Brain Basics

What does the Nervous System break down into?

Central Nervous System(brain and spinal cord) and Peripheral Nervous System(sensory and motor neurons that connect CNS to rest of body)

What are the two main divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System?

Sympathetic (arousing) and Parasympathetic (calming).

What does the Somatic Nervous System control?

Voluntary movements of skeletal muscles.

What part of the nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord?

Central Nervous System (CNS).

What does the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) consist of (material-wise)?

Sensory and motor neurons that connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

What are the main divisions of the human brain?

Forebrain, Midbrain, Hindbrain.

What part of the brain is known as the rational/thinking brain?

Neocortex.

What is the limbic brain associated with?

Emotional/feeling brain.

What is the evolutionary oldest part of the brain termed?

Reptilian brain.

What does the cerebral cortex primarily consist of?

Outermost layer of gray matter in the brain.

How thick is the outer layer of the cerebral cortex?

Approximately 3mm thick.

What do the convolutions of the cerebral cortex do?

Greatly increase the surface area of the brain, increasing amount of information that can be stored

What structure in the brain is associated with speaking and muscle movements, making plans and judgments, and is in emotional control?

Frontal lobe

What does the primary motor cortex (posterior part of frontal lobe) control?

Voluntary movements

What lobe of the brain is responsible for sensory information related to touch?

Parietal lobe.

What is mapped on the surface of the primary somatosensory cortex (anterior part of parietal lobe)?

Surface of the body (penfield studies)

What does the occipital lobe primarily deal with?

Visual information, includes primary visual cortex (posterior part of occipital) —> receives visual info from opposite visual field

What does the temporal lobe specialize in?

Auditory information, includes primary auditory cortex (superior part of temporal)

What functions are performed by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)?

Working memory, cognitive flexibility, problem solving (coping with life stress), inhibition of rumination and worry

What does the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) contribute to?

Theory of mind (“mind-reading”), self-perception, processing risk and fear, behavioral control, decision making

What is the large bundle of axons connecting the two cerebral hemispheres? (interconnects corresponding regions of the association cortex on each side of brain)

Corpus callosum

What cognitive functions are primarily located in the left cerebral hemisphere?

Language, mathematical computation, analysis of information, recognition of serial events (Left = Logical, Linear)

What functions are primarily associated with the right cerebral hemisphere?

Synthesis of information, pattern recognition (ability to perceive things as a whole), identification of emotional expression (Right = non-verbal, holistic), intuition, creativity, art and music

What does the limbic system include?

Amygdala and hippocampus.

What is the amygdala (2 almond-shaped neural clusters) responsible for?

emotions, particularly fear and aggression.

What is the hippocampus (donut-shaped structure) involved in?

Memory

What is the function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, “collar” around front part of corpus callosum)?

Integrates cognitive and affective information, Awareness and processing of conflicting information, Selective attention, Pain perception, Impulse control

What important role does the hypothalamus play (small but important, below thalamus)?

Controls the autonomic nervous system.

What are the 'four f's' controlled by the hypothalamus?

Fighting, Feeding, Fleeing, Mating (organizes behavior relating to survival)

What are the hormones secreted by the pituitary gland and what do they control?

Gonadotropic hormones, oxytocin, vassopressin —> Endocrine glands.

Which area of the brain is crucial for emotional regulation?

amygdala: seat of emotions (mostly neg) //// Prefrontal cortex (PFC), anterior cingulate cortex: Sets goals, makes plans, directs actions, and shapes emotions, in part by guiding and sometimes inhibiting the limbic system

What is the largest part of the brainstem?

Midbrain.

What is the role of the reticular formation (large network of neural tissue in central part of brain stem)?

plays part in sleep, arousal, attention and various vital reflexes

What function does the pons (bulge in brain stem, part of reticular formation) serve?

Important in sleep and arousal AND sensory analysis and movement

What is the role of the cerebellum (“little brain” attached to rear of brainstem)?

Coordinates voluntary movement and balance.

What does network neuroscience focus on (recent shift in studying)?

How different brain regions work together, functional connectivity, brain as a whole system

What is the 'default mode network' (DMN) (posterior cingulate cortex
and precuneus, medial frontal cortex, and temporoparietal junction)?

brain areas active when a person is resting and not focused on a particular task (also active in certain goal-oriented tasks: self-referencing, recognition of emotions in others, remembering the past, imagining the future)

What tasks can the DMN be active during?

Self-referencing and remembering the past.

What might impaired functioning of the DMN correlate with?

Cognitive disorders and conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

What can meditation do to the default mode network?

Reduce its activity.

What do the terms 'dorsal' and 'ventral' refer to in neuroanatomy?

Dorsal refers to the top/back, while ventral refers to the bottom/front.

What does the hypothalamus control besides the autonomic nervous system?

The anterior and posterior pituitary glands (attached to base of hypothalamus) through hypothalamic hormones

What is the main functionality of the Nucleus Accumbens (lower part of basal ganglia?

Reward center of the brain (A rat will cross an extremely painful electrified grid to press lever hat causes release of dopamine in its nucleus accumbens)

What is PTSD potentially linked to?

Abnormal activity in the anterior hippocampus.

What is the prefrontal cortex (anterior part of the frontal lobe) responsible for?

Making judgments and formulating plans.

What emotional issues are often linked to an overactive amygdala (and underactive PFC/ACC)?

Emotional dyscontrol

What impact does meditation have on brain function in a resting state?

Reduces activity in the default mode network.

What is a primary feature of the limbic system?

associated with emotions and memory, older part of cortex, doughnut-shaped

How is the forebrain subdivided in terms of function?

The neocortex, limbic brain, and reptilian brain.

What characteristic distinguishes human brains from those of other animals?

The size and complexity of the cerebral cortex.

What is the purpose of the thalamus (center of the brain)?

Relay station for neural messages, directs messages to sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Where do major neural connections occur in the limbic system?

At the border of the brainstem and cerebral hemispheres.

What connections does the corpus callosum facilitate?

Interconnects corresponding regions of the association cortex.

What role does the caudate nucleus play in brain function?

Important in action selection and motor sequencing.

What does the term 'lateralization of function' refer to?

certain cognitive processes and functions are more dominant in one hemisphere of the brain than the other, different functions being localized to one hemisphere of the brain.

What remains when the brain is at rest according to network neuroscience?

Default Mode Network (DMN) activity.

How does information about body awareness and emotional experiences travel in the brain?

Through the insular cortex.

What does emotional regulation involve?

Coordination between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.

What are gonadotropic hormones involved in?

Stimulating the release of sex hormones.

What is the function of the vasopressin hormone?

Regulates urine output and plays a role in pair bonding.

What is associated with greater ability to cope with conflicting information?

Larger anterior cingulate cortex.

What happens to the connections between regions of the brain of a person with schizophrenia and what approach is best for understanding this?

They are not as densely connected, network approach

What types of brain disorders may involve issues with the default mode network?

Alzheimer’s, autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD.

What effect do certain drugs have on the nucleus accumbens?

They increase dopamine release, impacting feelings of reward.

What does regulation of pain perception involve in the brain?

Function of the anterior cingulate cortex.

What is crucial for coordinating voluntary movement?

Cerebellum.

What is significant about the anterior hippocampus (portion closest to amygdala) in relation to memory?

It's involved in regulating behavioral inhibition in response to different contexts

How does the right ear influence decision-making in minor requests?

Individuals are twice as likely to comply with requests made in the right ear.

What is the significance of the Phineas Gage case in neuroscience?

It showed the effects of damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex on behavior.

What is a key role of the basal ganglia in the brain?

Action selection, motor inhibition, motor sequencing (upper part—caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus), reward learning (lower part—nucleus accumbens)

What do studies suggest about the size of the prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe) and social network?

The size of the prefrontal cortex is directly related to the size of a person’s social network.

What structure in the brain is involved in the perceptions of emotional expressions?

Right cerebral hemisphere.

What might indicate rising amyloid beta and tau protein levels in the brain?

Early indications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Sympathetic Nervous System functions

controls functions that accompany arousal and expenditure of energy, stimulates increased heart rate, rise in blood sugar level, piloerection (goosebumps)

Sympathetic Nervous System activates

Adrenal medulla: portion of the adrenal gland that secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine

Parasympathetic Nervous System

controls functions that occur during a relaxed state, supports activities involved with increases in body’s supply of stored energy (salivation, gastric and intestinal motility, secretes acetylcholine

How many neurons does the cerebral cortex contain?

26 billion

What is the cerebral cortex made of?

glial and cell bodies (gives it a grayish brown appearance)

What does the cerebral cortex contain?

neocortex (newest, has 4 lobes) and the limbic cortex(older part of cortex)

What are the functions of the insular cortex (fissure separating the
temporal lobe from the parietal and frontal lobes, deep within lateral sulcus)

body awareness, sense of self, emotional experience, empathy and compassion, addiction

How is nucleus accumbens related to addiction?

addiction involves the release of dopamine from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra into this area

Loss of what characterizes Parkinson’s?

loss of dopaminergic neurons in nucleus accumbens

Brain Stem

Oldest, central core of brain, responsible for automatic survival functions

Medulla oblongata (base of brain stem)

controls vital functions —> heart rate, breathing, blood pressure

Why is network neuroscience better for conducting studies?

can be done while people are doing nothing at all, closer to person’s natural state (Someone with a psychological disorder will have the disorder
even when they are not engaged in a working memory task) —> localizationalist research involves watching brain activity change while person is engaged in particular task

Besides diagnosis, what are networks useful for?

determining likelihood of patients responding to different types of psychotherapy

What other associations does DMN have?

ruminating about the past, worrying about future, thinking about what other people are thinking about you

How is the Peripheral Nervous System broken down into subdivisions?

Autonomic (controls self-regulated action of internal organs and glands) and Somatic (controls voluntary movements of skeletal muscles)