Psychology 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Visual Cortex, Sensory Cortex, Autonomic Nervous System

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 1000
• Professor: Laura Fazakas-de Hoog

Document Summary

The central nervous system: made up of the brain and the spinal cord. Protection for the brain: skull, dura matter, cerebrospinal fluid which is produced by the ventricles. Protection for the spinal cord: vertebrae, dura matter, cerebrospinal fluid. The human brain has been evolving for perhaps 500 million years. Brain stem (cid:498)older structures(cid:499) shared with other lower-order animals: controls basic physiological (cid:494)survival(cid:495) processes like breathing and heart rate. More recently evolved structures such as the cerebrum& cerebral cortex have evolved more recently and are built atop structures from our distant evolutionary past. Development of the embryo progresses in the same order. In a fetus the brain stem develops first, then the mid brain then the forebrain. Medulla: made up of the brain stem, medulla, pons, cerebellum, where the spinal cord enters the brain it enlarges to form a stalk- like structure of the brain stem, life support system.