Mia Ramos

Block-2

3B The Brain: Unit Questions

1. How do neuroscientists study the brains connections to behavior and
mind?
Several tools used to study connections of the brain are CT and MRI scans, which
reveal brain structures, and EEG, PET, and fMRI, which reveal brain activity. These
tools, along with clinical observations and lesioning, allow scientists to identify general
effects of brain damage.
2. What are the functions of important lower-level brain structure?
The oldest part of the brain is the brainstem, which is responsible for automatic
survival functions. It includes the medulla, controlling heartbeat and breathing, the pons,
which coordinates movement and controls a humans sleep or awake state, and
reticular formation, which affects arousal and consciousness. The sensory switchboard
of the brain is the Thalamus and it receives and sends sensory signals. The cerebellum,
also known as the little brain, coordinates balance.
The limbic system consists of the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus.
The amygdala is involved with aggression and fear. The hypothalamus is in charge of
notifying the body of its necessary functions (hunger, thirst, body temperature, and sex)
and controls the pituitary gland. The hippocampus simply processes memory.
3. What functions are served by the various cerebral cortex regions?
The cerebral cortex is divided into four lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
The motor cortex is located in the frontal lobe and controls voluntary movements. The
sensory cortex is is located in the parietal lobe and processes body sensations. The
main portions of each lobe involves association areas that involve learning,
remembering, and thinking.
4. What brain areas involved in language processing?
Wernickes area, located on the left side of the temporal lobe, controls language
reception. Brocas area, located on the left side of the frontal lobe. It is in charge
language expression, meaning it controls the muscles involved in speech.
5. To what extent can a damaged brain reorganize itself?
Plasticity is the brains ability to repair itself after some types of damage. This ability is
the strongest during the stages of youth, but diminishes as we grow older. This allows
the brain to pick up one of the damaged functions and compensate by enhancing
another function to make up for the damage. The brain is also modified by
neurogenesis, or the formation of new neurons.

6. What do split brains reveal about the functions of our two brain
hemisphere?
The corpus callosum is a wide band of axon fibers that connect the two hemispheres of
the brain. Often, scientists use split brain research to identify the specialties of each
hemisphere. The left is involved more with verbal situations and the right excels in
visual perception and emotion recognition. The left hemisphere would receive signals
and sends it to be processed in the right and vice versa.
7. How does handedness relate to brain organization?
About 90 percent of humans are right-handed. Usually those who are right-handed
process speech in the left hemisphere. The remaining 10 percent who are left-handed
are more diverse in the way that 7 out of 10 process speech in the left hemisphere, like
those who are right handed, and the rest either process speech in the right hemisphere
or use both.
8. What is the dual processing being revealed by todays cognitive
neuroscience?
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of brain activity linked with cognition (perception,
thinking, memory, and language). Cognition works on two levels, one that is conscious
and deliberate and another that is unconscious and automatic. This is known as dual
processing.