Genes

3.2 The Nervous System

Nervous System: All nerves and cells throughout the body that transfer signals.

1. Sensory: Gather info about external environment and body state.
2. Behavioral: Send info to central processor to interpret and make decision.
3. Skeletal & Muscle: Execute that decision through behavior

• Central Nervous System (CNS): Brain, spinal cord, retina.
• Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Nerves on body, not in CNS.
  • Somatic NS: Sensory and motor nerves.
  • Autonomic NS: Take info to and from internal organs.
    • Sympathetic NS: Arouses the body for fight-or-flight
    • Parasympathetic NS: Calms the body after arousal

Cerebrum: Large brain structure on the top of other structures.

• Contains cerebral cortex: higher-level cognition (evolutionarily newest part)

• Encephalization Quotients: Brain size relative to body size, correlated with intelligence.

• Contralateral: One side of sensory info tend to reach the contralateral hemisphere.

  (E.g. Tactile info from right hand is processed by the left hemisphere)

  Note: Eyes are exceptions! Left visual field projects to the right hemisphere.

  Language processing on the left hemisphere.

Brain Structure

Endocrine System

3.3 Anatomical Divisions of the Cortex

Divisions based on the physical structure of the cortex (not function!).

• Gyri / Gyrus: Hills

• Sulci / Sulcus: Valleys

  Folded sheet, allows more surface area.

• Occipital, Temporal, Frontal, Parietal lobes

  Separated by deep sulci or fissures.

• Hemispheres connected by Corpus Callosum

  Left: Language, Right: Spatial Processing

3.4 Function Divisions of the Cortex

Functional Localization: Specific parts of the cortex do different jobs.