Brain Areas Flashcards
Forebrain
brain area
Contains – amygdala, basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, and hippocampus.
largest, most complex part of the brain
Hypothalamus
sub-brain area
Function – regulates body function; maintains homeostasis through the ANS and endocrine glands; influences sexual/reproductive behaviors + secondary sex characteristics.
Location – forebrain
Contains – mammillary bodies and suprachiasmatic nucleus
Chemicals - +ACTH (stress), + gonadotropin GnRH (testes/ovaries), +oxytocin, +vasopressin
Response –
- maintains homeostasis through the ANS and endocrine glands
- influences sexual/reproductive behaviors + secondary sex characteristics
- releases ACTH from pituitary to regulate stress
- releases GnRH from anterior pituitary to regulation teste/ovary function
releases oxytocin during childbirth & lactation
- releases vasopressin to balance water in the kidneys
Mammillary Bodies
sub-brain area
mammogram boobies
Function – memory
Location – forebrain -> hypothalamus
Damage –
- inability to form new declarative memories
mammogram boobies, a memorable term for mammillary bodies - memory; double-d boobies -> declarative memory
Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
sub-brain area
Function – sleep & emotion; controls the body’s circadian rhythms (sleep/wake, body temp, hormone release).
Location – forebrain -> hypothalamus
Chemicals – melatonin
Response –
* sensitive to light, regulating melatonin release
Thalamus
sub-brain area
Function – memory & senses; sensory gateway (receives/transmits info for the cortex to the senses), regulates sensory info and motor functions regulated by the basal ganglia, motor cortex, and the cerebellum.
Location – forebrain
Chemicals – thiamine
Damage –
- thiamine deficiency here leads to Korsakoff’s
- anterograde & retrograde amnesia
Basal Ganglia
sub-brain area
Function – movement & emotion; initiating and coordinating voluntary movement, emotional processes, procedural/implicit memory(habits), attention, insight, planning, prioritizing info, and sensitive to reward-based learning.
Location – forebrain
Contains – striatum + globus pallidus
Damage –
- linked to Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, Tourette, OCD, ADHD, and schizophrenia
Italian dancing street gang, known for their procedural memory & being emotionally motivated; starring the striatum, who makes all the decisions, & the globus pallidus thalamus; reward-winning (reward learning) piece in the park-> Parkinson’s…
Striatum
sub-brain area
Function – decision making
Location – forebrain -> basal ganglia
Contains – caudate nucleus + putamen
Limbic System
sub-brain area
Function – motivation, memory, and emotion
Location – forebrain
Contains – cingulate cortex, hippocampus, & amygdala
Globus Pallidus
sub-brain area
Function – sends info to the thalamus
Location – forebrain -> basal ganglia
Hippocampus
sub-brain area
Function – memory & learning; consolidates declarative memory (turns short-term into long-term); important for spatial memory.
Location – forebrain -> limbic system
Damage –
- linked to trouble storing memory after damage with recall intact from memories prior to damage
- linked to Alzemier’s
*extra- Long-term potentiation was first observed in the hippocampus with glutamate & is essential for learning & memory
Amygdala
sub-brain area
Function – emotion; fear, anger, emotional responses & recognition; attach emotions to memories
Location – forebrain -> limbic system
Damage –
- linked to Kluver-Bucy syndrome in monkeys
- abnormalities linked to anxiety & depression
- hyperactivity linked to PTSD
- electrical stimulation produces fear/rage response
- bilateral lesions cause loss of fear response with other emotions intact
Any the monkey -> Kluver Bucky, fear, anger, depression, anxiety, PTSD
Cingulate Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – motivation, memory, and emotion; emotional reaction to pain
Location – forebrain -> limbic system
Damage –
- results in experiencing pain w/o emotional distress
- abnormalities linked to depression & bipolar
Midbrain
brain area
Contains – reticular activating system + substantia nigra
Connects the hindbrain to the forebrain
midbrain -> middle child -> Rochelle -> RAS; Rochelle likes to play soccer in the park
Reticular Activating System
(RAS)
sub-brain area
Function – sleep & consciousness; mediates behavioral arousal & consciousness; controls sleep/wake cycle; alerts cortex of sensory signals.
Location – midbrain
Rochelle, RAS, sleep, consciousness, comatose
Extends from the medulla (hindbrain)
Damage –
- lesions linked to comatose state
*extra- electoral stimulation or sensory input can awaken a sleeping person & make an awake person more alert.
Substantia Nigra
sub-brain area
Function – movement & reward; motor control; reward-seeking behaviors including drug addiction.
Location – midbrain
Connected to the basal ganglia
Chemicals – +dopamine
Damage –
- degenerated dopamine-producing cells linked to motor symptoms of Parkinson’s
———————————
hint: substantia-substances -> dope -> dopamine -> reward
Rochelle likes to play soccer in the park -> Parkinson’s movement; reward
Hindbrain
brain area
Contains – medulla, pons, & cerebellum
most primitive part of the brain
Brainstem
brain area
Contains – midbrain, medulla, & pons
Spinal Cord
brain area
Contains – 31 pairs of spinal nerves that transmit info between the brain and the peripheral nervous system
Parts –
- 8 cervical
-> injuries here cause loss of movement/sensation in the arms, trunk, & legs
- 12 thoracic & 5 lumbar
-> injuries here cause loss of movement/sensation in the legs & trunk
- 5 sacral
- 1 coccygeal
Medulla
sub-brain area
Function – movement & vital to survival; involuntary throat movements (coughing, sneezing, swallowing) & regulating the ANS (respiration, heartrate, blood pressure).
Location – hindbrain + brainstem
medulla the doula for Andy (ANS) vital to survival
Pons
sub-brain area
Function – sleep, arousal, & regulating respiration; involved in arousal, deep sleep + REM, and inhaling/exhaling.
Location – hindbrain
Connects the 2 halves of the cerebellum + medulla to the cerebellum
Cerebellum
sub-brain area
Function – movement & memory; voluntary & complex movement {posture, balance) + processing and storing procedural/implicit memories (walking, driving) & automatic behaviors (reciting the alphabet).
Location – hindbrain
Works with the motor cortex for complex movement
Damage -
- linked to ataxia (impaired balance, coordination, speech, jerky eye movements, blurred or double-vision)
Corpus Callosum
brain area
Function – connects the left & right hemispheres and allows for communication with each side.
Damage -
- when cut for seizure patients, some experience split-brain (right visual field, object identification, & right motor response intact; left visual field & left motor response intact w/o object identification)
Cerebral Cortex
brain area
Location – forebrain
Contains – frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, & temporal lobe.
outer layer of the cerebrum
Damage -
* left hemisphere mediates happiness/positive emotions; damage here linked to depression, anxiety, fear, & paranoia (catastrophic reaction)
* right hemisphere mediates sadness/negative emotions; damage here linked to inappropriate indifference or euphoria (indifference reaction)
Frontal Lobe
brain area
Contains – prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, & Broca’s area
Damage –
* focal onset frontal lobe seizures
Prefrontal Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – emotion, memory, & executive functioning; higher-order thinking (planning, decision making, behavior inhibition, & social judgment); motivation, emotion regulation, working memory + prospective memory (memory for future events.
Location – frontal lobe
Primary Motor Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – movement; voluntary movements
Location – frontal lobe
Receives info from various cortex areas; sends signals to muscles
Damage –
* causes weakness or paralysis in muscles of the opposite side of the body
Broca’s Area
sub-brain area
Function – language
Location – frontal lobe left hemisphere
Damage –
* produces Broca’s/expressive aphasia (slow labored speech, anomia, impaired repetition)
Parietal Lobe
brain area
Contains – somatosensory cortex.
Function –
* focal onset parietal lobe seizure
Somatosensory Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – sensory input; processes sensory info relating to touch, pressure, temperature, pain, & body position.
Location – parietal lobe
Temporal Lobe
brain area
Contains – auditory cortex & Wernicke’s area.
Damage –
* lesions in occipital-temporal junction causes prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces)
* focal onset temporal lobe seizures
Auditory Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – processes sound
Location – temporal lobe
Damage –
* linked to auditory agnosia (impaired sound perception & identification), auditory hallucinations, & cortical deafness (unable to hear w/o apparent damage).
Wernicke’s Area
sub-brain area
Function – language
Location – temporal lobe left hemisphere
Damage –
* produces Wernicke’s/receptive aphasia (impaired spoken language, anomia, & impaired repetition)
Arcuate Fasciculus
brain area
Contains – fibers connecting Broca’s & Wernicke’s area
Damage –
* produces conduction aphasia, anomia, & impaired repetition with intact comprehension
Occipital Lobe
brain area
Contains – visual cortex
Damage –
* lesions in occipital-temporal junction causes prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces)
* focal onset occipital lobe seizure
Visual Cortex
sub-brain area
Function – processes visual info
Location – occipital lobe
Damage –
* causes visual agnosia (impaired ability to recognize objects by sight), visual hallucinations, achromatopsia (absence of color-vision), and/or cortical blindness (inability to see without apparent damage)
