PSYC 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Reticular Formation, Optic Chiasm, Phineas Gage
27 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
The brain stem: medulla, pons, midbrain (reticular formation) Medulla: base of the brainstem, life-sustaining functions, ex. Actor who played superman was in an accident and shattered a vertebrae affecting the medulla. Pons: helps coordinate unconscious movements, sleep. Midbrain: associated with movement, tracking of visual stimuli and reflexes triggered by sound. Reticular formation: collection of numerous small neural networks spread throughout the brain stem, most known for role in sleep and consciousness (arousal control, helps filter incoming sensory information (relevant vs. irrelevant stimuli) Located at the back of the brainstem. Relay centre sensory, motor information to different parts of the cerebral cortex: does not include smell, also, sends information from the cortex to the medulla and cerebellum, can cause blindness with no damage to occipital nerves. Limbic system: hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, functions: process information (heart rate, blood pressure, plays key role in emotional experiences and memory formation. Consists of two lima bean-sized neural clusters.
