Cerebral Cortex

Question 1

What are the main types of cortical neurons?

Answer 1

Granular

Fulsiform

Pyrimidal

Question 2

Granular Neurons

Answer 2

-stellate (star-shaped)
Short axons
Interneurons
Both excitaory and inhibitory (glutamate and GABA)

External granular - layer 2
Internal granular - layer 4

Question 3

Fulsiform neurons

Answer 3

A cortial neuron

Small output neurons

Layer 6

Question 4

Pyrimidal neurons

Answer 4

A cortical neuron
Large output neurons

Mostly layer 5

Somewhat layer 3

Question 5

Whats the general function of the 6 layers of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 5

IV - termination of most incoming specific sensory signals

V and VI - origin of most output signals
-fibers to thalamus from VI

I, II, III
-intracortical assoiation functions

Question 6

What’s the differnce between primary motor areas and secondary motor areas?

Answer 6

Primary motor areas have direct connections with specific muscles

Secondary motor areas provide patterns of movement/motor activity

Question 7

What’s the diff between primary and secondary sensory areas?

Answer 7

Primary sensory areas: detection of specific sensation

Secondary sensory areas: analze meanings of specific sensory signals

Question 8

What are the major association areas? What is a association area?

Answer 8

Prefrontal association area

Parietooccipitotemporal association area

Limbic association area

Also, Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area

Association areas recieve and analze signals simulataneously from multiple motor and sensory cortices

Question 9

Parieto-occipitotemporal association area

Answer 9

Sub-areas:

• spatial coordination
• wenicke’s area
• angular gyrus area
• area for naming objects

Question 10

Prefrontal association area

Answer 10

• recieves preanalyzed sensory information for planning effective movements
• output through caudate portion of basal ganglia
• thought processes of mind

Question 11

Broca’s Area

Answer 11

• circutry for word formation
• works with wernicke’s area
• usually dominant on left side of brain
• frontal lobe

Question 12

Limbic association area

Answer 12

Concerned with behavior, emotions, motivation

Question 13

Wernicke’s Area

Answer 13

Language comprehension
-somatic, visual and auditory association meet
Posterior part of superior temporal lobe

Typically on left side

Temporal lobe

Question 14

What functional areas of the brain are typically left side dominant in most people?

Answer 14

Wernicke’s area - 95%

Broca’s area - 90%

Motor area for controlling hands - 90%

Angular Gyrus

Question 15

What are characteristics of people with a prefrontal lobotomy?

Answer 15

• loss of ability to solve comples problems
• inability to string together sequential tasks to reach complex goals
• loss of multitasking ability
• decrease in level of aggressiveness, ambition
• inability to carry on long trains of thought
• loss of purpose while performing usual motor pattern functions

Question 16

What happens when the corpus callosum is cut?

Answer 16

Transfer of information from wernicke’s area to the nondominant motor cortex is blocked

Somatic and visual information from the right hemisphere to wernicke’s area is blocked

Result: two entirely sep. consciour portions of the brain

Question 17

Functions of the Angular Gyrus

Answer 17

Directs visual information from the visual cortex to vernicke’s area such as works

Question 18

What is facilitation and how does it relate to long-term memory? what was used for studying long term memory?

Answer 18

Aplysia - mollusks

The simultaneous stimulation of the sensory terminal and the facilitator terminal keeps the neuron from undergoing habituation, and serotonin is released at the facilitator synapse

Serotonin receptors activate adenyl cyclase (then formation of cAMP)

cAMP phosphorylates part of a K+ channel, channel is blocked

Lacking K+ conductance prolongs AP

Leads to activation of calcium channels which causes more transmittersto release

Established a Memory trace