Prateek Garg Psychology 111 1 21 2010 The Brain Part Two The Hindbrain Medulla Pons and Cerebellum 1 Medulla regulates automatic functioning circulation breathing muscle tone reflexes sneezing salivating Can t survive if it s destroyed 2 Pons regulates sleeping waking and dreaming 3 Cerebellum balance and coordination of movement analyzes sensory information may play a role in remembering simple skills problem solving The Midbrain Reticular formation tectum and tegmentum 1 Reticular formation modulates muscle reflexes pain perception active in states of arousal Damage to this area may result in comas 2 Tectum involved in auditory and visual responses 3 Tegmentum controls some motor functions regulates awareness and attention and some autonomic functions The Forebrain centers 1 Thalamus relays motor impulses out of the brain directs incoming sensory messages to higher 2 Hypothalamus hunger thirst emotion sex and reproduction body temperature and the autonomic nervous system The 4 F s Fighting fleeing feeding mating Limbic System loosely interconnected structures involved in emotions No clear boundaries 3 Pituitary Gland master gland governed by the hypothalamus 4 5 Amygdala evaluates sensory information linked to fear responses emotional events 6 Hippocampus formation and storage of new memories 7 Septal Area a Pleasure area of the brain animals increase level pressing when accompanied by electrical impulses sent to the area Lesions may create rage reactions b Cerebrum largest and most complex part of the brain Divided into two halves or hemispheres Connected by a band of fibers called the corpus callosum Right hemisphere is in charge of the left side of the body Divided into four lobes each recidivated for a special zone Lobes Occipetal Lobe the visual cortex Parietal Lobe somatosensory cortex receives information about pressure pain touch and temperature Temporal Lobe involved in memory perception and emotion contains the auditory cortex o Wernicke s area is involved in language comprehension Frontal Lobe contains the motor cortex responsible for making plans initiative creativity o Broca s area area here which is involved in speech production Prefrontal Lobe cortex involved in personality decision making social judgment goal setting and sequencing Damage results in flattering of emotion and feelings Prateek Garg Psychology 111 1 21 2010 Dominance of the Brain Left Brain Dominance touch and movement of the right side vision in the right half of the visual field production and comprehension of speech reading ability and mathematical ability Right Brain Dominance touch and movement on the left side vision in the left half of the visual field visual and spatial ability map reading art and music Appreciation facial recognition analysis of nonverbal sounds The Split Brain Split brain surgery the corpus callosum is severed used as a treatment for severe seizure disorders Much split brain research done by Gazzinaga Sperry and Bogen Images sent to the right or left visual fields Right visual field left hemisphere Left visual field right hemisphere Heredity and Behavior Behavioral Genetics the influence of genetic traits on behavior Chromosomes hereditary material in the nuclei of all cells Each chromosome is made up of genes which contain DNA Sperm and egg each have 23 chromosomes they form a zygote which contains 46 chromosomes or 23 pairs Homozygous Genes two gens in a pair are the same Heterozygous Genes two genes n a pair are different Dominant genes expressed when a pair of genes is different Recessive genes masked when paired genes are different Genetic Relatedness Each child has a 50 chance of inheriting a trait from each parent Thus the genetic relatedness of parent to child is 50 Gentoype genetic make up or structure of the organism Multifunctional Transmission environmental factors interact with genetic factors to produce Phenotype observable or expressed characteristics of an organism Polygenic inheritance many traits are determined by a combination of gene pairs traits Twin Studies 1 in 50 born are twins numbers are increasing Look at heredity by comparing similarities and differences between identical fraternal twins Look at adoption studies of twins reared apart and assess the influence of heredity