Cerebral Cortex Flashcards
The ________ makes up 95% of the cortex in humans.
Neocortex
The _______ contains the uncus and olfaction.
Paleocortex
The ______ contains most of the hippocampus.
Archicortex
What neurons are found in the neocortex?
- Pyramidal cells
2. Nonpyramidal cells: Basket, Candle, and Bipolar
T/F: Apical dendrites go to the cortical surface and basal dendrites go horizontally.
TRUE
Where on the neurons are the sites of synapses that are selectively modified for learning?
Dendritic spines
Most nonpyramidal cells make ________ synapses.
Inhibitory
_____ stellate cells are excitatory, and _____ stellate cells are inhibitory.
Spiny; smooth
What is the laminar organization of the cortex?
- Molecular
- Outer granular
- Outer pyramidal
- Inner granular
- Inner pyramidal
- Fusiform
T/F: As you move from the outer layers of the cortex to the inner layers the cells get bigger?
TRUE
What are the five sources of afferents to the cortex?
- Association fibers: ipsilateral pyramidal cells
- Commissural fibers: corpus callosum or anterior commisure
- Thalamocortical
- Non-specific thalamocortical
- Cholinergic and aminergic
Where are cholinergic and aminergic fibers from?
Basal forebrain, hypothalamus, braistem
What is the difference between thalamocortical fibers and non-specific thalamocortical fibers?
Thalamocortical: relay or association nuclei
NS Thalamocortical: Intralaminar nuclei
What are the various efferent fibers from the cortex?
- Short association
- Long association
- Commissural fibers
- Fibers to basal ganglia
- Fibers to thalamus
- Corticopontine, corticospinal, and corticobulbar
All efferents from the cerebrum are _______ cell axons and are _______ (excitory/inhibitory).
pyramidal; excitory
What are the two major commissures in the cerebrum?
- Corpus callosum
2. Anterior commissure: temporal lobes and olfactory nuclei
Which parts of the brain do not recieve commissural fibers?
- Hand areas
2. Primary visual cortex
What is Alexia without agraphia?
A disease where one can write but not read
T/F: The somatosensory cortex is agranular.
FALSE
Primary motor = agranular
Somatosensory = granular
T/F: Areas that send off long axons have more pyramidal cells.
TRUE
As you move laterally on the sensory area of the cerebrum which way do you move in the body?
From legs to face and mouth
What is the major function of the parietal lobe?
- Processing of tactile and proprioception
- Language (just left)
- Spatial orientation and directing attention
Which occipital lobe layers are for the contralateral eye?
1, 4, and 6
Where is the macula represented in the occipital lobe?
Most posteriorly
T/F: Parvocellular = ventral stream. Magnocellular = dorsal stream
TRUE
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
- Auditory complex
- Language comprehension (Wernike’s area)
- Higher order visual processing
What and where is Broca’s area?
Frontal lobe; Production of spoken and written language
What areas of the brain are associated with higher mental functions?
Association areas
What are the two types of association areas?
- Unimodal: elaborates primary area
2. Multimodal: high level intellectual functions
What denotes dominant hemisphere?
Produces and comprehends language (Wernike’s and Broca’s areas)
Which hemisphere is often dominant?
LEFT
Anatomically how is the dominant hemisphere seen?
Left lateral sulcus extends farther posteriorly
What is aphasia?
Inability to use language
What area is often injured in nonfluent aphasia?
Broca’s: can comprehend but not speak well
What area is often injured in fluent aphasia?
Wernike’s: can speak more but unable to comprehend language
What part of language comes from the right hemisphere?
Emotion in language; musical aspects of speech
If a patient injures the right parietal lobe how might this show?
Patient has trouble with the left side of his body
If a patient injures the left parietal lobe how might this show?
Patient struggles with planned movements
