9-14 Cortical Structures

medial

location: middle

lateral

location: sides

anterior

location: front

posterior

location: back

dorsal (superior)

location: atop the brain/within the brain

ventral (inferior)

location: toward the bottom

axial/horizontal

plane of section viewed from looking down on brain from above (dorsal view)

sagittal

plane of section cut lengthwise from front to back and viewed from the side (medial view)

coronal

plane of section cut in a vertical plane showing a frontal view of internal structures (anterior view)

gray matter

what is made up of the cell bodies of neurons?

white matter

what is made up of the myelinated axons?

corpus callosum

white matter fibers that connect the left and right hemispheres

frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal wht

brain lobes

biggest lobe, front

where is frontal lobe?

smallest, very back

where is occipital lobe?

behind temporal lobe, sits on top of temporal lobe

where is parietal lobe?

bottom, sits below parietal lobe

where is temporal lobe?

cerebral cortex

outer layer of cells (gray matter) about 2-3mm deep, characterized by wrinkles or folds

gyrus

the hills of bumps in between the folds

sulcus

the valleys/folds or indentions (large sulci are called fissures)

6

the cerebral cortex contains how many layers of cells, each layer defined by type of neurons and their densities

(first layer is closest to the surface, last layer closest to the inside of the brain/white matter)

central sulcus, longitudinal fissure, lateral fissure

important sulci of cerebral cortex

motor and executive function

function of frontal lobe

tactile functions

function of parietal lobe

visual functions

function of occipital lobe

visual, auditory, gustatory functions

functions of temporal lobe

auditory cortex

primary region of the brain responsible for processing sound and auditory information, located in temporal lobe

heschl’s gyrus

what is located inside the lateral sulcus on the temporal lobe, serves as the primary auditory cortex and acts as the first major station in the cortex for auditory processing by receiving sound information directly from the subcortical medial geniculate body?

superior temporal gyrus

main cortical region for processing sounds and understanding language, housing Wernicke's area in its posterior portion to make sense of spoken and written speech, and was traditionally thought to process auditory information only after the primary auditory cortex.

inferior frontal gyrus

what contains Broca's area for speaking and language production, helps process word meanings and semantic relationships, and carries out these functions in a lateralized manner where the left and right hemispheres function differently

supramarginal gyrus

what sits directly above the lateral sulcus and superior temporal gyrus, exhibit lateralized function, with the left side specifically processing spoken and written words, making phonological choices, and supporting verbal working memory?

angular gyrus

what arches over the superior temporal sulcus and helps turn written words into meaning by passing visual information to language processing centers, meaning damage to this region creates reading and writing issues

middle temporal gyrus

what supports language processing, reading comprehension, sound recognition, and understanding word meanings by retrieving meaning from memory

inferior frontal gyrus

if a patient has difficulty planning and executing the movements needed for speech, what is affected?

posterior superior temporal gyrus

if a patient speaks fluently and effortlessly, but the content often doesn’t make sense and they have significant trouble understand what others say to them, what is affected?

angular gyrus

if a patient can speak and understand spoken language normally, but has significant difficulty reading and writing. They frequently reverse letters and struggle to connect written words with their meanings, what is affected?

supramarginal gyrus

if a patient speaks fluently and understands spoken language well, but has great difficulty repeating words and phrases exactly as heard, what is affected?