Higher Order Cerebral Functions

neuroanatomy winter '26

unimodal association cortex function

higher order processing of one type of information

heteromodal association cortex function

higher order processing of multiple types of information, pulling it all together

where do unimodal association cortices receive input from?

primary sensory cortex

the heteromodal association cortex has _________ connections with both ____ and ____ association cortex of (all/some) modalities

bidirectional, motor, sensory, all

where is the heteromodal association cortex located?

frontal and parietio-occipito-temporal junction

focal brain lesions

can cause specific deficits

what is a false localization?

issue in a connected area projects its issue so it seems like the issue is in one place but it’s in another

what is a disconnect syndrome?

deficit as a result of lesion in white matter connecting 2 regions

define hemispheric specialization

tendency of some functions to be lateralized to the L or R hemisphere

what percentage of the population is right handed? what hemisphere controls that hand?

90; left

define apraxia

difficulty formulation skilled movements

which hemisphere does language predominantly function in?

left

which hemisphere is specialized for non-verbal functions?

nondominant hemisphere

which hemisphere is involved in attending to both sides?

right

lesions in the right hemisphere leads to marked inattention to the (right/left) side

left

(Broca’s/Wernicke’s) area is associated with language production while Broca’s/Wernicke’s) area is associated with language processing/interpretation

Broca’s, Wernicke’s

what is the white matter pathway through which Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas communicate?

arcuate fasciculus

true or false: Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas are the sole performers of comprehension and production of language

false

what 3 areas does Broca’s area connect with for speech formation and planning?

prefrontal cortex, premotor cortex, SMA

what 3 areas does Wernicke’s area connect with for language comprehension and mapping sounds to meaning?

supramarginal gyrus, angular gyrus, temporal lobe

which area is more important for reading, Broca’s or Wernicke’s?

Wernicke’s

define aprosody

difficulty judging or producing the intended expression imparted by a particular tone of voice

what is the most common cause of Broca’s aphasia?

infarct in the L MCA superior division

what is the most noticeable feature of Broca’s aphasia

decreased fluency of spontaneous speech

what is the typical phrase length in Broca’s aphasia? are there more content words or function words?

5 words long; more content words

define prosody

normal melodious intonation of speech that conveys the meaning of sentence structure

What are 3 associated features of Broca’s aphasia?

dysarthria, right hemiparesis that is stronger in the UE than the LE, apraxia

what is the most common cause of Wernicke’s aphasia?

infarct in L MCA inferior division

what are hte 2 hallmarks of Wernick’es aphasia?

markedly impaired comprehension and unable to respond appropriately to questions

Wernicke’s aphasia shows speech with (normal/abnormal) fluency that is/has (meaningless/normal meaning)

normal, meaningless

what are 4 associated features of Wernicke’s aphasia?

contralateral visual field cut, apraxia, anosognosia, angry/paranoid behavior

the (dominant/nondominant) hemisphere is more important for attention and generating integrated visual-spatial awareness

nondominant

what is the most common cause of hemineglect syndrome?

infarcts of the right parietal lobe or frontal cortex

define sensory neglect

ignoring visual, tactile, or auditory stimuli in the contralateral hemispace

define motor-intentional neglect

performance of fewer movements in the contralateral hemispace

define conceptual neglect

internal representations of their own bodies or external world reflect hemineglect

define hemianosognosia

denying that the contralateral side of their body belongs to them

what are hte 3 main functional categories of the prefrontal cortex?

restraint, initiative, order

define working memory

the ability to hold a limited amount of information in an immediately available store while a variety of cognitive operations are performed

what function of the frontal lobe is important in the “intuition” of decision making?

integration of information from the limbic and heteromodal association cortex

the dorsal pathways of the visual association cortex project to:

parieto-occipital association cortex

the dorsal pathways of the visual association cortex answer the “____” question

where

the ventral pathways of the visual association cortex project to:

occipitotemporal association cortex

the ventral pathways of the visual association cortex answer the “____” question

what

the ventral pathways identify __ through __, __, __ and the dorsal pathways identify _ and __ __

form, colors, faces, letters; motion, spatial relationships

what is the binding problem?

why our experiences are not fragmented into different perceptions despite them using different cortical areas

define attention

brain processes that allocate resources to what matters

what are 2 major functions of attention?

selective or sustaineeed

what 2 extra mechanisms must occur in selective and sustained attention?

signal enhancement and noise suppression

define neuroplasticity

the brain’s ability to change existing connections and form new ones as a result of complex stimulus interactions