Chapter 4 - The Central Nervous System

Question 1

Define the central nervous system.

Answer 1

One of the two major divisions of the human nervous system that comprises the brain and spinal cord.

Question 2

What is the main function of the spinal cord?

Answer 2

To connect the brain to the peripheral nervous system.

Question 3

What are some functions of the brain?

Answer 3

Processes information, performs functions to keep you alive (heartbeat, breathing), monitors and regulates the body’s internal conditions. It is responsible for virtually everything you think, feel and do.

Question 4

How is the cerebral cortex recognisable?

Answer 4

It is recognisable as the convoluted outer layer of the brain, covering the two cerebral hemispheres.

Question 5

How much of the brain’s neurons are contained in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 5

Three quarters.

Question 6

What is the cerebral cortex involved with?

Answer 6

It is involved with information-processing activities such as perception, language, memory, thinking and problem-solving, as well as the planning and control of voluntary bodily movements.

Question 7

What are the three different categories of cortical areas?

Answer 7

Sensory cortex areas, the motor cortex area, and association cortex areas.

Question 8

Define the cerebral hemispheres.

Answer 8

The cerebral hemispheres are two almost symmetrical brain structures that appear to be separated by a deep groove (known as the longitudinal fissure) running from the front to the back of the brain.

Question 9

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 9

The corpus callosum is a band of nerve tissue that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and serves as the main communication pathway between them.

Question 10

What are the four cortical lobes?

Answer 10

The frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe and the temporal lobe.

Question 11

What is the function of sensory areas of the lobes?

Answer 11

To receive and process information from sensory receptors in the body.

Question 12

What are sensory receptors?

Answer 12

Specialised neurons that detect and respond to a specific type of sensory information.

Question 13

What is the function of motor areas?

Answer 13

To receive and process information about voluntary bodily movements.

Question 14

What is the function of association areas?

Answer 14

To integrate information from different brain areas. They are mainly involves in complex cognitive processes such as perceiving, thinking, learning, remembering, reasoning and so on.

Question 15

What is the frontal lobe and where is it located?

Answer 15

The frontal lobe is the largest of the four lobes and occupies the upper forward half of each cerebral hemisphere, right behind your forehead.

Question 16

What is the primary motor cortex and what is its function?

Answer 16

It is a strip of neural tissue running roughly across the top of your head. It is specifically involved in controlling voluntary bodily movements through its control of skeletal muscles.

Question 17

What does the amount of cortex correspond to in the primary motor cortex?

Answer 17

The amount of cortex devoted to a particular body part corresponds to the complexity of its movements.

Question 18

What do the association areas in the primary motor cortex do and where are they located?

Answer 18

At the front of the frontal lobe. They receive information from other lobes to enable us to perform complex mental functions.

Question 19

What functions are the frontal lobes also involved with?

Answer 19

Attention, personality, the control of emotions and expression of emotional behaviour.

Question 20

Where is Broca’s area located?

Answer 20

In the left frontal lobe next to the motor cortex areas that control the muscles of the fact, tongue, jaw and throat.

Question 21

What crucial role does Broca’s area have?

Answer 21

Broca’s area has a crucial role in the production of articulate speech. It is involved with coordinating movements of the muscles required for speech and supplying this information to the appropriate motor cortex areas. It interacts with cerebral cortex areas that are involved with the meaning of words and sentence structure, as well as the parts of speech.

Question 22

What is the function of the parietal lobe and where is it located?

Answer 22

The parietal lobe in each hemisphere processes sensory information from the body and skin senses (somatosensory information) and other sensory areas in the brain? It is located behind the frontal lobe and occupies the upper back half of the brain.

Question 23

What is the primary somatosensory cortex and what is its function?

Answer 23

It is a strip of cortex located at the front of each parietal lobe, just behind the primary motor cortex in the frontal lobe. It receives and processes sensory information from the skin and body, enabling us to perceive bodily sensations.

Question 24

What does the amount of cortex correspond to in the primary somatosensory cortex?

Answer 24

The amount of cortex devoted to a particular body part corresponds to its sensitivity and amount of use.

Question 25

What functions are association areas of the parietal lobes involved with?

Answer 25

They enable us the sense the position of our body in space by integrating information about the body’s limb positions and movements with information transmitted from the primary visual cortex. Other functions include attention and spatial reasoning.

Question 26

What is the function of the temporal lobe and where is it located?

Answer 26

The temporal lobe is primarily involved with auditory perception, but also plays an important role in memory, in aspects of visual perception, and in our emotional responses to sensory information in memories. It is locates in the lower, central area of the brain, above and around the top of each ear.

Question 27

What is the function of the primary auditory cortex ?

Answer 27

The primary auditory cortex in each temporal lobe receives and processes sounds from both ears. They process different features of sound (pitch and loudness), as well as different types of sound (verbal, music).

Question 28

What functions are association areas of the temporal lobes involved with?

Answer 28

Memory, linking emotions with memory, determining appropriate emotional responses to sensory information and memories, storing procedural and declarative memories, object identification, face recognition.

Question 29

What damage has been found in amnesiacs?

Answer 29

They are often found to have damage in either or both temporal lobes.

Question 30

Where is Wernicke’s area located?

Answer 30

Towards the rear of the left temporal lobe, next to the primary auditory cortex and connected to Broca’s area by a bundle of nerves.

Question 31

What crucial role does Wernicke’s area have?

Answer 31

Wernicke’s area, like Broca’s area, is involved in speech production, but has a crucial role in the comprehension of speech.

Question 32

What is the occipital lobe and where is it located?

Answer 32

The occipital lobe is located at the rearmost area of each cerebral hemisphere, and is almost exclusively devoted to the sense of vision.

Question 33

Where is the primary visual cortex and what is its function?

Answer 33

The primary visual cortex is located at the base of each occipital lobe and is the major destination of visual information from the two eyes.

Question 34

How is visual information sent to the primary visual cortex?

Answer 34

The left half of each eye (which receives visual sensory information from the right half of the visual field) sends information only to the visual cortex in the left occipital lobe, and the right half of each eye (which receives visual sensory information from the left half of the visual field) sends information only to the visual cortex in the right occipital lobe.

Question 35

What functions are association areas of the occipital lobes involved with?

Answer 35

They interact with association areas in the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes to integrate visual information with other information such as language, memory and sounds.

Question 36

What are some specialisations of the left cerebral hemisphere?

Answer 36

Verbal tasks (e.g. speech production and comprehension, writing), analysis (e.g. maths), logical reasoning.

Question 37

What are some specialisations of the right cerebral hemisphere?

Answer 37

Non-verbal tasks, spatial and visual thinking (e.g. solving a jigsaw, reading a map), creativity, fantasy, appreciation of art and music, recognising emotions.

Question 38

What is the spinal cord?

Answer 38

The cable-like column of nerve fibres that extends from the base of the brain to the lower back.

Question 39

What are the major functions of the spinal cord?

Answer 39

To receive sensory information from the body (via the PNS) and transmit them to the brain, and to receive information from the brain and relay it to the body (via the PNS) to control muscles, glands and internal organs.

Question 40

What happens if the spinal cord is damaged?

Answer 40

The brain loses both sensory input from and control over the body.

Question 41

What is the purpose of ascending and descending tracts in the spinal cord?

Answer 41

The ascending tracts are for somatosensory information, traveling form various parts of the body to the brain. The descending tracts are for motor information, leaving the brain and traveling down the spinal cord to the muscles, organs and glands.

Question 42

Define aphasia.

Answer 42

Aphasia refers to a language disorder apparent in speech (comprehension or production), writing or reading produced by injury to brain areas specialised for these functions.

Question 43

What are the symptoms of Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 43

A person has difficulty in speaking, although they continue to understand speech. Speech consists of very short sentences, typically three or four words, and these words are mainly verbs and nouns. They are usually aware of their language difficulties.

Question 44

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 44

A type of aphasia in which a person has considerable difficulty comprehending speech and speaking in a meaningful way. Speech is often fluent and gramatically correct, but what is said is nonsense. People experiencing this usually have little awareness of their condition.

Question 45

What is the most common cause of Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 45

A stroke.

Question 46

Define spatial neglect.

Answer 46

An attentional disorder in which individuals fail to notice anything either on their left or right side. They tend to behave as if that one side of their world does not exist.

Question 47

When is spatial neglect commonly observed?

Answer 47

It is commonly observed in stroke or accident victims who have fairly extensive damage to the rear area of the parietal lobe of the right hemisphere. Consequently, they mostly neglect the left side of their world.

Question 48

Understanding of split-brain studies.

Answer 48

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