brain

Question 1

telencephalon

Answer 1

contains the cerebrum and cerebral hemisphers

Question 2

what are the lobes of the brain.

Answer 2

frontal- parital- occipital- temporal- insula.

Question 3

what are the three general layers of the telecephelon?

Answer 3

cerebral cortex. gray matter- cell bodies et.
cerebral white matter- axon tracts
deep grey matter of the cerebrum (—–buried deep in the white matter)

Question 4

describe the cerebral cortex

Answer 4

2-4mm thick, six layers, most complex and least understood.

Question 5

how do we study the regional functions of the brain.

Answer 5

• Lesions
• Electrode studies
• fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) studies
- Detect neuron activity

Question 6

describe the sections and functions of the frontal lobe.

Answer 6

• Primary motor cortex
- Conscious control of
voluntary movement
• Premotor cortex
- Planning movements, coordinating with sensory info
• Prefrontal cortex (anterior association area)
- Most rostral region
- Self-control, cognition, planning, conscious thought

Question 7

describe the sections and functions of the parietal lobe

Answer 7

• Integration of sensory information
-Somatosensory cortex- Receives and interprets
general somatic senses (touch, pressure, etc.)
perception of spacial relationships
- Exhibits somatotopy = body mapping
- “Sensory homunculus”
Both are contralateral = represents opposite side of body


Question 8

describe the sections and functions of the occipital lobe

Answer 8

• Primary visual cortex
- Receives & processes information from eyes
- Has map of visual field (contralateral, inverted)
• Visual association area - Further visual
processing (e.g. form, movement)

Question 9

describe the sections and functions of the temporal lobe

Answer 9

• Auditory cortex
- Receives and interprets auditory stimuli (hearing)
- Exhibits tonotopy (mapping by sound frequency)
• Olfactory cortex
- Receives and interprets
olfactory stimuli (smell)
- Close relationship with the limbic system (emotion & emotional memory)
• Higher levels of visual processing - e.g. face recognition

Question 10

describe the functions of the insula.

Answer 10

• Taste (gustatory cortex), visceral senses, the conscious experience of balance
• Integrate sensory information
• Emotion

Question 11

describe functions of tracts associated with white matter.

Answer 11

Myelinated axon tracts

			•  Commissural tracts - Connect corresponding areas of two hemispheres - E.g., corpus callosum
			• Association tracts - Connect regions within one side of cerebral cortex
			•  Projection fibers - Connect cerebral cortex to the rest of the nervous system - E.g., internal capsule

Question 12

describe the type and functions of deep grey matter

Answer 12

• Basal ganglia/ nuclei
- Unconscious control of movement, Repetitive rhythmic movement
– Start, stop, intensity
• Basal forebrain nuclei
- Play role in arousal & memory
- One of first areas to show problems in Alzheimer’s disease

Question 13

what are the sections of the diencephalon?

Answer 13

thalamus, hypothalamus and epithalamus

Question 14

what is the function of the thalamus?

Answer 14

• Relay station and gateway to cerebral cortex

• All incoming sensory inputs go through thalamus (except smell)
• Amplify/filter sensations

Question 15

what is the function of the hypothalamus?

Answer 15

• Center of homeostasis / control center for basic drives:

• Hunger, thirst, sex, etc.
• Secretes hormones, like those that initiate puberty and fullness
• Master clock of circadian rhythm, crosses right below the optical nerves.

Question 16

what is the function of the epithalamus?

Answer 16

• Located superior & posterior to thalamus • Pineal gland
- Secretes melatonin (a hormone)
• Conveys circadian rhythm from hypothalamus to rest of body

Question 17

what are the sections an function of the deep grey matter.

Answer 17

basal ganglia- unconscious repetitive movement.start and stop and intensity
basal forebrain nuclei- plays a role in arousal and memory. one of the first places effected in altzheimers disease, interacts with parietal lobe.