Brain, Mind, and Behavior Exam I Flashcards
neuroanatomy
anatomy of the nervous system
central nervous system (CNS)
brain and spinal cord
peripheral nervous system (PNS)
connects brain and spinal cord to rest of body
somatic nervous system
part of PNS, voluntary, has axons that convey sensory information from sense organs to CNS and from CNS to muscles
autonomic nervous system
part of PNS, involuntary, controls the heart, intestines, and other organs. has some cell bodies in brain/spinal cord, some in clusters along sides of spinal cord
dorsal
toward the back, the top of the human brain
ventral
toward the stomach
anterior
toward the front
posterior
toward the rear
superior
above another part
inferior
below another part
lateral
toward the side
medial
toward the midline
proximal
located close to the point of origin or attachment
distal
located more distant from the point of origin or attachment
ipsilateral
on the same side of body
contralateral
on the opposite side of body
coronal (frontal) plane
shows brain structures as seen from the front
sagittal plane
shows brain structures as seen from the side
horizontal plane
shows brain structures as seen from above
lamina
row or layer of cell bodies separated from other cell bodies by layer of axons and dendrites
column
set of cells perpendicular to surface of cortex, with similar properties
tract
set of axons within CNS (projection). if axons extend from cell bodies in structure A to synpases onto B, the fibers “project” from A onto B
nerve
set of axons in periphery, either from CNS to muscle/gland or from sensory organ to CNS
nucleus
cluster of neuron cell bodies within CNS
ganglion
cluster of neuron cell bodies, usually outside CNS (i.e. sympathetic nervous system)
gyrus (pl. gyri)
protuberance on surface of brain
sulcus (pl. sulci)
fold or groove that separates one gyrus from another
fissure
long, deep sulcus
spinal cord
part of CNS within spinal column. communicates with all sense organs. segmented, each segment has a sensory and motor nerve
dorsal root ganglia
clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord, sensory neurons
gray matter
composed largely of cell bodies and dendrites
white matter
consists of myelinated axons
sympathetic nervous system
part of autonomic nervous system, prepare organs for burst of vigorous activity (“fight or flight”), increased heart rate, breathing, etc., chains of ganglia to left and right of central spinal cord, norepinephrine
parasympathetic nervous system
“rest and digest,” facilitates vegetative, nonemergency responses, craniosacral region, preganglionic axons from spinal cord -> parasympathetic ganglia close to organs -> postganglionic fibers into organs, acetylcholine
hindbrain
posterior, contains medulla, pons, and cerebellum
brainstem
medulla, pons, midbrain, central structures of forebrain
medulla
enlarged extension of spinal cord, origin of cranial nerves
cranial nerves
12 pairs, one of each pair on right and left of medulla, control vital reflexes (breathing, heart rate, etc.)
pons
contains nuclei for several cranial nerves, axons from brain halves cross to opposite side of spinal cord (hemispheres control opposing sides)
cerebellum
control of movement, timing, certain types of learning and conditioning
midbrain
tectum, tegmentum, superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, substantia nigra, surrounded by forebrain
tectum
roof of the midbrain
superior colliculus
sensory processing (vision)
inferior colliculus
sensory processing (hearing)
tegmentum
intermediate level of midbrain, covers some structures
substantia nigra
gives rise to dopamine-containing pathway that facilitates readiness for movement
forebrain
thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia. two cerebral hemispheres. receives sensory information and controls muscles
limbic system
forms a border around the brainstem: olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus of cerebral cortex
hypothalamus
has distinct nuclei, conveys messages to pituitary gland to alter release of hormones, damage affects feeding, drinking, temperature regulation, sexual behavior, etc.
amygdala
evaluating emotional information, especially fear
thalamus
pair of structures in the center of the forebrain, left and right. processes most sensory information and sends output to cerebral cortex
pituitary gland
endocrine (hormone-producing), responds to hypothalamus
basal ganglia
includes caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus. damage impairs movement. critical for learned skills and habits, etc.
nucleus basalis
receives input from hypothalamus and basal ganglia, releases acetylcholine to widespread areas in cerebral cortex. wakefulness, attention
hippocampus
critical for certain types of memories, especially those for individual events. monitor where you are and where you’re going
ventricles
four fluid-filled cavities within the brain
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
produced by choroid plexus cells along walls of four ventricles, cushions the brain against shock, and provides buoyancy, hormones and nutrition for brain and spinal cord
meninges
membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord
functional segregation
mammalian brains have functional regions, many areas show bilaterality (two-sidedness)
cerebral commissures
connect two halves of the brain: hippocampal commissure, corpus callosum (biggest connection), massa intermedia, anterior commissure, optic chiasm, posterior commissure
william von wagnen
transected corpus callosum to lateralize epileptic seizures
gazzaniga, myers and sperry
gazzaniga worked with split-brain humans, myers and sperry with split-brain cats
dual foci of attention
search for target item in array faster than intact controls (non split-brain), can monitor two things at once
chimeric figures task
only symmetrical version of right half of faces recognized (competition between hemispheres)
helping-hand phenomenon
presented two different visual stimuli, the hand that “knows” may correct the other
cerebral cortex
cells on outer surface are gray matter, their axons extending inwards are white matter
corpus callosum
bundle of axons, allows neurons in separate hemispheres to communicate with each other
anterior commissure
bundle of axons, smaller than corpus callosum, allows neurons in separate hemispheres to communicate with each other
primates
monkeys, apes, and humans - have larger cerebral cortex, more folding, and more neurons per unit of volume
laminae
six distinct layers of cell bodies parallel to surface of cortex and separated by layers of fibers (molecular, external granular, pyramidal cell, internal granular, inner pyramidal, multiform)
columns
cells of cortex arranged into these, perpendicular to laminae. cells in same column have similar properties
occipital lobe
posterior end of cortex, visual information, posterior pole = primary visual/striate cortex, damage there causes cortical blindness in related part of visual field (normal eyes)
parietal lobe
between occipital lobe and central sulcus. monitors information about eye, head, and body positions (spatial and numerical information)
postcentral gyrus (primary somatosensory cortex)
receives sensations from touch, muscle-stretch, and joint receptors. four bands of cells parallel to central sulcus, areas along each band receive information from different body parts
temporal lobe
primary for auditory information, left usually for understanding spoken language. contributes to perception of movement and face recognition, emotional and motivational behaviors
Klüver-Bucy syndrome
temporal lobe damage, fail to display normal fears and anxieties
frontal lobe
contains primary motor cortex and prefrontal cortex, from central sulcus to anterior limit
precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex)
posterior of frontal lobe, specialized for control of fine movements
prefrontal cortex
anterior of frontal lobe, huge number of synpases, integrate huge amount of information
prefrontal lobotomy
disconnecting prefrontal cortex from rest of brain. resulted in apathy, loss of ability to plan and take initiative, loss of emotional expressionals. impulsive
delayed-response task
damage to frontal cortex, see/hear something and respond after delay
binding problem (large-scale integration problem)
how various brain areas produce perception of a single object with various senses providing information
