Cerebral functional areas

Question 1

telencephalon grey matter

Answer 1

cerebral cortex (outer covering of grey matter - highly folded which increases SA - lots of synapses)
\+ basal nuclei
\+ limbic structures (hippocampus & amygdala)

Question 2

telencephalon white matter

Answer 2

projection, commissural, association

Question 3

The diencephalon

Answer 3

though housed between the hemispheres, is not part of the cerebrum (telencephalon)

Question 4

Each cerebral hemisphere consists of 5 lobes

Answer 4

Frontal lobe is specialised in motor output (action),

Parietal, occipital & frontal lobes are specialised in sensory input (perception)

Question 5

Insular cortex

Answer 5

Primary gustatory cortex

the insula is located deep inside the lateral sulcus & cannot be allocated to any of the lobes

Question 6

Hierarchical organisation of the cerebral cortices

1. primary cortical areas

Answer 6

motor 
sensory:
• somatosensory
• visual
• auditory
• taste (gustation)
• olfaction

Question 7

Hierarchical organisation of the cerebral cortices

2. secondary association (specific) areas

Answer 7

adjacent to primary
• modality specific (unimodal)
• interpret

Question 8

Hierarchical organisation of the cerebral cortices

3. tertiary (broad) association areas:

Answer 8

• multimodal
• more broad functions: cognitive abilities, emotions, personality
• some lateralisation of function

Question 9

3 broad association areas

Answer 9

Posterior association area
Frontal association area - prefrontal cortex
Temporal association area

Question 10

Frontal association area - prefrontal cortex

Answer 10

Focus attention
• Motor expression of emotions and behaviour
• Exploration of the environment

Question 11

Temporal association area

Answer 11

Lateral & medial temporal lobe
• Associate perception with previous experience
• Link recognition with meaning

Question 12

Posterior association area

Answer 12

Margin of the parietal, temporal & occipital lobes
• Interprets multimodal sensory information
• Awareness of self & extrapersonal space

Question 13

Simplified hierarchical organisation of the sensory cortices flowchart

Answer 13

Sensory input (e.g. visual, auditory, tactile, movement) > thalamus > primary sensory cortices (unimodal cortex) > secondary association centre (unimodal cortex) > Highest order association cortices (multi(hetero)modal cortex)

Question 14

sensory cortices

Answer 14

Cerebral cortices of OCCIPITAL, PARIETAL, AND TEMPORAL LOBES

Question 15

Simplified hierarchical organisation of the sensory cortices

Answer 15

1. 1˚ sensory cortex (PSC) receives sensory information from the thalamus
2. PSC conveys information to the 2˚ association cortex for interpretation (e.g. 20 somatosensory area combines tactile, pressure & proprioceptive information to ‘recognise’ an object.
3. multiple 2˚ associationcortices send their sensory information to the multimodal posterior association area for integration

Question 16

Simplified hierarchical organisation of the motor cortices flowchart

Answer 16

Prefrontal cortex (highest order association cortex) > SMC - Supplementary Motor Cortex /PMC =PreMotor Cortex > Primary motor cortex (M1) > pyramidal pathway> SPINAL CORD > Somatomotor output

Question 17

Simplified hierarchical organisation of the motor cortices

Answer 17

1. Motor command is initiated in the brain and exits the brain via the primary motor cortex(M1)
2. The prefrontal cortex / anterior association area generates motor commands and transfers them to secondary motor cortices (SMC & PMC) for purposes of integration of motor skills
3. Secondary association cortices (SMC&PMC) transfer the motor command to the primary motor cortex (M1) for execution

Question 18

motor cortices

Answer 18

Cerebral cortex of the FRONTAL LOBE
SMC = Supplementary motor cortex;
PMC = Premotor cortex

Question 19

Frontal lobe

Answer 19

Primary motor cortex
Secondary motor areas
premotor area
Supplementary motor area:
Frontal eye field
Broca’s area
prefrontal cortex

Question 20

Frontal lobe - Primary motor cortex:

Answer 20

precentral gyrus – outflow = corticospinal tract

Question 21

Frontal lobe - Secondary motor areas

Answer 21

planning & initiation of movements, motor maps

Question 22

Frontal lobe - premotor area

Answer 22

posterior middle frontal gyrus & opercular part inferior frontal gyrus

Question 23

Frontal lobe - Supplementary motor area:

Answer 23

posterior portion superior frontal gyrus

Question 24

Frontal lobe - Frontal eye field

Answer 24

= posterior end middle frontal gyrus just rostral to premotor

Question 25

Frontal lobe - Broca’s area:

Answer 25

triangular & orpecular parts, inferior temporal gyrus in dominant hemisphere
= motor aspects of language symbols – spoken, written & sign

Question 26

Frontal lobe - prefrontal cortex

Answer 26

executive functions, motor expression of emotions & behaviour

Question 27

Mirror neuron system

Answer 27

Network of neurons throughout all cerebral cortices
• Motor learning
• Empathy

Question 28

the anterior commissure

Answer 28

lies within lamina terminalis, which in turn forms the anterior wall of the 3rd ventricle.

Question 29

The falx cerebri

Answer 29

separates the left & right frontal, parietal, occipital & cingulate portions of the limbic lobes.