Brain Structure and Function
If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldnt
-Emerson Pugh, The Biological Origin of Human Values (1977)
Phineas Gage
September 13th, 1848 Phineas 25 years old Rutland & Burlington Railroad, Cavendish, VT Paving the way for new RR tracks Tamping Iron
1.25in x 3ft
Phineas Gage
Accident
Quick Recovery
Months later: No longer Gage
Before: capable, efficient, best foreman, well-balanced mind After: extravagant, anti-social, liar, grossly profane
Stint with P.T Barnum Died 12 years later Watch Clip
Evolution of the Brain
Reptilian Paleomammalian Neomammalian
The Brain
Brainstem
responsible for automatic survival functions
Medulla
controls heartbeat and breathing
Parts of the Brain
THALAMUS Relays messages
amygdala
hippocampus
pituitary
CEREBELLUM Coordination and balance
BRAINSTEM Heart rate and breathing
Reticular Formation
Widespread connections Arousal of the brain as a whole Reticular activating system (RAS) Maintains consciousness and alertness Functions in sleep and arousal from sleep
The Cerebellum
helps coordinate voluntary movement and balance
The Limbic System
Hypothalamus, pituitary, amygdala, and hippocampus all deal with basic drives, emotions, and memory Hippocampus Memory processing Amygdala Aggression (fight) and fear (flight) Hypothalamus Hunger, thirst, body temperature, pleasure; regulates pituitary gland (hormones)
The Limbic System
Hypothalamus
neural structure lying below (hypo) the thalamus; directs several maintenance activities
eating drinking body temperature
helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland linked to emotion
(show video)
The Limbic System
Show self stimulation clip
The Limbic System
Amygdala
two almondshaped neural clusters that are components of the limbic system and are linked to emotion and fear
August 1st, 1966
Charles Whitman
The Brain
Thalamus the brains sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla
The Cerebral Cortex
Cerebral Cortex
the bodys ultimate control and information processing center
The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres
The lobes of the cerebral hemispheres
Planning, decision making speech
Sensory
Auditory
Vision
The Cerebral Cortex
Frontal Lobes
involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments the executive
Parietal Lobes
include the sensory cortex
The Cerebral Cortex
Occipital Lobes
include the visual areas, which receive visual information from the opposite visual field
Temporal Lobes
include the auditory areas, each of which receives auditory information primarily from the opposite ear
The Cerebral Cortex
Frontal (Forehead to top) Motor Cortex Parietal (Top to rear) Sensory Cortex Occipital (Back) Visual Cortex Temporal (Above ears) Auditory Cortex
Motor/Sensory Cortex
Contralateral Homunculus Unequal representation
Sensory Areas Sensory Homunculus
Figure 13.10
The Cerebral Cortex
Aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Brocas area (impairing speaking) or to Wernickes area (impairing understanding) see clips
Brocas Area
an area of the left frontal lobe that directs the muscle movements involved in speech
Wernickes Area
an area of the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression
Language Areas
Broca Expression Wernicke Comprehension and reception Aphasias
LEFT HEMISPHERE
Paul Broca [1800s]
Suggested localization
Techniques to examine functions of the brain
1. Remove part of the brain & see what effect it has on behavior
2. Examine humans who have suffered brain damage
3. Stimulate the brain
4. Record brain activity
Brain Lateralization
Our Divided Brains
Corpus collosum large bundle of neural fibers (myelinated axons, or white matter) connecting the two hemispheres
Hemispheric Specialization LEFT
Symbolic thinking (Language) Detail Literal meaning
RIGHT
Spatial perception Overall picture Context, metaphor
Contra-lateral division of labor
Right hemisphere controls left side of body and visual field
Left hemisphere controls right side of body and visual field
Split Brain Patients
Epileptic patients had corpus callosum cut to reduce seizures in the brain Lives largely unaffected, seizures reduced Affected abilities related to naming objects in the left visual field
Brain Plasticity
Brain Plasticity
The ability of the brain to reorganize neural pathways based on new experiences Persistent functional changes in the brain represent new knowledge Age dependent component Brain injuries
Environmental influences on neuroplasticity
Impoverished environment
Enriched environment
Sensation and Perception
Sensation
The process by which the central nervous system receives input from the environment via sensory neurons Bottom up processing
Perception
The process by which the brain interprets and organizes sensory information Top-down processing
The psychophysics of sensation
Absolute threshold the minimum stimulation needed to detect a stimulus with 50% accuracy Subliminal stimulation below the absolute threshold for conscious awareness May affect behavior without conscious awareness Sensory adaptation/habituation diminished sensitivity to an unchanging stimulus
The five major senses
Vision electromagnetic
Occipital lobe
Hearing mechanical
Temporal lobe
Touch mechanical
Sensory cortex
Taste chemical
Gustatory insular cortex
Smell chemical
Olfactory bulb Orbitofrontal cortex Vomeronasal organ?
And the seventhand eighthand ninth Vestibular balance and motion
Inner ear
The sixth sense
Proprioceptive relative position of body
parts
Parietal lobe
Temperature heat
Thermoreceptors throughout the body, sensory cortex
Nociception pain
Nociceptors throughout the body, sensory cortex
Thresholds of the five major senses
The Retina
The retina at the back of the eye is actually part of the brain!
Rods brightness Cones color
