brain structures and brain scans

What must work together to create the person we know today?

Brain, behavior, and cognition.

What is the purpose of brain mapping?

To observe and understand the functions and localizations of brain areas.

What is a lesion in the context of brain study?

Tissue destruction, either naturally occurring or induced for experimental purposes.

What is stimulation in brain research?

The process of chemically, electrically, or magnetically stimulating specific brain parts to observe the effects.

What technique uses light to control the activity of individual neurons?

Optogenetics.

What does EEG measure?

The brain's electrical activity through electrodes placed on the scalp.

What does MEG stand for and what does it measure?

Magnetoencephalography; it measures magnetic fields produced by the brain's electrical activity.

What is the purpose of a CT scan?

To use X-rays to visualize internal brain structures and detect damage.

How does a PET scan show brain activity?

By tracking the consumption of radioactive glucose in different brain areas.

What is the function of an MRI?

To create images of soft tissue by aligning atoms in a magnetic field and using radio waves.

What are ventricles in the brain?

Fluid-filled areas that, when enlarged, can be linked to conditions like schizophrenia.

What does fMRI reveal?

Blood flow and brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans.

What is the default network in the brain?

A web of brain regions that supports mind-wandering and daydreaming.

What is the oldest and innermost region of the brain?

The brainstem.

Medulla?

Found in hindsystem at the base of the brainstem.

• controls autonomic function such as heartrate, breathing, digestion, swallowing, sneezing, essential life functions. 

• if injured, death is often a result

pons

• located in the hindbrain and in the brainstem

• regulates the sleep-wake cycle and regulates breathing

• if injured: challenges regulating sleep or interpreting sensory information

reticular formation

• a network of neurons located in the brain stem (hindbrain)

• controls voluntary movement, eye movement, some types of learning, cognition, and emotion

• injure: loss of consciousness, irreversible coma, or sleep issues

Cerebellum

• hindbrain

• responsible for muscle control, balance, and movement

  • susceptible to alcohol, which causes coordination issues when someone drinks too much. 

• if injured: problems with walking, imbalance, uncordinated movements, and vertigo

What is the limbic system associated with?

Emotions and drives.

Thalamus?

• limbic system

• relay station between the brain stem and the cortex. IE transmits sensory information from the eyes to the occipital lobes or from the skin to the parietal lobes

• if injured: potential sensory issues such as tingling, numbness, motor impairments, hypersensitivity, chronic pain, vision loss, or light sensitivity. 

What structures are included in the limbic system?

Amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus.

Amygdala

• limbic system

• responsible for processing emotions and survival responses. It is the part of the brain that is activated when a person becomes afraid.

• if injured: a person may show very little emotion and have a flat affect

Hypothalamus?

• limbic system

• survival drives and maintaining homeostasis. Alert if it is too hot, cold, thirsty, or hungry (fight, fleeing, feeding, fornication)

• if injured: may not be able to tell when you are hungry or thirsty leading to over-eating, weight gain, and excessive sleeping

What functions does the hypothalamus regulate?

Eating, drinking, body temperature, and governs the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.

hippocampus

• limbic system

• turns information into long-term memories and in recalling facts and events

• if injured: cannot learn or retain any new information. New information will not be turned into lasting memories

What happens when the hippocampus is dysfunctional?

It can lead to Alzheimer's disease and anterograde amnesia, which prevents new memory formation.

What emotions are associated with the amygdala?

Anger, aggression, and fear responses, and it helps ingrain highly emotional memories.

What significant event is associated with Phineas Gage?

An iron rod went through his head, resulting in a drastic change in personality.

What is the primary function of the brainstem?

Controls basic functions such as breathing and heart rate.

What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?

Frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes.

frontal lobe

• cerebral cortex

• command center of the brain responsible for decision-making, judgment, problem-solving, personality, reasoning, planning and language

• if injured: personality changes, canges in judgement, inability to solve problems or reason things out

parietal lobe?

• cerebral cortex

• Processes sensory information such as touch, pressure, temp, and pain.

• if injured: challenges in recognizing and object by touch, also could have difficulty feeling pain, pressure, or vibrations

occipital lobe?

• cerebral cortex

• Responsible for processing visual inputs. visuospatial processing, distance and depth perception, color determination, object and face recognition, memory formation

• if injured: could lead to blindness, blind spots, or visual distortions

temporal lobe affect?

• cerebral cortex (by temples)

• process information related to hearing and auditory memory.

• if injured: difficult to understand language or process what we hear. 

What is Broca's area responsible for?

• frontal lobe (left side)

• essential in speech production. The command center for moving all the complex muscles for speaking

• if injured: Broca’s APHASIA. You cand understand what is being said but cannot speak urself

What is Wernicke's area involved in?

• temporal lobe

• responsible for comprehension of speech.

• if injured: Wernicke’s aphasia. Can speak for urself, but cannot understand what you or other people are saying.

What is the corpus callosum?

• located in the center of the brain

• connects and facilitate communication and coordination between both hemispheres

• if injured: right and left sides of brain cannot communicate

What is the role of glial cells?

Support, insulate, and nourish neurons.

motor cortex control?

• frontal lobe

• controls voluntary movements

  • if injured: paralysis or loss of control of movements

What does the somatosensory cortex do?

• parietal lobe

• detects sensory infromation from the body: temp, touch, text, pain

  • if injured: numbness or difficulty feeling pain

What is the function of the reticular formation?

Controls wakefulness, attention, arousal, and alertness.

What is the significance of grey matter in the brain?

Made of association areas; it is sensitive and involved in various brain functions.

What is the role of the pituitary gland?

Regulates the endocrine system and coordinates hormone production and release.

What are implicit memories?

Memories that do not require conscious recall, often related to skills and tasks.

midbrain

• brainstem

• a relay system that transmits information necessary for vision and hearing. important in feeling pain

• if injured: movement disorders