sleep/arousal - reticular formation in brain stem controls consciousness 

• less stimuli >> less active reticular formation >> easier to sleep
• sleep = active process, not lack of consciousness
• electroencephalogram (EEG) - records electrical activity in the brain
  • alpha waves - 8-13 hertz, found in relaxed/awake people
  • beta waves - 13-30 hertz, found in alert people
  • theta/delta waves - found in sleeping people
• REM sleep - rapid eye mov’t sleep
  • EEG like that of relaxed, awake person
  • difficult to wake up
  • when dreams occur

language/spatial recognition - hemispheres each responsible for different jobs 

• left hemisphere = dominant language area for 9/10 of right-handed people, 2/3 of left handed people
• Wernicke’s area - found in parietal lobe between auditory/visual areas
  • controls language comprehension, formation of thoughts
• Broca’s area - found near motor cortex controlling the face
  • controls motor skills needed for language communication
• aphasias - language disorder where words lack meaning, due to damage in Wernicke/Broca areas
• right hemisphere = nondominant hemisphere, good at spatial reasoning and musical ability
  • damaged inferior temporal cortex >> inability to recognize faces

memory/learning - doesn’t take place in any specific part 

• short-term memory - temporary memory
  • possibly stored electrically as neural excitation
  • can be forgotten w/ electrical shock
• long-term memory - involves structural changes in neural connections
  • converted from short-term memory by hippocampus/amygdala
• long-term potentiation (LTP) - frequently used neurons become more sensitive after each transmission

Alzheimer disease - condition where memory/thought processes become dysfunctional 

• nerve cells either killed from outside in or inside out
• beta-amyloid peptides - external proteins that could plaque and fill in brain when mutated
• tau protein - internal protein that normally maintain transport microtubules
  • could cause tangles when mutated