The Brain
Introduced| English |
|---|
| brain stem/breɪn stem/ |
| medulla/ˈmedʌlə/ |
| reticular activating system/reˈtɪkjʊlə ˈæktɪveɪtɪŋ ˈsɪstəm/ |
| reward centre/rɪˈwɔːd ˈsentə/ |
| cerebellum/ˌserɪˈbeləm/ |
| procedural learning/prəˈsiːdʒərəl ˈlɜːnɪŋ/ |
| cerebral cortex/ˈserɪbrəl ˈkɔːteks/ |
| limbic system/ˈlɪmbɪk ˈsɪstəm/ |
| hemispheres/ˈhemɪsfɪəz/ |
| thalamus/ˈθælæməs/ |
| hypothalamus/ˌhaɪpəʊˈθælæməs/ |
| pituitary gland/pɪˈtjuːɪtəri ɡlænd/ |
| hippocampus/ˈhɪpəkæmpəs/ |
| amygdala/ˌæmɪɡˈdɑːlə/ |
| corpus callosum/ˈkɔːpəs ˈkælɒsəm/ |
| Split-brain research/splɪt breɪn rɪˈsɜːtʃ/ |
| Brain plasticity/breɪn plæˈstɪsɪti/ |
| EEG/ˌiː iː ˈdʒiː/ |
| fMRI/ef ˌeˌmɑːˈraɪ/ |
| case studies/keɪs ˈstʌdiz/ |
One organ, many jobs, done in different places
- Damage to one part of the brain removes one ability and leaves others intact.
- That is the evidence for localisation — different structures do different jobs.
- This lesson names the structures the exam expects, from the bottom up.
Keeping you alive
- The brain stem 脑干, including the medulla 延髓, controls basic functions such as breathing and heart rate.
- The reticular activating system 网状激活系统 controls alertness, and the brain's reward centre 奖赏中枢 drives motivated behaviour.
- The cerebellum 小脑 controls coordination, balance and some procedural learning 程序性学习.
Breathing and heart rate are controlled mainly by the...
The brain stem, including the medulla, controls basic functioning.
The cerebral cortex and the limbic system
- The cerebral cortex 大脑皮层 is divided into two hemispheres 半球.
- Inside it, the limbic system 边缘系统 includes the thalamus 丘脑, hypothalamus 下丘脑, pituitary gland 脑垂体, hippocampus 海马体 and amygdala 杏仁核.
- The cortex has four lobes, each associated with different processing.
Which brain structure does this?
Match each job to the structure the CED assigns it to.
Select all structures the CED places in the limbic system.
The cerebellum sits below the cortex and is not part of the limbic system.
Split-brain patients are not evidence that people are "left-brained" or "right-brained". The hemispheres specialise, but in an intact brain the corpus callosum joins them constantly — the popular personality claim is not what the research shows.
Split-brain surgery was developed as a treatment for severe epilepsy.
Severing the corpus callosum treated epilepsy; the research findings came afterwards.
Split-brain research
- Severing the corpus callosum 胼胝体 — often a treatment for severe epilepsy — separates the hemispheres.
- Split-brain research 裂脑研究 on these patients revealed that the hemispheres specialise.
- It is evidence for localisation, obtained from a surgery performed for a different reason.
The brain's ability to rewire itself and form new connections is called brain ____.
Plasticity operates across development and after damage.
Match each research method to what it gives you.
EEG gives timing, fMRI gives location, and a case study gives depth on a single person.
Plasticity, and how the brain is studied
- Brain plasticity 大脑可塑性 is the brain's ability to rewire itself and form new connections across development and after damage.
- Brains are studied with scans — EEG 脑电图 and fMRI 功能性磁共振成像 — with case studies 个案研究, and with surgical procedures.
- Each method trades detail against how natural the situation is.
A patient loses the ability to form new long-term memories after damage to the hippocampus, but can still learn a new motor skill — the cerebellum is intact. One case separates two kinds of memory that behave as one in everyday life.
The brain stem keeps you alive, the cerebellum coordinates movement, and the cerebral cortex with the limbic system does higher processing and emotion. Split-brain research shows hemispheric specialisation, plasticity shows the brain can rewire, and EEG, fMRI and case studies are how it is all studied.