anatomy of brain Flashcards
what do you call the outer surface of the hemispheres of the brain
- cerebral cortex
- also known as grey matter
what cell structure is predominantly found in the cerebral cortex/ grey matter
cell body
the white matter beneath grey matter is composed of what cell structure and why is it paler than the grey matter
- composed of axons, many myelinated
- the fatty insulating myelin is what produced that paler coloration
besides axons, what other component can be found in white matter and what is its use
glial cells,
- support axons as they connect different parts of the central nervous system
what are gyri and what is its purpose
- numerous folds of the cerebral cortex
- increases surface area and number of cell bodies it can accomodate
what are sulcus/sulci
grooves that separate the gyri
what are fissures
larger, deeper grooves that separate entire lobes
what are projection fibres and describe the type of travel it can have
- connect spinal cord to the cerebellum
- afferent (heading towards central nervous system)
- efferent (heading from central nervous system)
what are commissural fibres
- those that cross the midline of the brain to connect to the same cortical region on the opposite hemisphere
what is the main tract for the commissural fibres
- corpus callosum
- (there is also the anterior, posterior, hippocampal and supraoptic commissures tho)
what are association fibres
those that connect different cortical areas within the same hemisphere
we know that glial cells can be found in white matter along with axons, give the 6 functions of these glial cells
- regulating neurotransmitters
- forming blood brain barrier
- cleaning up remains of dead neutrons and excess potassium ions
- controlling blood flow to brain nd ensuring active regions get enough blood
- regulating brain metabolism by storing blood sugar/glucose to fuel neutrons
what are the 5 lobes of the brain
- frontal
- parietal
- temporal
- occipital
- cerebellum
what are the 4 functions associated with the frontal lobe
- thought
- memory
- behaviour
- movement
what are the 2 functions associated with the parietal lobe
- language
- touch
what are the 3 functions associated with the temporal lobe
- hearing
- learning
- emotions
what is the main function associated with the occipital lobe
visual processing
what are the 2 functions associated with the cerebellum
balance
coordination
what are the 2 main fissures of the brain
longitudinal
lateral
what lobes do the longitudinal tissue separate
left and right hemisphere
what lobes do the lateral lobes seperate
frontal and temporal lobes
what lobes does the central sulcus seperate
frontal and parietal lobe
what lobes does the Pareto-occipital sulcus seperate
parietal and occipital
what do you call the gyri before and after the central sulcus
pre and post central gyri
what separates the parietal lobe from the temporal lobe
posterior end of the lateral fissure
what structure separates the occipital lobe from the cerebellum
cerebelli tentorium
the superior surface within the lateral tissue is the site of the primary auditory cortex and the lobe is also concerned with memory and language
what is the function of the thalamus
- involved in controlling movement and relaying sensory info to the cortex
what are the 3 parts of the brain stem
- midbrain
- pons
- medulla oblongata
what is the role of the midbrain
- controls movement, visual and auditory processing
what is the role of the pons
connects cerebellum and cortex site of some cranial nerve nuclei)
what is the role of the medulla oblongata
- sit of some cranial nerve nuclei
- controls breathing, bp and heart rate
- ascending and descending pathway continuous with spinal cord
(homeostasis)
what is motor and sensory homunculi
- representation of the body parts and its correspondents along the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe
- While the sensory homunculus is a topographic representation of the body parts along the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe.
(body part directly linking to gyri of the brain and so the bigger the body part, the more of the cortex dedicated to it)
what is Broca’s area
- first ever linkage of a defined area of cortex with particular function
- brocas is area of brain (in lateral frontal lobe) found to be associated with speech production
what disorder is found to be associated with lesion or damage in broca’s area
expressive dysphasia (cant swallow)
in 90% of people, which hemisphere does language function reside
left
what is wernicke’s area
- located inferior to lateral fissure
- associated with comprehension of both written and spoken language
what are some disorders associated with damage to wernickes area
- receptive dysphasia
- undestanding speech but cannot produce speech fluently
what is the insula and gustatory centres
- deep part of cerebral cortex in lateral fissure involved in feelings of anxiety, pain, cognition, mood, threat recognition etc
- believed to be affected in addition
corpus callosum acts as a bridge between the left and right hemisphere
infers-lateral to corpus callosum is the lateral ventricles, what is it filled with
cerebralspinal fluid
what is the basal ganglia
a group of structures connecting to thalamus that form important connection (its that curves part that wraps over the thalamus)
what is the role of the ventricles
- produces, transports and removes CSF to the exterior of brain via subarachnoid space and associated cisternae
where is CSF mainly made
choroid plexus
what is the role of CSF
- ultra filtrate of plasma that acts as a shock-absorber
- buoying of brain and provides constant chemical milieu (maintaining low extracellular K+ conc to facilitate synaptic transmission)
find an image and label the parts of the ventricleds
th
the fourth ventricle receives CSF from the 3rd ventricle via?
cerebral aqueduct
what functions is the basal ganglia associated with
- control of voluntary motor movements
- procedural learning
- habit learning
- conditional learning
- eye movement
- cognition
- eyemovement
the center of the Brian is the diencephalon (epithalamus), what are the 3 structures of the diencephalon
- thalamus (two paired “bulbs” consisting of mostly grey )
- sub thalamus (Ventral to the thalamus)
- hypothalamus (small cone-shaped structure that lies beneath the thalamus) (connects to pituitary gland via pituitary stalk)
what is the limbic system
- contains the amygdala, pituitary gland, thalamus and hippocampus
- controls emotional response to stimuli that are essential for survival e.g fear, hunger
what is function of amygdala
memory formation
emotional responses
function of olfactory bulb
sense of smell
function of thalamus
controlling movement and relaying sensory info to cortex
function of hippocampus
memory formation and navigation
(short term to long term memory)
function of hypothalamus
regulation of autonomic nervous system
find images of brain on iPad and label the anatomy
where is the choroid plexus found (responsible for making CSF)
in the lateral ventricles
name the 3 cranial fossae
- anterior cranial fossa
- middle cranial fossa
- posterior cranial fossa
what parts of the brain SIT the the anterior, middle and posterior cranial fossa
anterior = frontal lobe
middle = temporal lobes
posterior = brainstem and cerebellum
what is brodmanns areas
- 52 histologically defined areas of the brain
know that the auditory cortex is located in the post lateral fissure gyri
also info sent from 1 ear is sent to BOTH the left and right primary auditory cortex for comparison
what is the gustatory cortex
small area superior to lateral fissure
- processes info about food we eat (taste, odour, texture temp etc)
