The Brain
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| brain stem/breɪn stem/ | The midbrain, pons and medulla, connecting higher brain regions with the spinal cord and supporting essential functions. |
| medulla/ˈmedʌlə/ | The part of the brainstem continuous with the spinal cord that helps regulate functions such as breathing and heart rate. |
| reticular activating system/reˈtɪkjʊlə ˈæktɪveɪtɪŋ ˈsɪstəm/ | A network of brainstem pathways involved in maintaining arousal, alertness and wakefulness. |
| reward centre/rɪˈwɔːd ˈsentə/ | reward centre |
| cerebellum/ˌserɪˈbeləm/ | A region of the brain involved in coordinating movement, balance and motor learning. |
| procedural learning/prəˈsiːdʒərəl ˈlɜːnɪŋ/ | Learning how to perform skills or routines, often without needing to describe each step consciously. |
| cerebral cortex/ˈserɪbrəl ˈkɔːteks/ | The outer layer of the cerebrum, involved in perception, voluntary action and higher cognitive functions. |
| limbic system/ˈlɪmbɪk ˈsɪstəm/ | A group of interconnected brain structures commonly associated with emotion, motivation and memory. |
| hemispheres/ˈhemɪsfɪəz/ | Either of the two halves of the cerebrum. |
| thalamus/ˈθælæməs/ | A forebrain structure that relays most sensory information to the cerebral cortex and participates in other brain networks. |
| hypothalamus/ˌhaɪpəʊˈθælæməs/ | A brain region that helps regulate homeostasis and links nervous control with hormonal signalling. |
| pituitary gland/pɪˈtjuːɪtəri ɡlænd/ | An endocrine gland below the hypothalamus that releases hormones affecting growth, reproduction and other glands. |
| hippocampus/ˈhɪpəkæmpəs/ | A brain structure important in forming certain new memories and in spatial learning. |
| amygdala/əˈmɪɡdələ/ | A group of brain nuclei involved in processing emotional significance and learning emotional associations. |
| corpus callosum/ˈkɔːpəs ˈkælɒsəm/ | A large bundle of nerve fibres that connects the two cerebral hemispheres. |
| Split-brain research/splɪt breɪn rɪˈsɜːtʃ/ | Research on people with severed connections between the cerebral hemispheres to investigate communication and specialised functions. |
| Brain plasticity/breɪn plæˈstɪsɪti/ | The brain's ability to rewire itself and form new connections across development and after damage. |
| EEG/ˌiː iː ˈdʒiː/ | A recording of electrical activity detected by electrodes on the scalp, reflecting the combined activity of many neurons. |
| fMRI/ef ˌeˌmɑːˈraɪ/ | An imaging method that uses changes in blood oxygenation as an indirect indicator of local brain activity. |
| case studies/keɪs ˈstʌdiz/ | case studies |
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.
The four lobes of the cerebral cortex 大脑皮层
Breathing and heart rate are controlled mainly by the...
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The brain stem, including the medulla, controls basic functioning.
The cerebral cortex and the limbic system
- The cerebral cortex 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.
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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.
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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 ____.
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Plasticity operates across development and after damage.
Match each research method to what it gives you.
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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.
Write from breathing at 16 breaths a minute
- After left-hemisphere damage a person struggles to speak, but breathing continues at 16 breaths a minute and walking is steady.
- Separate the damaged cortex from the brain stem and the cerebellum.
Speech is impaired after left-hemisphere damage, breathing continues at 16 breaths a minute, and walking stays steady. Which brain regions does this separate?
One injury does not disable every region. The remaining functions identify the regions that were spared.
What does continued breathing at 16 breaths a minute suggest?
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Basic life support such as breathing is a brain-stem job.