1.
A 19th-century pseudoscientific theory that claimed a person's personality and mental abilities could be inferred from the bumps and contours of their skull.
2.
The principle that specific areas of the brain are responsible for particular behaviors or cognitive functions (e.g., language, vision, movement).
3.
The brain and spinal cord together; the main command center that processes information and directs the body's responses.
4.
All neural tissue outside the CNS; includes sensory neurons that gather information and motor neurons that carry signals between the CNS and the rest of the body.
5.
A nerve cell that transmits electrical and chemical signals in the nervous system; the basic unit of brain communication.
6.
Non-neuronal cells in the nervous system that support, insulate, nourish, and protect neurons; essential for brain health though not directly for signal transmission.
7.
The evolutionarily ancient core of the brain that connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls fundamental life-sustaining functions (e.g., heart rate, breathing).
8.
A group of interconnected brain structures (including the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus) involved in emotion, memory, motivation, and certain drives like hunger and arousal.
9.
An almond-shaped structure in the limbic system important for processing emotions such as fear and aggression and for emotional memory consolidation.
10.
A limbic structure critical for forming and consolidating new long-term memories and for spatial navigation.
11.
A small but vital brain region that regulates bodily homeostasis (temperature, hunger, thirst, circadian rhythms) and helps control the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.
12.
The “little brain” attached to the brainstem that coordinates voluntary movement, balance, timing, and some types of nonverbal learning and memory.
13.
The thin, outer layer of the cerebrum made of gray matter where higher-level processes occur (thinking, planning, language, perception); organized into lobes with specialized roles.
14.
One of the major subdivisions of the cerebral cortex:
15.
deals with planning, speaking, personality
16.
deals with touch, spatial orientation
18.
deals with auditory processing, language comprehension, memory
19.
Regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate information from multiple sensory and motor areas to support complex mental functions such as reasoning, language comprehension, and memory retrieval.
