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fandomhigh2006-01-23 07:18 pm
romanywitch) wrote in fandomhigh2006-01-23 07:18 pm
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Psychology 101 (Monday, 01/23/2006, 3rd Period)
Jenny waits for everyone to gather, then begins her lecture.
Biological psych started a while back, when Franz Gall invented phrenology. Basically? He thought the bumps on your skull revealed your personality. Aside from being the butt of many years' worth of jokes, though, phrenology had one good result: It gave people the idea that different regions of the brain had different purposes.
So, various parts of the brain?
The Limbic System - Has two components, the amygdala and the hippocampus. They regulate fear, anger, and our basic motives, like food and sex. The amygdala? Aggression and fear. The hippocampus controls a large portion of our memories.
The hypothalamus? Pleasure centers. The hypothalamus generally triggers the release of a neurotransmitter called 'dopamine.' Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel through the body and control movement, mood, and a number of other factors. Hormones are also chemical messengers, and they are secreted by the endocrine system--which affects the hypothalamus quite a bit.
The cerebral cortex controls processing of information. There are different lobes there--the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes. The cortex also contains the motor cortex--which contols the movements of specific body parts. The sensory cortex? I'm guessing you guys can figure out what that one is, given that you now know what the motor cortex is.
Also in the cortex? Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Both control speech, though if you're reading aloud? The angular gyrus comes into play too.
The brain? Has plasticity, by which I don't mean it's made from plastic. If one area is damaged, often another area will take over and shift to take on functions it never performed before. Nice, right?
Check out this handout, complete with a nice and squishy picture of the human brain, and then we'll start talking about it. And yes, zombies do eat brains.
Biological psych started a while back, when Franz Gall invented phrenology. Basically? He thought the bumps on your skull revealed your personality. Aside from being the butt of many years' worth of jokes, though, phrenology had one good result: It gave people the idea that different regions of the brain had different purposes.
So, various parts of the brain?
The Limbic System - Has two components, the amygdala and the hippocampus. They regulate fear, anger, and our basic motives, like food and sex. The amygdala? Aggression and fear. The hippocampus controls a large portion of our memories.
The hypothalamus? Pleasure centers. The hypothalamus generally triggers the release of a neurotransmitter called 'dopamine.' Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that travel through the body and control movement, mood, and a number of other factors. Hormones are also chemical messengers, and they are secreted by the endocrine system--which affects the hypothalamus quite a bit.
The cerebral cortex controls processing of information. There are different lobes there--the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes. The cortex also contains the motor cortex--which contols the movements of specific body parts. The sensory cortex? I'm guessing you guys can figure out what that one is, given that you now know what the motor cortex is.
Also in the cortex? Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Both control speech, though if you're reading aloud? The angular gyrus comes into play too.
The brain? Has plasticity, by which I don't mean it's made from plastic. If one area is damaged, often another area will take over and shift to take on functions it never performed before. Nice, right?
Check out this handout, complete with a nice and squishy picture of the human brain, and then we'll start talking about it. And yes, zombies do eat brains.