AP Psychology Exam Review

The Brain

Brain Mnemonics by Michael Brittwww.thepsychfiles.com

Figure 2.2, p. 67

Pons - regulates waking and relaxing. Helpful mnemonic: Put a “d” in pons and you have “ponds”. Ponds are relaxing to look at. Your pons isactivated when you look at acalm, relaxing pond.

Pons

Reticular formation - nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.Helpful mnemonic:

The medulla controls heartbeat and breathing.

Helpful mnemonic: picture an Olympic athlete wearing gold medals around her neck and covering her heart and lungs.

The thalamus - the brain’s sensory switchboard. It directs messages to the sensory areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.Helpful mnemonic: Hal & Amos are traffic cops….

The Hippocampus is involved in memory.

Helpful mnemonic:Use “hippo-compass”: picture a hippo who is lost and can’t remember how to get home, so he’s using a compass.

The amygdala regulates the emotions of fear and anger.Helpful mnemonics:

If you’re familiar with attack planes, a “MIG”is a scary attack fighter jet.

The thalamus is the brain’s sensory switchboard. It directs messages to the sensory areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla.Helpful mnemonic: Hal & Amos are traffic cops….

The cerebellum, or the “little brain” helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance.Helpful mnemonic:

The hypothalamus directs eating, drinking, body temperature, and control of emotions, and helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. Helpful mnemonic:Picture a HYPOdermic needle spraying two thirsty llamas with water to quench their thirst and cool them down.

The cerebral cortex is the intricate fabric of interconnected neural cells that covers the cerebral hemispheres. It is the body’s ultimate control and information processing center.

Helpful mnemonic:Imagine a Texas hat on your head which is covering the outermost part of your brain – the cor"tex".

The Corpus Callosum connects the two hemispheres.

Helpful mnemonic:corPLUS calloSUM

The two hemispheres of the brain communicate through the Corpus Callosum.

Helpful mnemonic:Picture “corpus CALL SOMEONE”

Each brain hemisphere is divided into four lobes that are separated by prominent fissures. These lobes are:frontal lobe (forehead)parietal lobe (top to rear head) occipital lobe (back of head)temporal lobe (side of head)

Helpful mnemonic:

FreudTorehis

PantsOff

The Frontal Lobe is where complex thinking occurs.Helpful mnemonic:Use “front door” as your mnemonic. Put the front door on your forehead and put Einstein (complex thinker) behind the door.

The Temporal Lobe is where auditory processing occurs. Helpful mnemonic:Use “tempo” as your mnemonic and picture a metronome above your ear (where the temporal lobe is located)

The Parietal Lobe processes sensory information.

Helpful mnemonic:Use a “piranha” fish as your mnemonic. The piranha bites you on the top of the head (where the parietal lobe is located). That’s a sensation the parietal lobe would process!

The Occipital Lobe processes visual information.

Helpful mnemonic:Use the “Occ” part of the word Occipital and imagine an octopus. Then, picture eyeballs instead of suckers on the tentacles.

Broca’s Area is the area of the brain responsible for producing speech. If it is damaged, you can understand what someone says, but their speech is disjointed. Helpful mnemonic:“Broca’s speech is broken” or “Broca’s banter is broken”

Wernicke’s Area is responsible for the comprehension of speech. If you have an aphasia in this area of the brain you are unable to understand and respond to what people are saying to you.Helpful mnemonic:In other words, “Wernicke’s comprehension is crappy”.