Brain Areas

Question 1

Prefrontal cortex (PFC)

Answer 1

short-term memory, decision-making, emotional control

hypofunction: aggression, violence, impulsivity (acting before thinking: reduced rational control of emotionality)

Question 2

Entorhinal cortex

Answer 2

hippocampal input/output area for integration of other cortical information for higher cognitive functions; grid cells, head direction cells, border cells, place cells in spatial learning and memory

Question 3

Sensory Cortices

Answer 3

cortical areas of the forebrain that are essential for conscious awareness of perception of sensory stimuli in different sensory domains (e.g. vision, pain, hearing)

Question 4

Hippocampus

Answer 4

spatial information, place cell, episodic memory (what-when-where), short-term and long-term memory, complex temporal memory
Hippocampal and cortical functions are impaired by severe ‘stress’ leading to elevated glucocorticoid levels which in turn negatively affects learning and memory of complex [but not simple] tasks
Hippocampal hypofunction: impaired short-term memory, decline of episodic memory, decline of spatial orientation, Alzheimer’s disease

Question 5

Nucleus accumbens (NAc)

Answer 5

basal forebrain nucleus involved in pleasure and reward, phasic/tonic dopamine levels, endorphins; depression (anhedonia; loss of pleasure); addiction (excessive/ compulsive reward seeking)

Question 6

Amygdala

Answer 6

basal forebrain nucleus involved in motivation, fear, anxiety, but also positive affect, aggression and emotional memory (fear learning)

Question 7

Hypofunctional amygdala

Answer 7

blunted affect (e.g., reduced anxiety and fear [as after Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice], anhedonia) and reduced aggression; hyperfunctional amygdala: negative emotional bias (depression)

Question 8

Thalamus

Answer 8

sensory relay and filter for all sensory inputs except olfactory information processing, forwarding information to sensory cortical sites for conscious awareness (e.g. visual cortex, auditory cortex, etc.)

Question 9

Hypothalamus

Answer 9

regulation of endocrine (hormonal regulation) and basal physiological regulation (temperature, autonomic function)
corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH = CRF, F = factor), hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, corticosterone (glucocorticoid: in man cortisol), sleep regulation (narcolepsy)

Question 10

Periaqueductal gray (PAG)

Answer 10

midbrain nucleus downstream from the amygdala for motor control: freezing (immobility as active suppression, e.g. by fear) and activity burst (e.g., for attack but also pain-induced flinching, e.g. by shock exposure)