Psychology and the Human Brain

Introduction

• Speaker: Nicole McIntyre
• Topic: Psychology and how it relates to other sciences and the real world, focusing on the human brain.

Importance of Studying the Brain

• Critical for understanding human behavior and psychology.
• Part of the Central Nervous System (CNS) alongside the spinal cord.
• The CNS is responsible for making major decisions for the body.

Studying Brain Activity

• Challenges: No external indicators of brain activity.
• Technologies Used:
  • EEGs, CT, PET scans, MRI, and fMRI.
  • EEG, PET, and fMRI help in understanding brain function.

Historical Study of the Brain

• Case of Phineas Gage (1848):
  • A railroad worker who survived a gunpowder accident with a metal rod through his skull.
  • The damage to the frontal lobe altered his personality, leading to insights about brain localization.

Brain Localization

• Definition: Different areas of the brain control different behaviors.
• Divisions of the Brain:
  • Hindbrain
  • Midbrain
  • Forebrain

Major Parts of the Brain

Hindbrain

• Functions: Controls basic biological functions.
• Components:
  • Brain stem
  • Medulla (breathing, blood pressure, heart rate)
  • Pons (neural information transmission)
  • Reticular Activating System (arousal, alertness)
  • Thalamus (sensory information relay)
  • Cerebellum (muscle movement, balance, emotions)

Midbrain

• Functions: Coordinates simple movements with sensory information.
• Components:
  • Tectum and Tegmentum (brain's roof and floor)

Forebrain

• Features: Contains the limbic system (emotional center)
• Key Structures:
  • Hippocampus (learning, memory processing)
  • Amygdala (emotions like anger, frustration)
  • Hypothalamus (body temperature, hunger, endocrine system, sex drive)
• Cerebral Cortex:
  • Gray matter, densely packed neurons, grows with development, responsible for higher brain functions.
  • Hemispheres: Left (language processing, logical tasks), Right (creative, spatial reasoning)
  • Connection: Corpus callosum

Cerebral Cortex Details

• Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex:
  • Frontal Lobe: Higher-level thinking, executive processing, emotional control.
    • Prefrontal cortex: Decision making and personality.
    • Broca's area (left hemisphere): Speech production.
  • Parietal Lobe: Somatosensory cortex, touch sensations, body temperature, position.
  • Occipital Lobes: Visual cortex, processes visual information.
  • Temporal Lobes: Processes sound, contains Wernicke's area for speech comprehension.

Brain Plasticity

• Concept: Brain's ability to adapt, grow, and heal itself.

Conclusion

• The complexity of psychology is mirrored in the complexity of the human brain.
• Significance: Understanding brain structure and function is essential for psychology.