All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the primary function of the cerebellum in behavior?
Answer: Coordination, balance, and motor learning. Fine-tunes movements and maintains posture through error correction.
Flashcard 2: What is Wernicke area primarily responsible for?
Answer: Language comprehension (receptive language). Damage causes receptive aphasia with fluent but nonsensical speech.
Flashcard 3: What is Broca area primarily responsible for?
Answer: Speech production (expressive language). Damage causes expressive aphasia with intact comprehension.
Flashcard 4: What is the main role of the primary somatosensory cortex?
Answer: Processes touch, pain, temperature, and proprioception. Located in postcentral gyrus, receives sensory input from body.
Flashcard 5: What is the main role of the primary motor cortex?
Answer: Initiates voluntary skeletal muscle movement. Located in precentral gyrus, sends signals to spinal motor neurons.
Flashcard 6: What is the primary function of the temporal lobe in human behavior?
Answer: Auditory processing and language comprehension. Contains Wernicke's area and primary auditory cortex.
Flashcard 7: What is the primary function of the frontal lobe in human behavior?
Answer: Executive functions: planning, inhibition, decision-making. Located in prefrontal cortex, controls higher-order cognitive processes.
Flashcard 8: What is the primary function of the prefrontal cortex in behavior and cognition?
Answer: Executive functions: planning, inhibition, working memory, decision-making. Located in frontal lobe, controls higher-order cognitive processes.
Flashcard 9: What is the main function of the hippocampus in relation to behavior?
Answer: Formation of new explicit (declarative) long-term memories. Critical for converting short-term memories into long-term storage.
Flashcard 10: What is the key function of the hypothalamus in regulating behavior?
Answer: Homeostasis and endocrine control via the pituitary gland. Links nervous and endocrine systems to maintain body balance.
Flashcard 11: What is the primary behavioral role of the basal ganglia?
Answer: Initiation and selection of movement; habit and procedural learning. Subcortical nuclei that regulate voluntary movements and habits.
Flashcard 12: What brainstem structure primarily controls breathing, heart rate, and arousal?
Answer: Medulla oblongata. Lowest brainstem region controlling vital autonomic functions.
Flashcard 13: What is the main function of the reticular formation in behavior?
Answer: Arousal, alertness, and sleep-wake regulation. Network of neurons maintaining consciousness and sleep cycles.
Flashcard 14: Which brain structure primarily controls breathing and heart rate as vital autonomic functions?
Answer: Medulla oblongata. Brainstem region containing vital centers for survival functions.
Flashcard 15: Which neurotransmitter is most associated with alertness and sympathetic arousal in the CNS?
Answer: Norepinephrine. Released by locus coeruleus to enhance attention and arousal.
Flashcard 16: What is the primary function of Wernicke area?
Answer: Language comprehension (receptive language). Located in temporal lobe, damage causes receptive aphasia.
Flashcard 17: What is the primary function of the occipital lobe in human behavior?
Answer: Visual processing. Contains primary visual cortex (V1) at the back of the brain.
Flashcard 18: What is the primary function of the parietal lobe in human behavior?
Answer: Somatosensory processing and spatial awareness. Integrates sensory information for body position and navigation.
Flashcard 19: What neurotransmitter is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system?
Answer: GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). Opens chloride channels causing hyperpolarization to reduce firing.
Flashcard 20: What neurotransmitter is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system?
Answer: Glutamate. Opens ion channels causing depolarization and neural firing.
Flashcard 21: What neurotransmitter is most associated with mood regulation and major depressive disorder?
Answer: Serotonin. SSRIs increase levels by blocking reuptake to treat depression.
Flashcard 22: What neurotransmitter is most associated with reward, motivation, and Parkinson disease?
Answer: Dopamine. Depletion in substantia nigra causes motor symptoms of Parkinson's.
Flashcard 23: What structure connects the two cerebral hemispheres for interhemispheric transfer?
Answer: Corpus callosum. Largest white matter tract enabling communication between hemispheres.
Flashcard 24: What is the primary function of the reticular formation?
Answer: Arousal, alertness, and sleep-wake regulation. Network in brainstem controlling consciousness and attention.
Flashcard 25: What is the primary function of the thalamus?
Answer: Sensory relay to cortex (except olfaction). All sensory pathways synapse here before reaching cortex.
Flashcard 26: What is the primary role of the hypothalamus in behavior?
Answer: Homeostasis and endocrine control via pituitary. Regulates hunger, thirst, temperature, and hormone release.
Flashcard 27: What is the primary function of the hippocampus?
Answer: Formation of new explicit (declarative) memories. Converts short-term memories to long-term storage.
Flashcard 28: What is the primary function of the amygdala?
Answer: Threat detection and fear/aggression processing. Part of limbic system, triggers fight-or-flight responses.
Flashcard 29: What is the primary function of the basal ganglia?
Answer: Movement initiation and habit/procedural learning. Includes caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus for motor control.
Flashcard 30: What is the typical effect of stimulating the sympathetic nervous system on heart rate?
Answer: Increases heart rate. Fight-or-flight response prepares body for action via norepinephrine.