Brain Areas and Cognitive Functions – Review

Question–and–Answer flashcards covering key brain areas, attention systems, and associated cognitive functions from the lecture notes.

Which cerebral hemisphere is primarily responsible for linguistic and analytical processing?

The left hemisphere

Which hemisphere specializes in perceptual and spatial processing?

The right hemisphere

What structure connects the two brain hemispheres?

The corpus callosum

Cutting the corpus callosum produces what condition?

Split-brain syndrome, in which information cannot easily cross between hemispheres

Broca’s area is located in which cortex, and what is its main function?

Left frontal cortex; it handles speech production and syntax

Damage to Broca’s area results in what type of aphasia?

Broca’s (non-fluent) aphasia—halting, agrammatical speech

Where is Wernicke’s area and what does it process?

Left temporal-parietal cortex; it processes speech comprehension and semantics

Wernicke’s aphasia produces speech that is _.

Fluent but meaningless (semantic deficits)

What is the evolutionary newest part of the cortex characterized by gyri and sulci?

The neocortex (cerebral cortex)

Which lobe houses primary visual processing and visual memory?

The occipital lobe

Name the lobe crucial for somatosensory processing and spatial attention.

Parietal lobe

The dorsal visual stream is often called the _ stream.

“Where/How” stream

Which three brain areas are key for Posner’s ‘disengage–move–engage’ components of spatial attention?

Parietal cortex, superior colliculus, and thalamic pulvinar

Damage to the right parietal lobe can cause what neglect syndrome?

Left-side hemispatial neglect

Egocentric representations code space relative to _.

The observer’s own body (self-centered)

Which temporal-lobe area (in the fusiform gyrus) recognizes faces and objects of expertise?

The Fusiform Face Area (FFA)

Viewing or imagining places activates what area?

Parahippocampal Place Area (PPA)

Which frontal subdivision sets intentions and exerts control over behavior?

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)

Conflict monitoring (e.g., in the Stroop task) is handled by which region?

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Which brain structure regulates basic drives such as hunger and thirst?

Hypothalamus

Name the hindbrain structure essential for coordinated movement (and some cognition).

The cerebellum

The thalamus is best described as the brain’s _.

Sensory-motor relay station

Which relay nucleus in the thalamus handles visual information?

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN)

Primary visual cortex (V1) is located in which lobe?

Occipital lobe

Which brainstem nucleus controls breathing, swallowing, and heartbeat?

Medulla

The basal ganglia contribute to _ and are implicated in Parkinson’s & Huntington’s diseases.

Motor control and complex cognition

What limbic structure is central for memory and emotion?

The hippocampus

Reticular Activating System (RAS) affects what mental state?

General arousal/alertness; damage can cause coma

Superior colliculus guides eye movements called _.

Saccades

Inferior colliculus helps orient attention toward _.

Auditory stimuli

Pulvinar nucleus is involved in what attentional function?

Filtering and selective attention (engage component)

The cingulate cortex integrates information and emotion to _.

Select an appropriate response when conflicting options exist

What type of spatial map is supported by the hippocampus?

Allocentric (survey) maps

The ventral visual stream answers the question “?”.

What (object identification)

Apperceptive agnosia refers to impairment in what?

Forming coherent percepts despite intact basic vision

Verbal mental imagery relies chiefly on which cortical areas?

Left prefrontal cortex near Broca’s area and posterior temporal–parietal regions

Visual mental imagery engages which hemisphere most strongly?

The right hemisphere (right PFC, parietal, occipital, and temporal cortices)

Primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe is the first stage influenced by _.

Attention (enhancement or attenuation)

Low-level system damage causes losses in real perception, whereas high-level damage causes losses in _.

Mental imagery

Posterior temporal regions code categorical information, while anterior motor regions support _ maps.

Route maps

Which brain area helps allocate resources to goals and is active in executive control tasks?

Prefrontal cortex (especially dlPFC and ACC)

Parkinson’s disease is linked to dopamine loss in which structure?

Basal ganglia

Tasks requiring selection of one stimulus dimension (e.g., Stroop) heavily activate the _.

Anterior cingulate cortex

The cerebral cortex controls the body _ (contralaterally or ipsilaterally)?

Contralaterally

What effect does activating the RAS have on attention?

It increases alertness and vigilance, allowing more information to reach the cortex