Cerebral Cortex

Question 1

What are the different layers of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 1

1. molecular layer
2. external granular layer
3. external pyramidal layer
4. internal granular layer
5. internal pyramidal layer
6. multiform layer

Question 2

What are the different neocortical regions of the brain?

Answer 2

primary sensory areas (receive info from thalamic sensory relay nuclei)

primary motor areas (areas that giv rise to much of the corticospinal tract)

association areas

limbic areas

Question 3

What are some examples of intellectual disability that may be associated with poor spine development?

Answer 3

autism

fragile X syndrome

Question 4

T/F: total cortical volume is not constant among different individuals, but there is large variation in Brodmann area sizes among individuals

Answer 4

False.

total cortical volume IS constant among different individuals but Brodman areas sizes ARE DIFFERENT among individuals

Question 5

What are the functions of the parietal lobe?

Answer 5

primary somatosensory cortex: initial processing of tactile and proprioceptive information)

language comprehension (typically left lobule)

rest of cortex: complex aspects of spatial orientation and directing attention

Question 6

What are the functions of the occipital lobe?

Answer 6

primary visual cortex

visual association cortex

Question 7

Injury to what area of the cortex would result in color blindness?

Answer 7

inferior occipital lobe

Question 8

Injury to what area of the cortex would result in motion blindness?

Answer 8

occipital-temporal junction

Question 9

What are the functions of the temporal lobe?

Answer 9

primary auditory cortex (transverse temporal gyri)
auditory association cortex
Language comprehension (Wernike’s area)
Higher order visual processing

Question 10

Where is the gustatory cortex located?

Answer 10

frontal lobe (operculum) 
insula

Question 11

Where is the vestibular cortex located?

Answer 11

superior temporal gyrus

posterior insula

Question 12

Where is the olfactory cortex located in the neocortex?

Answer 12

It is NOT located in the neocortex. It is a part of the paleocortex.

Consists of:
cortex near lateral olfactory tract
cortex covering amygdala, periamygdaloid cortex
small part of parahippocampal gyrus

Question 13

What is the function of the frontal cortex?

Answer 13

heavily involved in motor control

Broca’s area: inferior frontal gyrus; production of spoken and written language

prefrontal cortex: rest of frontal lobe; executive functions: personality, foresight, insight

Question 14

What are the different types of association cortex?

Answer 14

unimodal: near primary area
multimodal: high level intellectual functions

Question 15

What is the planum temporale?

Answer 15

part of the superior temporal gyrus posterior to primary auditory cortex (transverse temporal gyri)

Question 16

What side of the brain has a larger planum temporale?

Answer 16

left side

Question 17

What does “aphasia” mean?

Answer 17

inability to use language, lose the use of, or access to symbols humans use as concepts (i.e. words)

Question 18

Describe nonfluent aphasia.

Answer 18

make few written or spoken words, get by with phrases (“OK,” “And how”)
Very difficult to produce words

Can comprehend language

Damage in Broca’s area

Question 19

Describe fluent aphasia.

Answer 19

Can write or speak words, but words that are used are incorrect

no linguistic content

make up new words

Difficulty in language comprehension

Damage to Wernicke’s area

Question 20

What role does the right hemisphere play in the production of language?

Answer 20

prosody: musical aspect of speech

Question 21

What is motor aprosody and what area of the cortex controls this?

Answer 21

can’t convey authority, anger, etc. in voice

right inferior frontal gyrus (near Broca’s area)

Question 22

What is sensory aprosody? What area of the cortex controls this?

Answer 22

difficulty comprehending the emotional content of speech from others
right posterior temporoparietal region (near Wernicke’s area)

Question 23

What do unimodal areas of the parietal cortex control?

Answer 23

visual association cortex
auditory association cortex
somatosensory

Question 24

The inability to recognize faces or perceive movement are examples of what type of disorder?

Answer 24

sensory specific agnosias

in the examples given, visual agnosias

Question 25

What do the multimodal areas of the parietal cortex control?

Answer 25

monitor relationships of body with outside world

centered on intraparietal sulcus

Question 26

A patient denies something is wrong with his left limb and ignores the entire left side of his body. What might be going on here?

Answer 26

right parietal lobe damage

Question 27

Another patient comes in and has difficulty taking in sensory information to plan a movement accurately. For example, you ask her to imitate the examiner who touches finger to face and she is unable. What may be going on here?

Answer 27

Left parietal lobe damage

Question 28

What is the role of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 28

controls executive functions

it is also interconnected with dorsomedial nucleus of thalamus

Question 29

What distinct areas are in the prefrontal cortex? What does each area do?

Answer 29

Dorsolateral: interconnected w/ parietal association areas; important role in working memory, “keep in mind”
Injury: problems planning, solving problems, maintaining attention

Ventromedial: extends to orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate areas
Injury: makes people impulsive, can’t suppress inappropriate responses/emotions

Question 30

What is alexia without agraphia?

Answer 30

Can’t read, but can write

Question 31

Why might alexia without agraphia occur?

Answer 31

language areas on left isolated from all visual input

left visual cortex damaged by stroke

right visual cortex intact but corpus callosum damaged

speech is unaffected

Question 32

What interconnects areas of one hemisphere?

Answer 32

association bundles