Chapter 3 Human Anatomy Continued

Question 1

Medulla

Answer 1

• just above spinal cord, controls vital reflexes, e.g., breathing, heartbeat, coughing, vomiting. Damage here typically fatal. Most cranial nerves (nerves for senses and movement above the spinal cord) are centered here.

Question 2

Pons

Answer 2

• in humans, in front and on top of medulla

Function

where many axons cross from one side of the brain to the other before they go down the spinal cord – why the left hemisphere controls right side muscles and vice versa

Question 3

Reticular Formation

Answer 3

• the medulla and pons contain this

Function

• (controls motor areas of the spinal cord and arousal and attention)

Question 4

raphe system

Answer 4

• medulla and pons contain this
• (increases or decreases the brain’s readiness to respond)

Question 5

Cerebellum

Answer 5

• controls movement, balance, and coordination
• damage impairs coordination, rhythm and timing, and difficulty shifting attention between auditory and visual stimuli

Question 6

The Midbrain (mesencephalon)

Answer 6

.

Question 7

Tectum

Answer 7

(“roof”): includes superior colliculi and inferior colliculi, important routes for sensory information

Top for sight, Bottom for hearing

Question 8

Tegmentum

Answer 8

• (“carpet” - under the tectum)
• nuclei for third and fourth cranial nerves (eye movements)
• parts of the reticular formation
• extensions of the pathways between the forebrain and the spinal cord or hindbrain

Question 9

Substantia nigra

Answer 9

• dopamine path that is involved in movement. This path deteriorates in Parkinson’s disease, a movement disorder

Question 10

The Forebrain (prosencephalon)

Answer 10

.

Question 11

Cerebral cortex

Answer 11

• outer portion of brain. Covered with bumps (gyrus or gyri) and grooves (sulcus or sulci) to increase surface area

Contains grey matter (dendrites and somata), the outer surface of cerebral hemispheres
White matter is formed by axons extending inward from cortex (what makes it white?)
Broken down into 2 hemispheres – left and right
Neurons from each hemisphere communicate with each other through pathways of nerve bundles called the corpus callosum and the anterior commissure

Question 12

Gyrus

Answer 12

The bumps in the cerebral cortex

Question 13

Sulci

Answer 13

grooves in the cerebral cortex

Question 14

Fissure

Answer 14

Very deep grooves in the cerebral cortex

Question 15

Subcortical

Answer 15

The parts of the brain below the cortex

Question 16

Thalmus

Answer 16

center of forebrain and relay station for sensory information to/from cerebral cortex (except olfactory)

Question 17

Basal Ganglia

Answer 17

plays a big role in movement

Question 18

Limbic System

Answer 18

emotion (more on next slide)

Question 19

Basal forebrain

Answer 19

• Includes the nucleus basalis

Question 20

Nucleus basalis

Answer 20

• which is a key part of brain’s system for arousal, wakefulness, and attention

Question 21

Limbic system

Answer 21

• borders the brain stem and mediates eating, drinking, sexual activity, and emotions like anxiety and aggression. This system includes the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala
• four f’s fighting, fleeing, feeding and fornicating

Question 22

Hypothalamus

Answer 22

small area under thalamus with widespread connections

• damage here affects sexual behavior, temperature regulation, fighting, feeding, activity level
• sends messages to attached pituitary gland, altering release of hormones into bloodstream

Question 23

Hippocampus

Answer 23

• located between thalamus and cerebral cortex
• critical for the formation of new memories

Question 24

Amygdala

Answer 24

• implicated in emotions

Question 25

diencephalon

Answer 25

The thalamus and hypothalamus

Question 26

telencephalon

Answer 26

The rest of the forebrain

Question 27

Lobes of Cortex

Answer 27

.

Question 28

Occipital Lobe

Answer 28

• posterior end of cortex
• contains primary visual cortex
• damage in one hemisphere causes blindness in opposite visual field

Question 29

Parietal Lobe

Answer 29

between occipital lobe and the central sulcus

• contains the postcentral gyrus which houses the primary somatosensory cortex which receives touch sensation, muscle-stretch and joint position information
• It’s also organized so each area of your body has a corresponding spot in the postcentral gyrus (page 99)
• Involved in spatial things – where am I, where are you, and which way do I need to go if I want to approach or avoid you

Question 30

Somatosensory

Answer 30

• Sense of touch

Question 31

Primary Somatosensory Cortex (postcentral gyrus)

Answer 31

• The primary place where you experience touch
• Sense of touch
• Based on the location of where it is (spacial awareness)

Question 32

Temporal Lobe

Answer 32

• the left temporal lobe is the language side
• lateral portion of each hemisphere, near the temples
• essential for understanding spoken language
• contributes to perception of movement and face recognition and other complex visual processes
• Also plays a role in emotion and motivation - damage may lead to Klüver-Bucy syndrome

Question 33

Frontal Lobe (precentral gyrus)

Answer 33

• Movement and executive functioning
• extends from the central sulcus to the anterior limit of the brain
• The precentral gyrus houses the primary motor cortex which controls movements. Again, different areas of the PMC correspond to different parts of the body (pg 99)
• prefrontal cortex important for working memory, delayed response tasks, planning of appropriate behavior for context. Stuff that goes on here is called “executive functioning” (planning, organizing, analyzing, recognition of appropriate social behavior)