PARTS OF THE BRAIN AND ITS INFLUENCE ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOUR

1. INFLUENCE OF THE BRAIN ON HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOUR
UNIT3: LEARNERS’ CHARACTERISTICS AND DEVELOPMENT
PSMA211CO2- PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

2. INTRODUCTION
• In this world, there are millions of different species of organisms
differing in a variety of ways.
• Biologists believe that these species were not always like this; they
have evolved to their present form from their pre-existing forms.
• It is estimated that the characteristics of modern human beings
developed some 2,00,000 years ago as a result of their continuous
interaction with the environment.

3. • Evolutionary changes resulted in the formation
of modern brain.
• Three important features of modern human
beings differentiate them from their ancestors:
• (i) a bigger and more developed brain with
increased capacity for cognitive behaviors like
perception, memory, reasoning, problem-
solving, and use of language for communication.
• (ii) ability to walk upright on two legs.
• (iii) a free hand with a workable opposing
thumb.

4. • Our behaviors are highly complex and more developed than those of other
species because we have got a large and highly developed brain.
• Human brain development is evidenced by two facts.
• Firstly, the weight of the brain is about 2.35 percent of the total body weight,
and it is the highest among all species (in elephants it is 0.2 percent).
• Secondly, the human cerebrum is more evolved than other parts of the brain

5. Why can’t humans stand or walk after they are born when compared with other
animals?
• It is because of the difference in their brain development.
• In other animals brain development is faster and is made possible as it is a
pre-planned process.
• In humans the brain is developed in an underdeveloped state. The human
brains are developed according to their environmental conditions.
• This helps humans to survive in any environmental conditions.
• Eg: Camels can only live in deserts and polar bears can live only in polar
regions. While humans can live in any of these conditions.

6. • Infancy to Childhood the child does not have a feeling of guilt in doing any
activities because of their developing brain condition.
• The brain attains its development after 25 year-long processes.
• During the adolescent stage the brain’s important neural connections take
place as a result of the brain attaining self-consciousness the child gets a
thought of himself which results in shyness.
• At this period the developmental changes in the Nucleus Accumbens results
in the individual having a desire of attaining rewards. This is the reason
individuals takes risk.
• But the underdeveloped state of the Orbitofrontal Cortex is the lack of
decision-making, focus, and future consequences prediction.

7. • The brain attains development also there is a chance of changes can take
place this condition is termed Neuroplasticity.
• Ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or
extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections.
• BIOPSYCHOLOGY - The area of psychology that seeks to understand how
the brain affects behavior is known as Biopsychology.

8. Structure of Brain
• Brain can be divided into three parts: The Hindbrain,
Midbrain, and Forebrain
• Hindbrain: This part of the brain consists of the
following structures:
▪ Medulla Oblongata, Pons, Cerebellum
• Forebrain: This part of the brain consists of ;
▪ Hypothalamus, Thalamus, Limbic system, and
Cerebrum.

9. Hindbrain
This part of the brain consists of the following
structures:
Medulla Oblongata, Pons, and Cerebellum
➢ Medulla Oblongata
• It is the lowest part of the brain that exists in
continuation of the spinal
cord.
• It contains neural centers, which regulate basic life-
supporting activities like
breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.
• Medulla is known as the vital center of the brain.
• It has some centers for autonomic activities also.

10. ➢ Pons
• It is connected with medulla on one side and with the
midbrain on the other.
• A nucleus (neural center) of pons receives auditory signals
relayed by our ears.
• It is believed that pons is involved in the sleep mechanism,
particularly the sleep characterized by dreaming.
• It contains nuclei affecting respiratory movement and
facial expressions also.

11. ➢ Cerebellum
• It is the highly developed part of the hindbrain.
• It maintains and controls posture and equilibrium of
the body.
• Its main function is the coordination of muscular
movements, though the motor commands originate in
the forebrain, the cerebellum receives and coordinates
them to relay to the muscles.
• It also stores the memory of movement patterns so
that we do not have to concentrate on how to walk,
dance, or ride a bicycle.

12. Midbrain
• The midbrain is relatively small in size and it
connects the hindbrain with the forebrain.
• A few neural centers related to some special
reflexes and visual and auditory sensations are
found here.
• An important part of the midbrain, known as the
Reticular Activating System (RAS), is
responsible for our arousal.
• It makes us alert and active by regulating sensory
inputs.
• It also helps us in selecting information from the
environment.

13. Forebrain
❑ It is considered to be the most important
part of the brain because it performs all
cognitive, emotional, and motor
activities.
❑ The four major parts of the forebrain are
the hypothalamus, thalamus, limbic
system, and cerebrum.

14. ➢ Hypothalamus
• The hypothalamus is one of the smallest
structures in the brain but plays a vital role in our
behavior.
• It regulates physiological processes involved in
emotional and motivational behavior, such as
eating, drinking, sleeping, temperature regulation,
and sexual arousal.
• It also regulates and controls the internal
environment of the body (e.g., heart rate, blood
pressure, temperature) and regulates the secretion
of hormones from various endocrine glands.

15. ➢ Thalamus
• It consists of an egg-shaped cluster of
neurons situated on the ventral (upper)
side of the hypothalamus.
• It is like a relay station that receives all
incoming sensory signals from sense
organs and sends them to appropriate
parts of the cortex for processing.
• It also receives all outgoing motor
signals coming from the cortex and sends
them to appropriate parts of the body.

16. ➢ The Limbic System
• This system is composed of a group of structures
that form part of the old mammalian brain.
• It helps in maintaining internal homeostasis by
regulating body temperature, blood pressure, and
blood sugar level.
• It has close links with the hypothalamus. Besides
the hypothalamus, the limbic system comprises
the Hippocampus and Amygdala.
• The hippocampus plays an important role in long-
term memory.
• The amygdala plays an important role in
emotional behavior.

17. ➢ Cerebrum
➢It is also known as Cerebral Cortex, this
part regulates all higher levels of
cognitive functions, such as attention,
perception, learning, memory, language
behavior, reasoning, and problem-solving.
➢The cerebrum is divided into two
symmetrical halves, called the Cerebral
hemisphere.
➢Although the two hemispheres appear
identical, functionally one hemisphere
usually dominates the other.

18. ➢ The right cerebral hemisphere
processes the information in a
holistic way, all the attributes
of the stimulus are
understood comprehensively
and simultaneously,
regardless of the time course.
➢ The left cerebral hemisphere
processes the information in
an analytical way
(sequential), on the path of
perception of the next
elements, whereas the
systematization of the
material is strictly dependent
on the passage of time

19. Features of the Right Hemisphere
➢ receives spoken and spoken words;
➢ controls the reading direction;
➢ manages the statement based on prosodic
features;
➢ understands the context of speech;
➢ guides orientation processes to new stimuli;
➢ identifies stimuli based on physical
similarity;
➢ processes spatial information, including
identifying faces;

20. ➢ receives and stores music and mathematical
information;
➢ recognizes geometrical figures and basic
characteristics of stimuli;
➢ receives stimuli containing an emotional
charge;
➢ understands facial expressions and
regulates the emotional expression of the
face;
➢ distinguishes gestures expressing emotions;
➢ classifies emotional information in relation
to social communication.

21. Features of the Left Hemisphere
➢ receives, recognizes, and
differentiates speech sounds;
➢ performs a number of verbal
operations in relation to the activity
of the frontal cortex;
➢ controls analytic and relational
functions;
➢ processes information sequentially;
➢ receives and stores known stimuli;
➢ identifies stimuli using logic
compounds;

22. ➢ compares the stimulus to the
principle of determining the
relationship between them;
➢ records the elapsed time;
➢ organizes memory in relation
to general knowledge about
the world;
➢ concentrates attention

23. Frontal lobe
o planning and execution of any
movements
o eye movements
o Thinking, concentration,
information processing, matching
facts, drawing conclusions and
making decisions;
The cerebral hemispheres are divided into four lobes.
The frontal lobe, Temporal lobe, Parietal lobe, Occipital lobe

24. o speech expression;
o responsibility for learned memory
o control and evaluation of emotions
o assessment of social situations and
adjustment of their behavior to them
o anticipating the consequences of
your actions
o having pleasure in satisfying the
drives
o feeling anxious and frustrated.

25. Temporal lobe
o speech control
o responsibility for verbal memory
and remembering
o object recognition
o reception of sound impressions
o odor analysis.

26. Parietal lobe
o The feeling of touch, temperature, pain
o The concentration of sensory impressions
o Spatial orientation
o Coordination of finger movements
o Linking movement and vision to the same
impression
o Space and movement coordination
o Understanding of symbolic language,
abstract and geometric concepts.

27. Occipital lobe
o Analysis of color, motion, shape, and
depth
o Vision and visual associations
o Sensation assessment
o Interpretation and classification of
impressions.

28. Conclusion
o Brain can be divided into three parts: The Hindbrain, Midbrain, and
Forebrain
o Forebrain consist of the hypothalamus, thalamus, limbic system, and
cerebrum.
o The cerebrum is divided into two symmetrical halves, called the
Cerebral hemispheres, the right cerebral hemisphere and the left
cerebral hemisphere.
o right cerebral hemisphere processes the information in a holistic way.
o left cerebral hemisphere processes the information in an analytical way.

30. 1. The area of psychology that seeks to understand how the brain affects
behavior is known as?
a)Ecopsychology b) Social psychology
c) Biopsychology d) Abnormal Psychology
2. Which lobe is most closely associated with visual processing?
a) Frontal b) temporal
c) Parietal d) occipital

31. 3. Which of the following is NOT a lobe of the brain?
a) Frontal b) dorsal
c) Parietal d) temporal
4. Which area of the brainstem controls heart rate and breathing?
a) reticular formation b) medulla
c) Pons d) hypothalamus

32. 5. The 'cerebral cortex' is divided into
a) One hemisphere b) Two hemisphere
c) Three hemispheres d) Four hemispheres
6. Which of the following is NOT part of the limbic system
a) Amygdala b) Hippocampus
c) Hypothalamus d) Cerebellum

33. 7. Which area of the brain is responsible for motor control and coordination?
a) Thalamus b) Amygdala
c) Hypothalamus d) Cerebellum
8. At which age does brain attains its development?
a) 21 b) 26
c) 25 d) 18

34. 9. Which lobe involves in the Analysis of color, motion, shape, and depth?
a) Frontal lobe b) Temporal lobe
c) Parietal lobe d) Occipital lobe
10. Which lobe initiates the feeling of touch, temperature, pain?
a) Frontal lobe b) Temporal lobe
c) Parietal lobe d) Occipital lobe