Block 1: CNS Overview Flashcards
What is the function of frontal lobe, in general?
Executive area; responsible for initiating motor/behavioral responses to information collected
What is the function of the precentral gyrus and anterior paracentral lobule?
Primary motor cortex – controls fine, highly skilled “voluntary” movements
What is the function of the prefrontal cortex: superior, middle, and inferior gyri?
Attention, motivation, planning, abstraction or problem solving, planned (cognition) behavior, subjective judgment, social skills, emotional behavior/personality,
“working memory” or short-term memory (intermediate memory)
What is the function of the superior frontal gyrus?
Premotor area (motor programming or indirect motor movement control); supplementary motor cortex
What is the function of the supplementary motor area?
Motor movement, initiation/planning, cortical micturition control center
What is the function of the middle frontal gyrus?
Frontal eye fields (voluntary eye movements); part of premotor cortex
What is the function of the inferior frontal gyrus?
Three portions: orbital, triangular, and opercular
Critical for motor aspects of speech
What is the function and location of Broca’s area?
Fxn: Formulation of speech
Lxn: Left inferior frontal gyrus
What is the function of the right inferior frontal gyrus?
Language expression (prosody of speech)
What is the function of the postcentral gyrus and the posterior paracentral lobule?
Primary somatosensory cortex
What is the function of the superior parietal lobule and the precuneus?
Somatosensory association cortex
What is the function of the inferior parietal lobule?
Multimodal association cortex (integration)
What is the function of the posterior parietal lobule on the left hemisphere?
Analytical skills
What is the function of the posterior parietal lobule on the right hemisphere?
Visuospatial orientation
What is the general function of the parietal/occipital lobe?
“Where” lobe; shape, form, texture, color, moving or not moving – connects prefrontal cortex and temporal/occipital cortex to tell events that are occurring
What is the function of the cuneus gyrus?
Visual input from lower visual fields
What is the function of the lingual gyrus?
Visual input from upper visual fields
What is the function of the lateral occipital gyri?
Involuntary cortical eye fields (scanning movements)
What is the general function of the temporal/occipital lobe?
“What” lobe; connects to prefrontal cortex, parietal/occipital cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus (memory) and amygdala (emotion) to tell what is occurring
What is the function of the transverse temporal gyri and what is another name for this section of cerebrum?
Fxn: Primary auditory cortex (hearing)
AKA: Heschl’s convolutions
What is the function of the superior temporal gyrus and what is another name for the area located in the posterior superior temporal gyrus?
Fxn: Auditory association; language comprehension (Wernicke’s area)
What is the function of the middle temporal gyrus?
Language and semantic (generic – meaning, basic-concepts) memory
What is the function of the inferior temporal gyrus?
Visual association cortex
What is the function of the parahippocampal formation?
Learning/memory consolidation (long-term memory)
What is the function of the cuneus?
Herniates through the tentorial notch with increased intracranial pressure; covers amygdala (emotion of fear)
What is the function of the anterior portion of the limbic system?
Emotional behavior and homeostasis
What is the function of the posterior portion of the limbic system?
Cortical processes of learning and memory consolidation (declarative)
What is another name for the “limbic lobe”?
Cingulate gyrus
What is the function of the rostral parahippocampal gyrus, uncus, temporal pole, limen insulae?
Primary olfactory cortex
What is the general function of the insula?
Integrates visceral input (olfactory, gustatory, pain and thermal information)
Define agnosia.
Inability to understand or recognize the significance of sensory stimuli even though the sensory pathways and primary sensory cortex are intact
What deficits do patients with tactile agnosia experience?
It is impossible to correlate surface texture, shape, size, and weight of an object and compare it to a previous experience; occurs with lesions involving the parietal association cortex (left or right)
What deficits do patients with visual agnosia experience?
The inability to recognize objects that cannot be attributed to defect of visual acuity or to intellectual impairment; cannot relate present to past visual experiences – cannot appreciate significance
- Occurs with lesions involving the visual association cortex (left or right)
What deficits do patients with auditory agnosia experience?
Patient with unimpaired hearing fails to recognize or appreciate a meaning with a perceived sound; occurs with lesions involving the auditory association cortex
What deficits do patients with anoagnosia experience?
A loss of disease awareness; occurs with lesions involving the parietal lobule (right)
Define apraxia. What cerebral hemisphere is this condition associated with?
It is the inability to carry out a motor action in response to verbal or written request even though patient does not have paresis/paralysis, sensory abnormality, comprehension deficit, or disturbance of coordination (ataxia).
- Dominant hemisphere (left)
Define aphasia.
It is a defect in language processing caused by brain lesions; develops as a consequence of lesions in the dominant cerebral hemisphere and most cases are caused by stroke, head injury, cerebral tumors, or degenerative dementia such as Alzheimer disease
What is expressive aphasia, aka Broca’s aphasia?
problem in formulation of ‘articulated’ speech
What is receptive aphasia, aka Wernicke’s aphasia?
It is a form of auditory agnosia in which the patient fails to recognize or comprehend the meaning of known words, aka ‘word deafness’
What structures do neural crest cells give rise to in the human body?
Spinal and autonomic ganglia, Schwann cells, meninges, adrenal medulla, pseudounipolar cells of the DRG, and melanocytes
Describe the development of the pituitary gland.
The pituitary gland has two different parts: anterior and posterior. The anterior portion is derived from oral ectoderm that forms from Rathke’s pouch and becomes the glandular portion of the pituitary gland. The posterior portion is derived from neural ectoderm which originated as the infundibulum (an outgrowth of the hypothalamus). The posterior lobe is considered the neural portion of the pituitary gland. Both parts fused and sit within the sella turcica which is made up of fused sphenoid bone.
What cell types make up the choroid plexus?
Choroidal epithelium and pia mater
What are the different components of a neurologic exam?
- Mental status, cranial nerve exam, motor and sensory exams, reflexes, coordination, and gait & station checks
What is checked during the mental status portion of the neurological exam?
o Level of consciousness: likely to determine without formal testing
o Orientation: time, person, place
o Attention/concentration: spell “world” or name months of the year backwards, serial 7s
o Calculation: getting change when buying something
o Language: naming, repetition, comprehension, fluency
o Speech: quality, clarity
o Memory: state 3 words; ask immediately afterward and after distraction
o Fund of knowledge: ask questions