Chapter 2 The Brain The Brain My Questions

Chapter 2 The Brain

The Brain: My Questions • In general, what is the difference between right-brained & left-brained people? • Provide two examples of how a certain parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions. • Why is the case of Phineas Gage important to psychology?

How do people study the brain? • Researchers cannot destroy areas of human brains, but they can test people who already have brain damage or they can study animal’s brains. • Sometimes scientists damage animal brains to see how it affects them. • Scientists can study the brain by using deep lesioning. • Deep lesioning occurs when an animal or person is under anesthesia and a scientist inserts a thin insulated wire into the brain that gives it an electric current that kills damaged brain cells. • Scientists then monitor the results.

Advances to Brain Study • CT scans are computer aided X rays that can show stroke damage, tumors, and abnormal brain structure. • MRIs provide even more details about the brain that can detect the smallest of strokes. • FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Does anyone know someone who has suffered a stroke? How has that person’s life changed?

Advances to Brain Study Continued • PET scans are brain-imaging methods in which a radioactive sugar is injected into the bloodstream to track the activity of brain cells, which is enhanced and color-coded by a computer. They allow researchers to see the brain in action. • EEG is a machine that allows researchers to look at the activity of the brain through microelectrodes placed on the scalp. It can detect activity from stages of sleep to seizures.

The Curious Case of Phineas Gage • To make a long story short, a railroad foreman in the 1800 s by the name of Phineas Gage suffered a terrible accident that resulted in an iron rod being shot through the frontal lobe in his brain. • Shockingly, Gage survived the accident by walking away from the scene and even joked with his doctor that same day about the accident. • Over time, however, friends noticed Gage had become a changed man, acting as if he had lost all sense of right and wrong. • This particular case is important because it was through Gage’s accident that scientists and psychologists began to really believe that certain parts of the brain were responsible for certain functions.

Important Inner Parts of the Brain • The pons plays a large part in sleep cycles, dreaming, and left-right body coordination. • The cerebellum controls involuntary movements, like your posture, and voluntary movements like walking, swimming, and talking. • The hypothalamus is responsible for motivational behavior like hunger, thirst, and sex.

Important Inner Parts of the Brain Continued • The hippocampus is responsible for long-term memories and storage of memory. • The amygdala is an area of the brain responsible for fear responses and memories of fear.

Food For Thought: Does anyone know why the brain is so wrinkly?

Important Outer Areas of the Brain • The cortex is what the entire outer surface of the brain is called. • The occipital lobes process vision for the brain. • The parietal lobes contain the centers for touch, taste, and temperature sensations • The temporal lobes are responsible for hearing and talking. • The frontal lobes are responsible for higher mental processes and decision making. • Food For Thought: What area of Phineas Gage’s brain was damaged?

How does the left side of the brain differ from the right side? • The research of Roger Sperry in 1968 proved that each side of the brain performs different functions. • He cut humans and animals’ brains in half to cure epileptic seizures, but at the same time they acted as if they had two brains. This proved that the left and right sides of the brains were responsible for different tasks.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain • Language seems to take place in the left side of the brain for 90% of people. • Logical thought, math ability, and focus to detail are know to take place in the left part of the brain. • The right portion of the brain is responsible for music and artistic talents, facial recognition, and creative thought. • Food For Thought: Are you left-brained or rightbrained?