The forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain are the three main brain divisions. The forebrain handles higher cognitive functions, the midbrain controls motor movement and sensory processing, and the hindbrain manages coordination, balance, and autonomic functions like breathing and heart rate.| Simply Psychology
The human brain is a complex organ, made up of several distinct parts, each responsible for different functions. The cerebrum, the largest part, is responsible for sensory interpretation, thought processing, and voluntary muscle activity. Beneath it is the cerebellum, which controls balance and coordination. The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord and oversees automatic processes like breathing and heart rate. The limbic system, containing structures like the hippocampus and amygd...| Simply Psychology
The temporal lobe, located near the temples, is the second largest lobe of the human cerebrum, accounting for almost one-fourth of the brain's volume. It processes auditory information, forms memories, comprehends language, and regulates emotions through key structures like the hippocampus and primary auditory cortex.| Simply Psychology
Henry Gustav Molaison, known as Patient H.M., is a landmark case study in psychology. After a surgery to alleviate severe epilepsy, which removed large portions of his hippocampus, he was left with anterograde amnesia, unable to form new explicit memories, thus offering crucial insights into the role of the hippocampus in memory formation.| Simply Psychology
The cerebral cortex is the outermost layer of the brain, composed of folded gray matter. It plays a crucial role in various complex cognitive processes including thought, perception, language, memory, attention, consciousness, and advanced motor functions.| Simply Psychology
The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a small but powerful structure in the brain’s basal forebrain. It acts as a hub for processing reward, motivation, and pleasure. Think of it as the brain’s motivational switchboard—it helps us decide what feels good, what’s worth pursuing, and what behaviors to repeat.| Simply Psychology
Episodic memory is a type of long-term, declarative memory that involves the recollection of personal experiences or events, including the time and place they occurred. It allows you to travel back in time to relive past experiences, like remembering your first day at school.| Simply Psychology
Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain through pre-natal development and as adults. This phenomenon primarily occurs in the hippocampus playing a crucial role in learning, memory, and cognitive flexibility. Factors like exercise, enriched environments, and certain drugs can promote neurogenesis, while stress and aging may inhibit it.| Simply Psychology
The amygdala is a complex structure of cells nestled in the middle of the brain, adjacent to the hippocampus (which is associated with memory formation). It is part of the limbic system and plays a key role in processing emotions and emotional reactions.| Simply Psychology
The limbic system is a complex set of brain structures involved in emotion, motivation, memory, and behavior regulation. Key components include the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and cingulate gyrus. It's central to emotional processing, memory formation, and various autonomic functions, bridging higher cognitive processes and primal emotions.| Simply Psychology