Brain and Behavior 3&5

Horizontal Plane

Looking down through the top of the brain

Sagittal Plane

Looking through the side, going inwards

Coronal Plane

Going from front to back

Forebrain

cerebral cortex and thalamus. most anterior and prominent part of the mammalian brain, with two cerebral hemispheres

Midbrain

Subcortical units, large composites of neurons (ganglia).

Hindbrain

brain stem, cerebellum, medulla, pons. Located at the posterior/lower part of brain

Tectum

Roof the midbrain

Superior colliculus and inferior colliculus

Swelling on surface, processes sensory information. Superior=vision, Inferior=hearing

Tegmentum

Contains nuclei for cranial nerves and part of the reticular formation

Substantia Nigra

Gives rise to the dopamine. Contains pathways, facilitates readiness for movement

Nucleus Basalis

Receives input from hypothalamus and basal ganglia

Limbic System

Consists of numbers of other interlinked structures that form a border around the brain stem. Associated with motivation, emotions, arousal, etc.

Subcortical Regions

Structures underneath the cortex

Thalamus

Relay station from the sensory organs, main source of input to the cortex

Hypothalamus

Small area near the base, ventral to thalamus. Conveys messages to the pituitary gland to alter the release of hormones

Pituitary Gland

Hormone producing gland found at the base of the hypothalamus

Basal Ganglia

Comprises the caudate nucleus, the putamen, and the globus pallidus. Motor movement, aspects of memory and emotional expression

Post-Central Gyrus

Primary receptor site for touch and sensations

Hippocampus

Large structure between the thalamus and cerebral cortex. Critical for certain types of memory, especially for individuals events

Ventricles

Four fluid filled cavities within the brain’s central canal containing cerebrospinal fluid

Cerebral Cortex

Most prominent part of the mammalian brain. Joined by corpus callosum and anterior commissure

Laminae

Layer of cell bodies parallel to the cerebral cortex surface and separated by fiber layers

Column

Collection of cells perpendicular to the surface of the cortex and to its laminae

Occipital Lobe

Posterior end of the cortex, striate cortex/primary visual cortex

Parietal Lobe

Contains the post central gyrus. Responsible for processing and integrating information about the eye, head, and body positions from information sent to the muscles and joints

Temporal Lobe

Located on the lateral portion of each hemisphere near the temples. Target for auditory information and essential for processing spoken languageA

Amygdala

Evaluates and processes emotional information and behaviors

Frontal Lobe

Contains PFC, integration center for all sensory information and other areas of the cortexPr

(PFC) Pre-Frontal Cortex

Higher functions, abstract thinking and planning

Prefrontal Lobotomy

The surgical disconnection of the PFC from the brain

Ablation

Removal of some brain area

Lesion

Damage to a brain area, often done for research

Optogenetics

Technique that allows researchers to turn on activity in targeted neurons with a device

Electroencephalograph (EEG)

Records electrical activity produced by various brain regions

(MEG) Magnetoencephalography

measures faint magnetic fields generated by brain activity

Phrenology

Correlating brain anatomy with behavior, process of relating skull anatomy to behavior

(CAT scan) Computerized Axial Tomography

Injecting dye into the blood and pass X-Rays through the head

(MRI) Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Applying a powerful magnetic field to image the brain

Visual Coding

How far one sees is dependent on how far light travels before it strikes one’s eyes

Visual Field

Area of the world that an individual can see at any time

Receptive Field

Area in visual space that excites/inhibits any neuron

Optic Nerve

Consists of the axons of ganglion cells that band together and exit through the back of the eye and to the brain

Fovea

Central portion of the retina that allows for acute/detailed vision

Blind Spot

Contains no receptors, leaves the back of the eye

Horizontal Cell

Type of cell that receives input from receptors and delivers inhibitor input to bipolar cells

Periphery of the Retina

A greater number of receptors, allows for greater perception in faint light in peripheral vision

Parvocellular Neuron

Small cell body with small receptive field near Fovea

Magnocellular Nueron

Large cell body with large receptive field that is distributed evenly through the retina

Complex Cell

Cell that responds to patterns of light in a particular orientation

Simple Cell

Cell that has a receptive field with fixed excitatory and inhibitory zones

Hypercomplex Cell

Cell that responds to a bar-shaped pattern of light in a particular orientation

Photopigment

Chemical contained in rods and cones that release energy when struck by light

Rods

Most abundant, respond to faint light

Cones

most abundant in or around the fovea, essential for color vision, more useful for bright light

Lateral Inhibition

Reduction of activity in one neuron by activity in neighboring neurons

Negative Color Afterimage

Result of showing colored objects and then looking at a white surface

Law of Specific Nerve Energies

Rule that whatever excites a nerve always send the same information to the brain

Opponent-Process Theory

Idea that we perceive color in terms of opposites

Color Constancy

Ability to recognize colors despite changes in lighting

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus

Part of the thalamus, specialized for visual perception, destination for most ganglion cell, sends axons to other parts of the thalamus and the visual areas of the occipital cortex

Area V1: Primary Visual Cortex

Receives information from the lateral geniculate nucleus and is the area responsible for the first stage of visual processing

Blindsight

An ability to respond to visual stimuli that they report not seeing

Feature Detectors

Neurons whose response indicate the presence of a particular feature or stimuli

Stereoscopic Depth Perception

Method of perceiving distance in which the brain compares slightly different inputs from the` two eyes

Retinal Disparity

Discrepancy between what the left and right eye sees

Parallel Processing

One part of the brain sees shape, another sees color, another detects location, another perceives motion

Ventral Stream

The path that goes through the temporal cortex, “what” path

Doral Stream

Visual path in the parietal cortex, “how” path

Strabismus

Condition in which the eyes point in different directions

Astigmatism

Decreased responsiveness caused by an asymmetric curvature of the eyes

Prosopagnosia

Inability to recognize objects despite otherwise satisfactory vision

Saccade

Voluntary eye movement