Chapter 3

In this chapter, we start learning how the actual brain communicates with itself. It does this by sending chemical messages through neurons. Neurons are nerve cells that are specialized for communication and there are 100 billion of them in our brains. The neurons have the cell body, dendrites, axons, the axon terminal, and the synapse. Then there is something called the action potential that travels across the neuron sending messages.

The other really big section in Chapter 3 was the human brain. This is really important because different regions of the brain produce different emotions and control different parts of the body. you have the forebrain which includes the cerebral cortex, the corpus callosum, the Hypothalamus, the Thalamus, the Cerebellum, and the brain stem. The forebrain is the site of brains conscious functions. The Corpus Callosum is a bundle of nerve fibers that connect the cerebellums two hemispheres. The Hypothalamus controls the body's endocrine or hormone-producing system. The thalamus is the area that relays nerve signals to the cerebral cortex. The Cerebellum regulates the bodies balance and body control. The Brain stem regulates control of involuntary functions such as breathing and heart rate. There are also four lobes of the brain. They are the frontal, central, parietal, temporal lobes. This is what I believe is the most important part of the study of psychology because without it, there wouldn't be the study of psychology.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYwOtTMUz0c

This song will be helpful for memorizing the areas of the brain for the midterm and the final and I thought it was kind of funny.