Regulation and Integration of the Body

Flashcards for key vocabulary and concepts related to the regulation and integration of the body.

Motor Areas

The regions of the cerebral cortex responsible for the planning, control, and execution of voluntary movements.

Primary Motor Cortex

Located in the precentral gyrus, it contains large pyramidal neurons that control voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.

Somatotopy

The spatial mapping of body regions onto specific areas of the primary motor cortex.

Premotor Cortex

An area just anterior to the primary motor cortex; it helps plan movements and sequences motor activities.

Broca's Area

A region in the frontal lobe responsible for directing the muscles involved in speech production.

Frontal Eye Field

Cortical region that controls voluntary eye movements.

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Located in the postcentral gyrus, it processes sensory information from the body's receptors.

Spatial Discrimination

The ability of neurons to identify the body region being stimulated based on sensory input.

Somatosensory Association Cortex

This area integrates sensory inputs and helps understand the characteristics of objects being touched.

Visual Association Area

Surrounds the primary visual cortex; it interprets visual stimuli using past experiences.

Auditory Cortex

The primary area for processing sound information; it interprets pitch, loudness, and location of sounds.

Wernicke's Area

Part of the auditory cortex involved in language comprehension.

Vestibular Cortex

The region responsible for the conscious perception of balance.

Olfactory Cortex

The primary area for the sense of smell, located in the temporal lobe.

Gustatory Cortex

Involved in perceiving taste stimuli, located in the insula.

Multimodal Association Areas

Regions of the cortex that integrate inputs from multiple sensory modalities.

Anterior Association Area

Also called the prefrontal cortex; involved in cognition, intellect, and personality.

Posterior Association Area

Involved in recognizing patterns and faces and binding sensory inputs into a coherent perception.

Lateralization of Function

Refers to the specialization of function in each hemisphere of the brain.

Internal Cerebral White Matter

Composed of myelinated fibers that connect different parts of the brain.

Basal Nuclei

Subcortical structures involved in the control of movement.

Pyramidal Tracts

Motor pathways that carry information from the primary motor cortex to the spinal motor neurons.