Kaplan MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review, Chapter 1, Lesson 4. Parts of the Forebrain

Kaplan MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review, Chapter 1, Lesson 4. Parts of the Forebrain

Thalamus

It serves as an important relay station for all incoming sensory information, including all senses except for one. It sorts and transmits sensory information to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex.

Diencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the thalamus derived from?

Smell

Answer in one word: which sense does the thalamus not transmit sensory information regarding?

Hypothalamus

This structure controls some endocrine functions, and it is the primary regulator of the autonomic nervous system. It also serves homeostatic functions.

Diencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the hypothalamus derived from?

Lateral hypothalamus

Which part of the hypothalamus is referred to as the “hunger center”?

Ventromedial hypothalamus

Which part of the hypothalamus is referred to as the “satiety center”?

Anterior hypothalamus

Which part of the hypothalamus controls sexual behavior, sleep, and body temperature?

Dorsal hypothalamus

(NOT MENTIONED IN KAPLAN TEXTBOOK AS A REGION) Which part of the hypothalamus controls the fight or flight response?

Posterior pituitary gland

It is the site of release for the hypothalamic hormones.

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) / Vasopressin and Oxytocin

What are the two hormones released by the posterior pituitary gland?

Melatonin

What is the hormone released by the pineal gland?

Circadian rhythms

What does melatonin regulate?

Retina

Where does the pineal gland receive direct signals from?

Basal ganglia

Which group of structures coordinates muscle movement as they receive information from the cerebral cortex and relay it to the brain and the spinal cord? They allow us to have smooth and steady movements.

Extrapyramidal system

What system does the basal ganglia use to relay that information to the brain?

Parkinson’s disease

A chronic illness associated with destruction of portions of the basal ganglia.

Diencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the pineal gland derived from?

Diencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the posterior pituitary gland derived from?

Telencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the basal ganglia derived from?

Limbic system

A group of interconnected structures looping around the central portion of the brain that is primarily associated with emotion and memory.

Telencephalon

What outgrowth of the neural tube is the basal ganglia derived from?

Septal nuclei

A part of the limbic system that contains one of the primary pleasure centers in the brain. There is an association between it and addiction.

Amygdala

A part of the limbic system that plays an important role in defensive and aggressive behaviors, including fear and rage.

Hippocampus

A part of the limbic system that plays an important role in learning and memory processes, specifically consolidating information to form long-term memories

Fornix

What does the hippocampus communicate with other portions of the limbic system with? It is a part of the limbic system.

Anterograde amnesia

A kind of memory loss that is characterized by not being able to establish new long-term memories

Retrograde amnesia

A kind of memory loss of events that transpired before brain injury

Anterior cingulate cortex

A part of the limbic system which is connected with the frontal and parietal lobes that functions in higher order cognitive processes, including the regulation of impulse control and decision-making. It also maintains connections to other parts of the limbic system, and thus plays a role in emotion and motivation.

Cerebral cortex / Neocortex

The outer surface of the brain, also include another name which is a reminder that it is the most recent brain region to evolve. It has bumps and folds to increase surface area.

Gyrus

The name of a bump on the cerebral cortex

Sulcus

The name of a fold on the cerebral cortex

Frontal lobe

What lobe of the cerebral cortex is Broca’s area in?

Prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe

The region of the cerebral cortex that manages executive function by supervising and directing the operations of other brain regions.

Reticular formation

What is the structure in the brain stem that the prefrontal cortex communicates with to regulate attention and alertness?

Association area

An area that integrates input from diverse regions of the brain. The prefrontal cortex is one of these.

Projection area

In contrast to association areas, these areas of the brain perform more rudimentary perceptual and motor tasks.

Primary motor cortex of the frontal lobe

A projection area located on the precentral gyrus, just in front of the central sulcus. It initiates voluntary motor movements by sending neural impulses down the spinal cord toward the muscles.

Motor homunculus

A representation used to visualize the neurons on the motor cortex and what parts of the body they are associated with

Somatosensory cortex of the parietal lobe

Located on the postcentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex, it isa projection area which is the destination for all incoming sensory signals for touch, pressure, temperature, and pain.

Sensorimotor cortex

Sometimes, the somatosensory cortex and motor cortex are so closely linked that they are referred to by one term? What is the term?

Spatial processing and manipulation

What is the central region of the parietal lobe of the cerebral cortex associated with?

Visual cortex / Striate cortex

What is one region of the occipital lobe? Write both names.

Auditory cortex of the temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex which is the primary site of most sound processing

Wernicke’s area of the temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex which is associated with language reception and comprehension.

Memory processing, emotion, and language

Three more functions of the temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex

Hippocampus and amygdala

What two limbic system structures are located deep inside the temporal lobe? Name them in reverse alphabetical order.

Contralaterally

The term (end this word in “-ly”) for one side of the brain communicating with the opposite side of the body. This occurs in most cases.

Ipsilaterally

In some cases, such as hearing, cerebral hemispheres communicate with the same side of the body. Name the term for this (end this word in “-ly”)

Dominant hemisphere

A name for the analytic hemisphere which contains language production and language comprehension. It contains both Broca’s area of the frontal lobe and Wernicke’s area of the temporal lobe.

Nondominant hemisphere

The hemisphere associated with intuition, creativity, and spatial processing. Its visual system is faces, its language is emotions, and geometry and the sense of direction is located here.

Corpus callosum

The structure that connects and shares information between the two cerebral hemispheres.