Silly Little Psychology

Psychology – the study of the brain and its functions. Psychologists should really just be called professional puzzle solvers because the brain is just a giant jigsaw with a million parts that need to fit together just right.  

Brainstem: as the name suggests, the brainstem is just the basic root. It’s in charge of making sure we don’t die all the time by not breathing as it controls our basic functions for survival.  

Medulla: silly name for something in charge of our heartrate and breathing. 

Thalamus: thalamus is like that one major gossip hub. It's constantly on the phone spreading the tea. It takes in (text) messages from our senses and forwards them to the brainstem. Sooo problematic.  

Reticular Formation: RF is in charge of keeping us conscious. So basically, it's to blame for when I fall asleep in class.  

Cerebellum: cerebellum is trying sooo hard to be the main character. They’re just doing too much. Kinda like that little sister that wants to copy everything you do, the cerebellum is called “little brain”. It takes in our senses, makes sure we can walk and talk straight, and also helps us learn properly. 

The Thalamus 

Sitting like a boss on top of the brainstem, the thalamus is a goofy looking egg-like structure in charge of nearly all our senses. It takes information from our sensory nerves (hearing, taste buds, eyesight, and touch) then sends it right over other parts of the brain to deal with all of that. It probably goes a little crazy when we enter a new place with unknown sights and sounds. The thalamus is just a station for important information to pass through and get to other parts of the brain.  

Reticular Formation: 

The RF spans across our spinal cord and up to the thalamus. It takes in all the electrifying information – stimuli. Without the RF, we would never be awake, alert, or conscious. Honestly, I really think that sometimes the RF just leaves my brain when I walk into class because it’s definitely not electrically stimulated enough for me to pay attention all hour.