PSYCH 115 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Psychopathology, Reticular Formation, Midbrain
Document Summary
Communication between neurons is chemical: neurotransmitters (chemicals) Neurotransmitters are the chemicals released from one nerve cell to another across the synaptic cleft. Some of the major neurotransmitters implicated in psychopathology include norepinephrine. Two main parts: brain stem-basic functions, forebrain-high cognition. The brain is divided into two steps. Hindbrain is the lowest part of the brainstem, and contains the medulla, pons, and cerebellum (motor coordination). These structures control activities such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, and motor coordination: medulla heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, pons regulates sleep stages, cerebellum physical coordination. Midbrain: coordinates movement with sensory input, contains parts of the reticular activating system (ras). The ras contributes to arousal, tension, and waking and sleeping. Thalamus and hypothalamus these structures help transmit information to the forebrain and are integral to behavior and emotion: relays between brain stem and forebrain, involved in behavioral and emotional regulation. Each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex consists of four separate areas or lobes.
