1. Describe the several (2) techniques for studying the brain.

CAT scan is one of the techniques for studying the brain. There are several xrays cameras which are rotated around the brain to give a three-dimensional picture. Another technique for studying the brain is MRI. It uses magnetic field to measure the density and the location of brain materials. 2. Describe how nerve cells communicate. It starts with the terminal bud and releases neurotransmitters between the synapse. The neurotransmitters fit into the receptor sites on the dendrites. It passes though the cell body and reaches the axons. As the neurotransmitters goes through the axons, the myelin sheath speeds up the neural impulses. 3. Discuss the brain plasticity following illness or injury. Parts of the brain can adapt themselves to perform other functions if needed. If the parts of the brain are damaged, the dendrites would make new connections to take over the functions that were damaged. 4. Define cerebral cortex and explain the importance to the human brain. The cerebral cortex has a thin surface layer with many neurons covering the brains hemispheres. The humans brain contains four lobes (frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal) that has the function of learning, thinking, and many other forms of information to process us to be human beings. 5. Describes the parts of the neurons, and explain how impulses are generated. A neuron consists of a cell body and branched-ends. The dendrites receives information from sensory receptors and passes though the axon to the along neurons. A layer of fatty cells, called the myelin sheath helps speed the neural impulses. A neural impulse only fires if stimulated by pressure, heat, or light. This electrical message is called action potential. A neuron is either fires completely or it does not fire at all, or called all-none principle. 6. Identify the subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system and describe their functions. Somatic, autonomic, sympathetic, and parasympathetic are the four subdivisions towards the peripheral nervous system. Somatic nervous system basically controls the voluntary muscle movements. Autonomic nervous controls the automatic functions such as the heart, lungs, internal organs, etc.

Sympathetic nervous system mobilizes our body to respond to stress while parasympathetic slows down our body after a stress response. 7. Identify the four lobes of the cerebral cortex. The four lobes of the cerebral cortex are the parietal lobes, frontal lobes, occipital lobes, and the parietal lobes. 8. Describe the five brain areas that will be involved if you are reading out loud. It starts with the visual cortex which receives the written words as a visual stimulation. It would then go to the angular gyrus which transforms the visual representations into an auditory code. Wernickes area basically interprets the auditory code. Lastly, the Brocas area would control the speech muscles via the motor cortex, and in that motor cortex the word would be pronounced. 9. Explain how neurotransmitters affect behavior, and outline the effects of acetylcholine and the endorphins. Each neurotransmitters travels on a specific path in the brain and has a certain effect on behavior and emotions. Acetylcholine affects our learning, muscle action, and memory. The endorphins just release responses towards pain and exercise. 10. Describe the structures and functions of the limbic system. Explain how these structure control the pituitary gland. The thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus are all grouped together and called the limbic system because they all have to do with emotion and memory. The thalamus is responsible for receiving information from the spinal cord and sending it back to the appropriate place while hypothalamus controls the metabolic functions. The amygdala is vital to the experiences of emotions while hippocampus is vital to the memory system. The pituitary gland or the master gland basically triggers the releases of hormones.