Neuroanatomy: Cerebral Lobes, Cortex, Tracts and Ventricles

What do the three anatomical planes separate?

Coronal: front/back; sagittal: left/right; axial (horizontal): upper/lower.

What does the intraparietal sulcus separate?

The superior and inferior parietal lobules.

What do the superior and inferior frontal sulci separate?

Superior frontal sulcus: superior/middle frontal gyri; inferior frontal sulcus: middle/inferior frontal gyri.

What do the superior and inferior temporal sulci separate?

Superior temporal sulcus: superior/middle temporal gyri; inferior temporal sulcus: middle/inferior temporal gyri.

Which frontal gyri are emphasized in the deck?

Precentral, superior frontal, middle frontal, and inferior frontal gyri.

Which parietal structures should you identify?

Postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule, inferior parietal lobule (supramarginal/angular gyri), and precuneus on mesial surface.

Which temporal gyri should you identify?

Superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri on lateral surface; fusiform gyrus on ventral surface.

What are premotor cortex functions, including left-hemisphere language roles?

Motor planning/organization; left hemisphere also supports motor speech, syntax, and phonology.

Where is prefrontal cortex, and what does it support?

Anterior frontal lobe; working memory, initiation, planning, and decision-making.

What deficits are associated with prefrontal damage?

Disturbed affect, inappropriate behavior, attentional impairments, and difficulty initiating/maintaining behavior; frontotemporal dementia is named here.

What does posterior parietal association cortex support?

Position sense and interpretation of tactile/visuospatial information; left hemisphere also supports phonology.

What is Heschl's gyrus?

The location of primary auditory cortex on the superior surface of the temporal lobe.

What do temporal association cortices support?

Mid/posterior regions: higher-level auditory and auditory-visual processing; left hemisphere: spoken/written language, semantics, and syntax.

What does damage to left precentral gyrus cause?

Right hemiparesis (right-sided weakness), illustrating opposite-side motor control.

What is Broca's area in the deck's motor-planning framework, and what lesion effect is illustrated?

Premotor region for the face; damage is discussed with apraxia of speech.

What is Exner's area, and which additional region supports limb motor planning?

Exner's area = premotor region for hand; parietal lobule also supports limb motor planning.

Which condition and atrophy pattern are illustrated in the limb-planning discussion?

Limb apraxia with superior parietal lobe atrophy.

Where is the insula, and what function is suggested?

Hidden beneath frontal, parietal, and temporal opercula (operculum = lid); appears involved in motor control.

How does the deck distinguish gray matter from white matter?

Cortex is gray matter; axons form white matter pathways.

What do corticospinal tracts connect?

The motor cortex and spinal cord.

Which three white matter tracts are explicitly marked "Know"?

SLF = superior longitudinal fasciculus; ILF = inferior longitudinal fasciculus; UF = uncinate fasciculus.

Which cortical regions does the SLF connect according to the deck?

Frontal, parietal, and temporal regions, including inferior frontal gyrus, premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and superior/middle temporal gyri.

What language and speech functions does SLF support?

Phonological encoding/sequencing, syntax, auditory-verbal working memory, sound-symbol mapping, auditory-motor integration, articulation, repetition, and fluency.

What deficits are listed for SLF damage?

Conduction aphasia, apraxia of speech, phonemic paraphasias, and impaired repetition.

Which cortical regions does the ILF connect?

Occipital and anterior temporal regions, including ventral temporal cortex.

What language and speech functions does ILF support?

Visual word access, written-form-to-meaning mapping, object/word meaning, and visual conceptual integration; indirectly supports object naming and reading aloud.

What deficits are listed for ILF damage?

Alexia, visual anomia, and impaired reading comprehension.

Which cortical regions does the uncinate fasciculus connect?

Anterior temporal cortex and orbitofrontal/ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

What language and speech functions does uncinate fasciculus support?

Controlled semantic retrieval, word selection under competition, proper name retrieval, and integration of emotion/meaning and pragmatics.

What deficits are listed for uncinate fasciculus damage?

Anomia, especially for proper names; semantic retrieval deficits; and pragmatic speech abnormalities.

How do the deck's speech roles for SLF, ILF, and UF differ?

SLF is a primary speech pathway; ILF supports visually driven speech indirectly; UF modulates word selection and emotional/pragmatic aspects of speech.

Which deep structures are grouped as "C-shaped"?

Ventricles, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, and limbic lobe; caudate is labeled motor, and hippocampal damage is discussed with dementia examples.

How many ventricles are there, and where is the fourth?

Four: two lateral, one third, and one fourth; fourth lies in brainstem region.

What is the ventricular CSF flow sequence?

Lateral ventricles through interventricular foramina to third ventricle, then through cerebral aqueduct to fourth ventricle.

Where does CSF originate?

In the choroid plexus.

Which three large nuclei compose the basal ganglia in the deck's simplified description?

Caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus.

What is the striatum, and what inputs does it receive?

Caudate plus putamen; receives input from cortex, thalamic nuclei, and substantia nigra.

What is the simplified basal ganglia output circuit?

Caudate/putamen send input to globus pallidus; major efferent pathways leave globus pallidus for thalamus, which relays back to cortex.

Where is the thalamus, and what is its broad function?

Two oval masses on either side of third ventricle; 26 pairs of nuclei relay sensory information to cortex and information between brain regions.

What auditory pathway is described in the deck?

Brainstem nuclei to medial geniculate thalamic nuclei to Heschl's gyrus.

What somatosensory relay pathway is described?

Spinal cord/brainstem to thalamus (VPM = face; VPL = body), then postcentral gyrus.

Why is a continuous blood supply important to the brain?

Blood supplies glucose/oxygen and removes carbon dioxide; brain cells cannot store glucose or oxygen.

What cerebral blood flow and venous return are described?

About 750 mL/min; blood drains through veins/sinuses to heart, then lungs for reoxygenation.

Which two arterial systems supply the brain, and where do they meet?

Carotid and vertebrobasilar systems meet at Circle of Willis at brain's base.

Which arteries supply the brain, and how is basilar artery formed?

Internal carotid and vertebral arteries supply brain; vertebral arteries unite to form basilar artery.

What does ACA stand for, and what territory does it mainly supply in the diagrams?

Anterior cerebral artery; much of medial frontal and parietal cortex.

What does MCA stand for, and what territory does it mainly supply in the diagrams?

Middle cerebral artery; much of lateral cerebral surface.

What does PCA stand for, and what territory does it mainly supply in the diagrams?

Posterior cerebral artery; much of occipital and inferior temporal regions.

Where do ACA, MCA, and PCA arise in the diagrams?

ACA/MCA branch from internal carotid system; PCAs arise at upper end of basilar artery.

What do the communicating arteries connect in the Circle of Willis?

Anterior communicating artery joins left/right ACAs; posterior communicating arteries link internal carotid and posterior cerebral circulation.

What does the deck say about cortical and subcortical penetrating arteries?

They originate from the Circle of Willis and supply internal and external brain structures.

What diagram abbreviations should you recognize?

M = motor; S = somatosensory; PM = premotor; PL = parietal lobule; IC = internal carotid; B = basilar; V = vertebral.