
presented in the right visual field can be named, and the left side
cannot (left visual field goes to the right hemisphere of the brain
and vise versa)