KOGM01 Question 1

What do the basal ganglia do?

recieve input from the cerebral cortex and send info back via the thalamus to fine-tune voluntary movement. It is a part of motor learning, working memory, eye movement, executive functions, and procedural memory. It is sensitive to reward/reinforcement

What role does the medulla play in:

subconcious motor + bodily functions (heart rate, beathing, etc)

What do the pons do

Relay sensory info and motor signals between the cerebral cortex and cerebellum

What does the recticular formation do?

It is the communication center for the brain. Ascending parts send messages to the higher centers while the descending parts either accept or block sensory output from the higher centers.

Sensory input cannot be consciously registered or acted upon if damaged

What does the Thalamus do?

It is the switchboard of the brain. It directs visual, audio and somatic sensory signals to relevant parts of the cerebral cortex. It is also involved in motor function.

What does the hippocampus do?

Forms a retrieves memories. Coverts short term meories into long term and create mental maps of the environement

What is the amygdala involved in?

Processing emotions, especially fear. It has an important interconnection with the hippocampus to create emotional memories

What does the primary motor cortex do?

Controls voluntary movement and is a part of learning motor skills

What is broca's area responsible for?

Speech production

What does the parietal lobe do?

Processes sensory info from the body and integrates it with visual and spatial information

What cortex is a part of the parietal lobe?

sensory somatic

What does the posterior parietal cortex do?

Plans and processes sensory info to guide movement

What cortex is in the occipital lobe?

Primiary visual

What does the primary visual cortex do?

recieve and process visual info

What does the temporal lobe do?

Processes auditory info. Used for learning, language, and memory

What are the important cortices/areas of the temporal lobe?

Wernicke's area, primary auditory cortex

What is the auditory dorsal pathway?

a neural network that connects the auditory cortex to the frontal lobe via the parietal lobe. It maps sound to motor action. It helps process info about timing and location

Visual ventral pathway

A neural network that connects the primary visual cortex and temporal lobe in order to process colors, shapes, and faces

Arcuate fasciculus

Connects Broca's and Wernicke's areas so they can work together

Functions of the brain stem:

Controlling the automatic bodily functions and basic reflexes, habit formation, and relays sensory info and motor info between the body and brin

What is the spinal cord

A pathway for nerve signals to travel between the body and brain

What does the cerebellum do?

coordinate voluntary movement, maintain balance + posture, procedural memory. Sensitive to classical conditioning

What systems make up the limbic system?

Hippocampus and amygdala

What is the frontal lobe involved in?

Higher-level processing, planning, action, executive functions, short term memory, emotions, self awareness, and interpretation

What areas/cortices make up the frontal lobe?

Primary motor cortex, broca's area, prefrontal cortex, gustatory cortex

What does the prefrontal cortex do?

Leads executive functions, reasing, problem solving and organizes new information. It is also involved in working memory and retrival of long term memory

Mirror neurons

A neuron that fires both when the motor skill is performed by the host and when watchinf the motor skill be performed by another

The centeral nervous system is made up of the:

brain and spinal cord

What does the occipital lobe do?

Recieve and process visual info

Associsation cortices

regions of the cerebral cortex that perform high-order cognitive functions by integrating info from primary sensory and motor areas

Parts of the forebrain

Diencephalon (Thalamus, mammillary bodies), limbic system (hippocampus, amygdala), basal ganglia

Part of the brain stem — the midbrain

Tectum, tegmentum, and cerebral peduncles

Parts of the brain stem - hindbrain

Pons, medulla, cerebellum

What is the fornix?

A communication pathway between the hippocampus, mammilary bodies, and thalamus

What does the vestibular nuclei do?

Relays info from the inner ear about head postion, balance, and vision during movement to the cerebrllum and spinal cord

What does the pontine nuclei do?

Relays motor commands from the motor cortex to the cerebellum

What is the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)?

A visual pathway from the retina to V1 via the thalamus

How is auditory info conded?

The vestibular nerve

How is visual information coded?

The retina’s photoreceptors (rods and cones) which are converted to nerve impulses

What does V1-V5 process?

V1: simple features like edges and orientations V2: depth and texture V3: motion V4: shapes and color V5: motion + spatial location

What does the tectum do?

Integrates sensory input to coordinate reflexive movements and orient body in space

What do the cerebral peduncles do?

Relay sysyem for motor and sensory signals between the cerebreum and spinal cord. It controls moovement and coordination