Chapter 3 Flashcards
What does dorsal mean?
Toward the back.
If one structure is on the left and another is on the right, what is their relationship?
Contralateral.
What is a gyrus in the brain?
A bulge in the cortex.
What is the function of the ventral roots of the spinal cord?
They control motor output.
The side effects of most cold remedies demonstrate the effects of what?
The sympathetic nervous system.
What controls breathing, heart rate, and salivation?
Medulla.
What part of the brain is the hippocampus in?
The forebrain.
What sensation reaches the cerebral cortex without passing through the thalamus?
Olfaction.
Which brain area controls the secretions from the pituitary gland?
Hypothalamus.
What do the ventricles contain?
Cerebrospinal fluid.
What term means toward the midline, and what is its opposite?
Ventral means toward the stomach side. Its opposite is dorsal.
If two structures are both on the left side of the body, they are _____ to each other. If one is on the left and the other is on the right, they are _____ to each other.
Ipsilateral; contralateral.
Motor nerves leave from which side of the spinal cord: dorsal or ventral?
Ventral.
Which functions are controlled by the sympathetic nervous system? Which are controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system?
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the organs for vigorous fight-or-flight activity. The parasympathetic system increases vegetative responses such as digestion.
Most of the cranial nerves connect to which brain area?
The medulla and pons.
Which area provides most of the input to the cerebral cortex?
Thalamus.
Which area occupies about the same percentage of the brain in almost all mammals?
The cerebellum.
The cerebral cortex has (at most) how many laminae?
Six.
If a group of neurons have similar properties, what is probably true of them?
They are in the same column.
The occipital cortex includes the primary area for what sense?
Vision.
Where is the primary somatosensory cortex?
Postcentral gyrus.
Which human cortical area is specialized for hearing, language, and face recognition?
Temporal lobe.
Where is the primary motor cortex?
Precentral gyrus.
Which cortical area is specialized for choosing the action with the best probable outcome?
Anterior prefrontal cortex.
What is the binding problem?
The question of how we perceive separate sensations as a single object.
When are we likely to bind visual, auditory, and touch stimuli?
If they appear to come from the same place at the same time.
Why does the thickness of laminae IV and V vary from one cortical area to another?
Lamina IV, which receives sensory input, is thickest in areas that deal with sensation. Lamina V, with motor output, is thickest in areas that control movement.
What are the primary functions of the prefrontal cortex?
The posterior portion contributes to the control of movement. The middle portion pertains to working memory, cognitive control, and emotion. The anterior portion compares various types of information for making a decision.
The first demonstration that a brain area controlled a particular aspect of behavior pertained to which type of behavior?
Language.
Why is it difficult to draw scientific conclusions from the study of human brain damage?
Few people have damage to one and only one area.
What method can produce a temporary “virtual lesion” of a brain area?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation.
What method can control the excitation or inhibition of a particular type of cell in a single area with millisecond accuracy?
Optogenetics.
Why are zebrafish larvae useful for certain types of brain research?
They are transparent.
Which methods are most useful for detecting momentary changes in brain activity?
EEG and MEG.
Which methods are most useful for detecting the location of brain areas that become active during some behavior?
PET and fMRI.
Which of these is the first step for positron-emission tomography (PET)?
Inject a radioactive chemical into the blood.
What is one advantage of fMRI over PET scans?
The fMRI technique does not expose the brain to radioactivity.
Why should no one draw conclusions about a given individual based on fMRI results?
The fMRI results do not have high enough reliability.
What is the difference between a lesion and an ablation?
A lesion is damage to a structure. An ablation is removal of the structure.
What does fMRI measure?
It detects the percentage of hemoglobin lacking oxygen.
Suppose fMRI research demonstrates that a particular brain area becomes active when people listen to music. When that area becomes active later, can we conclude that a person is listening to or thinking about music?
No, because the area may perform functions in addition to music. Also, fMRI data are not reliable enough to draw any conclusions about an individual.
What are the similarities and differences between MRI and fMRI?
Both methods measure the responses of brain chemicals to a magnetic field. MRI depicts the anatomy of the brain. The fMRI method shows which brain areas are most active at the moment.
