AP Psychology Exam Review The Brain Brain Mnemonics by Michael Britt www.thepsychfiles.com
Figure 2.2, p. 67
Pons - regulates waking and relaxing. Put a d in pons and you have ponds. Ponds are relaxing to look at. Your pons is activated when you look at a calm, relaxing pond. Pons
Reticular formation - nerve network in the brainstem that plays an important role in controlling arousal.
The medulla controls heartbeat and breathing. 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. Hal & Amos are traffic cops.
The Hippocampus is involved in memory. 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. Hal & Amos are traffic cops.
The cerebellum, or the little brain helps coordinate voluntary movements and balance.
The hypothalamus directs eating, drinking, body temperature, and control of emotions, and helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. 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. 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. Picture corpus CALL SOMEONE corplus callosum The two hemispheres of the brain communicate through the Corpus Callosum.
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) Freud Tore his Pants Off
The Frontal Lobe is where complex thinking occurs. 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. Use tempo as your mnemonic and picture a metronome above your ear (where the temporal lobe is located)
The Parietal Lobe processes sensory information. 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. 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. 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. In other words, Wernicke s comprehension is crappy.