Cerebral Cortex Flashcards
Lateral sulcus, Central sulcus, and longitudinal cerebral fissure separate?
Lateral sulcus separates the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes.
Central sulcus separates the frontal and parietal lobes
Longitudinal cerebral fissure separates the two cerebral hemispheres
The cerebral cortex sulci and gyri do?
The folds help increase the surface area of the brain and allow more neurons to be compacted into a smaller cranial space.
Brodman’s areas include what?
Primary somatosensory areas, primary motor cortex, pre-motor cortex and frontal eye fields
Look at diagrams for vascular supply to the cortex
Circle of Willis
Circle of Willis is made up of what 4 arteries?
- Anterior communicating artery
- Anterior cerebral artery
- Posterior communicating artery
- Posterior cerebral artery
Anterior cerebral artery supplies what structures?
ACA supplies cortex (anterior-medial surface), Anterior medial surface of frontal and parietal lobes
Middle cerebral artery supplies?
MCA supplies cortex superior to Lateral (Sylvian) fissure, internal capsule, globus pallidus, putamen and caudate
Posterior cerebral artery supplies?
PCA supplies midbrain, occipital lobe and portions of medial and inferior temporal lobes
Ventricles contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), where is it produced?
Choroid plexus
Where are the ventricle located?
Two lateral (1 & 2): one in each cerebral hemisphere
Third (3): diencephalon
Fourth (4): surrounded by pons, medulla and cerebellum
The third ventricle sits where?
In a cavity between the right and left halves of the diencephalon
Communication point between lateral ventricles and third ventricle? Between third and fourth ventricles?
1,2->3: interventricular foramen
3->4: cerebral aqueduct
What is the flow of CSF?
Choroid plexus - lateral ventricles - third ventricle (via interventricular foramen) - fourth ventricle (via cerebral aqueduct) - subarachnoid space - arachnoid granulations - reabsorbing into blood stream
Frontal lobe functions?
Memory formation Emotions Decision making/reasoning Personality Movement
Primary motor cortex functions?
- Area of voluntarily controlled movements
- Source of most neurons in corticospinal tract
- Controls contralateral movements
- Motor homunculus
Supplementary motor area functions?
- Situated just medial to the premotor cortex
- Motor planning (initiation of movement, the planning of bilateral and sequential movements
- Stores motor programs
- Directs activity of primary motor cortex
- Orientation of the eyes and head
Premotor area functions?
- Controls trunk and girdle muscles
- Stabilizes the shoulders during upper limb tasks and hips during walking
Broca’s area functions?
- Usually located in left hemisphere
- Planning movement of mouth during speech and grammatical aspects of language
Area analogous to Broca’s (on opposite hemisphere) function?
- Plans nonverbal communication
- Emotional gestures
- Tone of voice
Parietal lobe functions?
- Senses and integrates sensations
- Spatial awareness and perception
Parietal lobe cortical regions and functions?
- Primary somatosensory cortex (postcentral gyrus): site involved with processing of tactile and proprioceptive information.
- Somatosensory association cortex: assists with integration and interpretation of sensations relative to body position and orientation in space. May assist with visuo-motor coordination.
- Primary gustatory cortex: primary site involved with the interpretation of the sensation taste
Primary somatosensory cortex functions?
Discriminates shape, texture or size of objects
Primary auditory cortex functions?
Conscious discrimination of loudness and pitch of sounds
Primary visual cortex functions?
Distinguishes intensity of light, shape, size, and location of objects
