Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Brain Facts > Chapter 1: Brain Basics > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Brain Basics Flashcards

1
Q

What is the largest part of the brain?

A

Cerebrum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What is the cerebrum associated with?

A

Higher order functioning, including the control of voluntary behaviour like thinking, perceiving, planning and understanding language

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How can the cerebrum be divided?

A

Right and left hemispheres

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

How do the two hemispheres in the cerebrum communicate with each other?

A

Through a bundle of fibres called corpus callosum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the outer layer of the cerebrum called?

A

Cerebral cortex, also known as gray matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What fraction of the cerebral cortex is folded into grooves?

A

Two-third

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Why is the cerebral cortex folded into grooves?

A

To increase the brain’s surface area, allowing for the inclusion of more neurons

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

A
  • initiating and coordinating motor movements
  • higher cognitive skills like problem solving, thinking, planning and organising
  • many aspects of personality and emotions
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is the parietal lobe involved in?

A

Sensory processes, attention and language

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What happens when there is a damage to the right side of parietal lobes?

A

Difficulty in navigating spaces, even familiar ones

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What happens when there is damage to left side of parietal lobe?

A

Ability to understand spoken or written languages may be impaired

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the occipital lobe responsible for?

A

Processing visual information like recognising shapes and colours

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is the temporal lobe responsible for?

A
  • processing auditory information and integrating information from other senses
  • short term memory through hippocampal formation
  • emotional responses through amygdala
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is the hippocampal formation?

A

A prominent C-shaped structure in the medial temporal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is the amygdala?

A

A collection of nuclei found deep within the temporal lobe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What are the key parts of the forebrain?

A
  • frontal lobe
  • parietal lobe
  • occipital lobe
  • temporal lobe
  • basal ganglia
  • thalamus
  • hypothalamus
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A

Cerebral nuclei deep in the cerebral cortex

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What does the cerebral nuclei do?

A

Help to coordinate muscle movements and reward useful behaviours

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

Prioritise sensory information and pass most sensory information on to the cerebral cortex

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What does the hypothalamus do?

A

Control appetites, defensive and reproductive behaviours and sleep-wakefulness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What does the midbrain consist of?

A
  • two small pairs of hills called colliculi

- clusters of neurons that regulate activity in widespread parts of the central nervous system

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What is the use of colliculi?

A

It is a collection of neurons that play a critical role in visual and auditory reflexes and relaying this type of information to the thalamus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What is the clusters of neurons in the midbrain important for?

A

Important for mood and reward mechanisms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What does the hindbrain include?

A

Pons and medulla oblongata and cerebellum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What does pons and medulla oblongata do?

A

Control respiration, heart rhythms and blood glucose levels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What does the cerebellum’s two hemispheres do?

A

It helps to control movement and cognitive processes that require precise timing and play an important role in Pavlovian learning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is Pavlovian learning?

A

How two stimuli is linked together to produce a learned response in human or animals

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What is the spinal cord?

A

It is an extension of the brain through the vertebral column

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What does the spinal cord do?

A
  • receives sensory information from all parts of the body below the head
  • relays this sensory information to the brain and its cerebral cortex
  • generates nerve impulses in nerves that control the muscles and the viscera
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

How does spinal cord generate nerve impulses in nerves?

A

Through reflex activities and voluntary commands from the cerebrum

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What are the two great divisions of the nervous system as a whole?

A
  • central nervous system (CNS)

- peripheral nervous system (PNS)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What forms the central nervous system?

A

Forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and spinal cord

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is the brain protected by?

A

Skull

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

How long is the spinal cord?

A

17 inches or 43cm

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What is the spinal cord protected by?

A

Vertebral column

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

A

Nerves and ganglia

37
Q

What is ganglia?

A

Small concentrations of gray matter

38
Q

Overall, what is the nervous system like?

A

Network of gray matter regions interconnected with white matter tracts

39
Q

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

A
  • somatic nervous system

- autonomic nervous system

40
Q

What is the somatic nervous system made up of?

A

Neurons connecting the central nervous system with parts of the body that interact with the outside world

41
Q

What is the somatic nervous system?

A

It is associated with voluntary control of body movements via skeletal muscles

42
Q

What is the somatic nerves in the cervical region related to?

A

Neck and arms

43
Q

What does the somatic nerves in the thoracic region serve?

A

Chest

44
Q

What does the somatic nerves in the lumbar and sacral region interact with?

A

Legs

45
Q

What is autonomic nervous system made up of?

A

Neurons connecting the CNS and internal organs

46
Q

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

A

Mobilises energy and resources during times of stress and arousal

47
Q

What does parasympathetic nervous system do?

A

Conserves energy and resources during relaxed state, including sleep

48
Q

How are messages carried throughout the nervous system?

A

Through neurons

49
Q

What is a neuron?

A

A specialised cell designed to transmit information to other nerve cells, muscle or gland cells

50
Q

What does each neuron consist of?

A

Cell body, dendrites and axon

51
Q

What does the cell body contain?

A

Nucleus and cytoplasm

52
Q

What are axons like?

A

They extend from cell body and give rise to many smaller branches before ending at nerve terminals

53
Q

What are dendrites like?

A

They extend from the neuron cell body and receive messages from other neurons

54
Q

What are synapses?

A

Contact points where one neuron communicates with another

55
Q

What are dendrites covered with?

A

Synapses formed by ends of axons from other neurons

56
Q

What happen when neurons receive or send messages?

A

They transmit electrical impulses along their axons

57
Q

What are many axons covered with?

A

Myelin sheath

58
Q

What does myelin sheath do?

A

Accelerate the transmission of electrical signals along the axon

59
Q

What is the myelin sheath made of?

A

Specialised cell called gila

60
Q

What are gila that make sheath called?

A

Oligodendrocytes and in the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells

61
Q

What is the number of gila compared to neurons?

A

The brain contains ten times more gila than neurons

62
Q

What is the function of gila?

A

Transport nutrients to neurons, clean up brain debris, digest parts of dead neurons and help hold neurons in place

63
Q

What do nerve impulses involve?

A

The opening and closing of ion channels

64
Q

What are ion channels?

A

They are selectively permeable, water-filled molecular tunnels that pass through the cell membrane and allow ions to enter or leave the cell

65
Q

What does the flow of ions in ion channel result in?

A

It creates an electrical current that produce tiny voltage changes across the neuron’s cell membrane

66
Q

What does the ability of a neuron to generate an electrical impulse depend on?

A

The difference in charge between the inside and outside of the cell

67
Q

What happens when a nerve impulse begins?

A

There will be a dramatic reversal in the electrical potential that occurs on the cell’s membrane as the neuron switches from an internal negative to a positive charge state

68
Q

What is the dramatic reversal in electrical potential that occurs on the cell membrane called?

A

Action potential

69
Q

How can neurons fire impulses very rapidly?

A

The action potential potential passes along the axon’s membrane at speeds up to several hundred miles per hour which allows neuron to fire impulses multiple times every second

70
Q

What happens when the voltage change reaches the end of an axon?

A

It triggers the release of neurotransmitterd

71
Q

How are neurotransmitters released?

A

Neurotransmitters are released at nerve terminals, diffuse across the synapse and bind to receptors on the surface of target cell

72
Q

What are target cells?

A

Often another neuron or possibly a muscle or gland cell

73
Q

What does each receptor on a target cell have?

A

A distinctively shaped region that selectively recognises a particular chemical messenger

74
Q

How does the neurotransmitter fit into the specially shaped region in each receptor of the target cell?

A

In like a lock and key system

75
Q

What happens when a neurotransmitter is in place in region in receptor?

A

The interaction alters the target cell’s membrane potential and triggers a response from the target cell

76
Q

What are the potential responses of a target cell when a neurotransmitter is in place?

A
  • generation of action potential
  • contraction of muscle
  • stimulation of enzyme activity
  • inhibition of neurotransmitter release
77
Q

What is the first neurotransmitter identified?

A

Acetylcholine (ACh)

78
Q

Acetylcholine is released by what kinds of neurons?

A
  • neurons connected to voluntary muscles, causing them to contract
  • neurons that control the heartbeat
79
Q

How is ACh synthesized in axon terminals?

A

When action potential arrives at nerve terminals, electrically charged calcium ions rush in and ACh is released into the synapse where it attaches to ACh receptors on the target cell, ACh is then broken down by enzyme acetykcholinesterase and resynthesized in the nerve terminal

80
Q

What happens when ACh attach to receptor in voluntary muscles?

A

It opens up sodium channels and cause muscles to contract

81
Q

What is myasthenia gravis?

A

A disease characterised by fatigue and muscle weakness

82
Q

What causes myasthenia gravis?

A

Antibodies that block one type of ACh receptor

83
Q

What are the main drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase and increase ACh in the brain

84
Q

What are amino acids?

A

Building blocks of proteins

85
Q

What can certain amino acids serve as?

A

Neurotransmitters in the brain

86
Q

Which amino acids serve as neurotransmitters in the brain?

A

Glycine and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)

87
Q

What do glycine and GABA do

A

Inhibit the firing of neurons

88
Q

What is the activity of GABA increased by?

A

Benzodiazepines and anticonvulsant drugs

Brain Facts (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions