Neuroscience Exam 2 (don't cry)

Prosencephalon

splits into the telencephalon and diencephalon

diencephalon

hypothalamus and thalamus

hypothalamus and thalamus

gray matter bilateral structures separated by the 3rd ventricle, composed of specific nuclei responsible for specific functions

Thalamus

all senses go through it except olfactory, active gatekeeper that changes magnitude of signals, filter for quality info

Essential functions of thalamus

sensory relay station, key for motor cortices, regulates emotion, memory, autonomic control, cognition

Thalamus inputs and outputs

inputs are spinal cord, brainstem, basal ganglia, limbic system, higher order processing areas

outputs to cortex

medial geniculate nu. (thalamus)

inputs from inferior colliculus to primary auditory cortex for speech

lateral geniculate nu. (thalamus)

inputs from superior colliculus to visual cortex for visual processing

pulvinar (thalamus)

related to posterior areas of brain for cognition and language

hypothalamus

massive integrator of information (visceral, emotional, autonomic responses), works with pituitary gland, maintains homeostasis

Pituitary gland

hormonal and chemical signals

longitudinal cerebral fissure

splits hemispheres, part of cerebrum

corpus collosum

massive commissural white pathway that connects two hemispheres

subcortical structures considered cerebrum but are not

basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala, insula, connection between these structures and lobes are responsible for behavior

cerebral cortex

2-4 mm wide of gray matter, information processing hub

inferior frontal gyrus

contains brocas area

orbitofrontal gyrus

emotional quality to sensory experiences

gyrus rectus

in proximity of olfactory bulbs

frontal lobe

rostral 60% is cognition caudal 40% is motor activity, speech and language abilities, most complex

primary motor cortex (M1)

precentral gyrus, made of pyramidal neurons, where descending motor pathways originate, somatotopic, combines sensory input for goal directed behavior

somatotopic

cells are portioned based on skill level for parts of body

homunculus

map of brain areas based on neurons, greater neurons = speech, damage can cause upper motor neuron syndrome, weakness, paralysis, or spasticity

premotor areas

rostral to M1, primary is action of limbs secondary is sequential planning, damage may result in apraxia

frontal eye fields

locates conjugate cassades - eyes moving together, damage tend to stare off

Brocas area

inferior frontal gyrus, speech motor activity

Prefrontal cortex

executive function, develops until 25, damage impacts decisions and personality

parietal lobe

multimodal sensory center, damage may lead to visuospatial, body schema, and attention defecits

primary somatosensory cortex (S1)

post central gyrus, most sensitive and skilled areas have most neurons, touch, proprioception, thermal, nauctious

parietal lobe inputs and outputs

inputs are gracile, cuneate, trigeminal sensory nu., outputs are primary motor cortex, premotor areas

inferior parietal lobe

key region for speech and language production and comprehension, goes around supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus

angular gyrus

reading, attention, memory, semantics, math, damage may lead to agnosia

supramarginal gyrus

monitor own feeling of speech so you can correct yourself

precuneus

association cortex for cortical and subcortical structures, memory, consciousness, taking anothers perspective, higher level thinking

default mode network

precuneus, what you are in when you are not doing anything, daydreaming

temporal lobe

auditory and language comprehension, spectral analysis of sound, 3 regions

Primary Auditory Cortex (A1)

superior temporal gyrus, chief auditory input site, conscious recognition of speech and language

tonotopic mapping

organized by frequencies

wernickes area

center for language comprehension

wernickes aphasia

damage larges that to only that area, string words together but don’t make sense

temporal association areas

damage may lead to agnosias, inputs from visual cortices related to shape, form, size, texture, output to inferior frontal lobe

occipital lobe

visual center that are later used for goal-directed actions, color, shading, form, orientation, contrasting, etc.

insular lobe

revealed if but our temporal, gray matter, links large scale brain networks together for emotion, sensory, motivation, and cognition

neuroplasticity

self-organization of changing anatomy and functions through use and experience, 75% of cells are excitatory gluatamate

cerebral cortex six layers

gray matter, layers linked vertically and horizontally, 1-4 are inputs 5-6 outputs

Broadmanns map

based on cell structure size and shape, brocas is 44 and 45, wernickes is 42