PSYC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Nucleus Accumbens, Basal Ganglia, Reticular Formation

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 100
• Professor: Oliver Michael Hardt

Document Summary

Continuation of biology portion (lo5: brainstem controls basic survival functions. Reticular formation: when your name is called, you immediately orient yourself to the situation. Damage can lead to death, controls vital functions like breathing. Main communication pathway between brain and body: cerebellum little brain. Essential for movement (involved in motor learning: thalamus sensory relay. Involved in sleep regulation become de-sensitized to outside stimulus. Puts a break on sensory signals so you can sleep well. Relay info to certain areas of cortex. Acts as a connector from sensory feedback and processes then distributes to cortex: hypothalamus located below thalamus. Involved in motivation behaviour sexual feelings example. Huntington"s disease or parkinson"s can occur with damage (incurable) Phenotype of these patients looks like they"re constantly moving. Nucleus accumbens part of basal ganglia important for reward processing: limbic system. Might be a system involved in the self", self processing. Hippocampus (hpc shaped like sea horse): essential for episodic (autobiography, event memory) and spatial memories.