Anatomy of the Brain Flashcards
What does the frontal lobe do?
Control motor planning and motor movements
What is the purpose of the prefrontal cortex?
Helps us make decisions and control primal desires
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Where information converges to integrate sensory info
Which lobe is associated with vision?
Occipital lobe
What functions are the temporal lobes associated with?
Limbic system: emotions
Learning/memory
Ability to recognize faces and objects
What are the gyrus and the sulcus?
Gyri are the raised lumps of the brain, sulcus are the folds of the brain.
What are the two important sulci?
Central sulcus: divides frontal and parietal lobes
Sylvian fissure: divides temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal
What does the corpus callosum do?
Send information between the left and right hemispheres of the brain
What is the cingulate cortex associated with?
Empathy and our own pain perception.
Can be seen straight through the middle of the brain (midsagittal view)
What does the olfactory bulb do?
Take info from the nose and carries it into the brain
What structures are part of the hindbrain?
Medulla, cerebellum, and pons.
What does the medulla control?
Respiration and heart rate.
Closest structure to the brain stem
What structure of the brain controls motor learning and memory?
The cerebellum.
What is the function of the pons?
To regulate sensations and do fine motor movements.
Directly connected to the cerebellum
What is the reticular formation related to?
Attention, arousal state, and sleep.
It’s a network of neurons that goes from dorsal to ventral
What are the two main parts of the midbrain?
Tectum: the dorsal roof
Tegmentum: the ventral floor
What structures are in the tectum?
The superior and inferior colliculus.
What is the difference between the superior colliculus and the inferior colliculus?
The superior colliculus is related to visual information, while the inferior colliculus deals with the auditory system.
What structures are in the tegmentum?
The red nucleus, the substantia nigra, the reticular formation, and the periaqueductal gray.
What is the red nucleus?
A part of the midbrain involved with motor coordination that has a slightly reddish appearance.
What exists in the substantia nigra?
This is where lots of dopamine neurons exist. If 85%-95% of neurons in substantia nigra are lost, this is where motor problems with Parkinsons’ start to develop.
What is the periaqueductal gray related to?
The processing and regulation of pain, as well as the fear response. Has a greyish appearance.
What are the two divisions of the forebrain?
The telencephalon and the diencephalon.
What structures are in the diencephalon?
The thalamus and hypothalamus.
