Lecture notes detailing various parts of the brain, including the cerebellum, cerebral cortex, and neurons. Also discusses the case study of Phineas Gage, a man who sustained extreme damage to his frontal lobe in a railway accident. The frontal lobe was then linked to rational thinking and judgment...
PSYCH 101 Lecture Notes
Boise State University
Case Studies
Case study: examination of a single individual who may have an unusual characteristic, deficit,
or issue. Example: the case study of HM
Cerebellum: also known as “little brain”, mass that sits at the back of the brain, looks like a
smaller brain, important for procedural memory (knowing how to do something)
Cerebral cortex: brain’s outermost layer, four lobes, information processing
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Frontal lobe: planning, decision making, judgment, and following social norms,
personality characteristics, helps you control impulses
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Parietal lobe: important for processing sensory information
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Temporal lobe: important for processing auditory information, located next to the ears,
important for balance and coordination, processing of speech
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Occipital lobe: back of head, important for processing visual information
Phineas Gage:
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Railway worker who was packing down explosive materials
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Gunpowder ignited and sent a rod through his skull, went through his frontal lobe
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He recovered and continued working, but the once friendly and honest man became
profane and irritable
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His case study was a turning point for scientists realizing that the frontal lobe had to be
important for rational thinking and judgment
Plasticity in the Damaged Brain:
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Reflects the brain’s ability to perform despite one or more parts being damaged or not
receiving stimuli (such as people who are born blind)
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Brain can reroute its networks
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Severed neurons do not regenerate
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Brain can reassign unused areas of the brain, compensate for damaged areas, and
generate new cells (neurogenesis)
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The younger the brain is, typically the more plasticity it has
The Evolution of Behavioral Studies:
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In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was the belief that you were born with a certain
amount of worth
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By World War 2 and afterwards, we shifted to a mindset that how you were born didn’t
determine your future
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