Brain Study Guide Flashcards
what is the CNS composed of?
contains the brain and spinal cord
cephalization
the evolutionary development of rostral (anterior) portion of the CNS
what are the adult brain regions?
- cerebral hemispheres
- diencephalon
- brain stem
- cerebellum
cerebrum/cerebral hemispheres
mainly responsible for thoughts, movements, and emotions - often to linked to HIGHER MENTAL THINKING CAPACITY
- has many surface features of FISSURES, GYRI, SULCI
- two hemispheres are connected by the CORPUS CALLOSUM
diencephalon region
consists of the hypothalamus, thalamus, & epithalamus
- known as the FUNCTIONAL LINK between the CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES
- responsible as being the “relay system” for processing sensory input
brain stem
consists of the midbrain, pons, & medulla oblongata
- mainly responsible for BASIC LIFE PROCESSES & MAINTAINING VISCERAL ACTIVITY
cerebellum
- responsible for BALANCE & POSTURE
- helps with “INSTRUCTIONS” for smooth and coordinated skeletal muscle movements
- processing info from the cerebral motor cortex and other proprioceptors
- the site of “MUSCLE MEMORY”
- contains over 50% of the brain’s neurons
brain anatomy
- mixture of areas with various gray matter (myelinated) & white matter (unmyelinated)
- within the cerebral hemispheres & cerebellum
- OUTER GRAY MATTER: CORTEX
cortical gray matter
- helps localize and interpret sensory input
- controls voluntary and skilled skeletal muscle activity
- helps in functions of intellectual & emotional processing
basal nuclei (ganglia)
- subcortical motor centers
- helps control skeletal muscle movements
how many lobes make up the cerebrum?
five lobes;
1. frontal lobe
2. parietal lobes
3. occipital lobe
4. temporal lobe
5. insular lobe
surface markings
GYRI - shallow ridges/elevated bumps
SULCI - superficial grooves
FISSURES - deep grooves
cerebral cortex
- made up of gray matter and billions of neurons
- deep to the cortex - made of WHITE MATTER/ASTROCYTES/NEURONS - connects brain to spinal cord
- significant in site of the CONSCIOUS MIND (memory, sensory perception, understanding etc…)
corpus callosum
- a bundle of white matter that connects the R & L hemispheres of the cerebrum
what areas make up the cerebral cortex?
- motor areas
- sensory areas
- association areas
*hemispheres concerned with CONTRALATERAL side of body
motor areas
control voluntary movement
sensory areas
awareness of sensations
association areas
integrates various and diverse info
our FRONTAL cerebral cortex is divided into how many functional areas? (MOTOR AREA)
(order from most anterior to most medial portion of the brain)
- FRONTAL EYE FIELD
- voluntary rapid eye movement - PREMOTOR/SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR CORTEX
- planning/coordination of movement; concise & skilled movements - PRIMARY MOTOR CORTEX
- voluntary muscle movement - BROCA’S AREA (more in the lateral portion of the brain/most dominant hemisphere)
- helps with muscles of speech
- production of speech
our PARIETAL CEREBRAL CORTEX is divided into how many functional areas? (SENSORY AREA)
our PARIETAL cerebral cortex is divided into THREE FUNCTIONAL AREAS:
——————————————————————–
(order from most medial to posterior portion of the brain)
- PRIMARY SOMATOSENSORY CORTEX
- awareness of somatic sensations/capable of spatial discrimination
- touch, pain, & temp. - SOMATOSENSORY ASSOC. CORTEX
- helps with processing/analyzing somatic sensations
- the memory of such sensations
- recognition of sensations
proprioception/determines SIZE, TEXTURE, & RELATIONSHIP of PARTS - POSTERIOR ASSOC. AREA
- meeting place of visual, auditory, and somatosensory areas *due to this this area heavily processes various types of stimuli from each area!
- spacial awareness of body
our OCCIPITAL cerebral cortex is divided into how many functional areas? (SENSORY AREA)
(order from most medial to most posterior)
- VISUAL ASSOC. CORTEX
- processes/analyzes visual info
- understand, recognizes, and memorization of visual stimuli
- uses past visual memory - PRIMARY VIRUTAL CORTEX
- awareness of visual stimuli
- gets input from retinas
our TEMPORAL cerebral cortex is divided into how many functional areas?
(order from most superior to most inferior)
- PRIMARY AUDITORY CORTEX
- awareness of auditory stimuli
- inner ear interpretation of pitch, loudness, & location - AUDITORY ASSOC. CORTEX
- process, analyze, understand, recognize, & memory of sounds - *WERNICKE’S AREA (lateral to PAC & superior to AAC) [w/in parieto-occipitotemporal area]
- comprehends/understands written & spoken language - PRIMARY OLFACTORY/ASSOC. CORTEX
- awareness of smell
- processing of smell
our MULTIMODAL ASSOCIATION CORTEX is divided into how many areas?
- ANTERIOR ASSO. AREA
- also known as the PREFRONTAL CORTEX
- takes age development to age 25 to coordinate properly
- many functions of personality, intellect, ideas, complex reasoning etc… - POSTERIOR ASSO. AREA
- contains the WERNICKE’s AREA
- helps recognize faces/patterns - LIMBIC ASSO. AREA
- has the GYRUS, PARAHIPPOCAMPAL GYRUS, & HIPPOCAMPUS
- helps provide emotional impact and memory establishment
- emotional balance/environmental adaptation
thalamus
- RELAYS sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex to interpret
- MEMORY processing
- RELAYS impulses between cerebral motor cortex and other motor centers
