Cerebral Cortex important information (non labeling)

Lecture 1_6

Cerebral Cortex

Conscious awareness and Decision making

Frontal lobe functions

Volitional movement and execute functions

Parietal lobe functions

Spatial sensory integration and attention to sensory environment

Temporal lobe functions

Memory formation/retrieval and emotions related to memories, smells and situations

Occipital lobe functions

Basic visual processing and visual processing for movement and recognition

Central Sulcus (division)

Separates frontal and parietal lobe

Sylvian (lateral) sulcus (division)

Diagonally seperates temporal from the frontal and parietal lobe

Horizontal fissure (division)

Seperates left and right hemispheres

Limbic lobe functions

emotional processing and whole body expression

Limbic lobe location

Superficial to and surrounding the corpus callosum

“Cingulate Gyrus” at the bottom of horizontal fissure

Insular lobe Functions

Emotional responses to sensations like pain, taste smell and interoception

Interoception definiton

feeling the internal state of your body (Heart beat, stomach movement, needing to urinate, etc.

Insular lobe location

“Insula” at the base of the sylvian sulcus

Exposed by pulling the temporal lobe and frontal lobes apart

What is the corpus callosum?

A large white matter tract connecting the two hemispheres for bilateral functions

Lateral differences in the lobes

Left is language Right is relationships

Left Hemisphere functions

Language

Verbal comprehension and expression

Detailed sequential analysis

Executing learned movement sequences

PT School brain - Naming, categorizing, explaining

Right Hemisphere functions

Relationships

Non-verbal and emotional communications (relationships between people)

Spatial attention and awareness of self (relationship between self and environment)

Recognizing faces, patterns, overall context

Melody, rhythm, emotional tone of music

Occipital lobe function

Visual processing for movement and recognition

Primary visual cortex functions

Sensory perception

Processes basic qualities of visual field such as colors and contrasts

Secondary visual Cortex function

Sensory interpretation

Processes more advanced qualities of vision for specific purposes

Contains both a dorsal and ventral stream

Dorsal Stream function (of secondary visual cortex)

Processing occurs fluidly towards parietal lobe for guiding our movements in space

Ventral stream function (Secondary visual Cortex)

Processing occurs fluidly towards temporal lobe for recognizing objects

Parietal Lobe Functions

Spatial processing for movement and attention

Primary somatosensory cortex Function

Sensory perception

Recieves and processes basic touch sensation (sharp, dull, hot, cold, etc.)

Secondary Somatosensory Cortex Functions

Further processing to recognize what we are touching (pencil, apple, etc)

Vestibular Cortex Function

Located in the parieto-insular cortex (PIVC)

recieves sensation about movements of our head ad its position against gravity, for equilibrium/balance

Does not have a distinct secondary cortex area

Somatotopic Definition

The areas of the CNS correlate to specific body regions

Primary Somatosensory Cortex Superior-Medial portion

Leg and trunk regions

Primary Somatosensory Cortex lateral portion

arm region

Primary Somatosensory Cortex inferior-lateral portion

Face and throat region

Parietal Association Cortex function

Higher sensory interpretation because it integrates touch, vision, and vestibular sensations.

Allowing us to consciously understand our spatial environment, and our body position and movements within it

The RIGHT parietal lobe is dominant in these spatial navigation functions

Temporal Lobe Functions

Memories and emotional Processing

Wernicke’s Area Function

Dominant side only (usually left)

Specialized temporal association area for recognizing spoken and written language

Temporal Association Cortex Function

Evaluates all sensations to recognize and understand things in our environment compared to memories

Auditory Cortex Function

Processes basic features of sounds

Olfactory Cortex Function

Processes basic features of smells

Hippocampus Shape and function

Horse shaped. Forming new memories and recalling explicit recent memories

Amygdala: Shape, Location, Function

Almond shaped. Attached at the end of caudate nucleus of subcortex by short white matter tracts. Triggers emotions of fear if the situation is recognized as dangerous

How do the amygdala and hippocampus correlate?

They work together with the limbic system to drive emotion and memory driven behaviors

How does the hippocampus form and retrieve new explicit memories?

When we assign significance to our experiences, the hippocampus consolidates the experience for storage as a short term memory

Once consolidated, repeated retrieval is necessary to make it stick

Only a small amount of new memories can be formed at a time

Key to maximizing speed and capacity of new memories is frequency of retrieval and assigning significance

Frontal lobe function

From thoughts to actions

Prefrontal cortex Function

Highest level of interpretation

Decision making and Planning

Where the decision making self comes from

Premotor Cortex Functions

Motor Planning and sequencing of motor patterns

Primary motor Cortex Functions

Motor Execution

Upper motor Neuron Cell bodies are in the cortex and execute motor patterns

Axons extend through the subcortex then brainstem and spinal cord, to reach lower motor neurons

Prefrontal cortex executive functions

Functions only the prefrontal cortex can do which represent our highest authority over our decisions. Personality, executive functions, and goal oriented behaviors are controlled here. The greater activity our PFC has, the more thought we are putting into our decisions.

Broca’s Area Functions

Language production/ expression