Chapter III- Basic Neuroanatomy Flashcards
Cerebral cortex
gray matter covering the outermost layer of the brain like the bark of a tree
Corpus Callosum
Layer of fibers that connect the two hemispheres
the very back of the cortex that processes vision
occipital region
some areas are dedicated to auditory processing or memory, involved in memory or hearing
temporal lobe
parietal region
synthesizes related information; i.e. connecting the dots, to be sent to the frontal cortex for evaluation as well as regulating the release function for the attentional system. It is also involved with body awareness and boundaries.
performs executive functions related to emotional regulation and decision making
prefrontal cortex
Heart of the Brain
Thalamus
Limbic system
processes emotional information and memory
The primary frequency generated by the limbic system is…
theta
associated with explicit memory
hippocampus
associated with implicit memory and fear conditioning
amygdala
Two pathways for theta
- first is lower frequency in nature, related to emotional processing
- second is high frequency in nature and tends to be related to memory processing
Basal Ganglia
controls motor movement and interfaces heavily with the cerebellum to execute learned sequences of motor action, such as playing a piano passage.
Brain stem
regulates basic life functions of the body such as heartbeat, breathing, and states of arousal ranging from sleep to hypervigilence.
cerebellum
attached to the stem at the back and maintains subroutines of the finer aspects of movement such as dancing, writing, or playing a musical passage.
Thalamus
the great relay station of the brain, and a key player in resource allocation with respect to information processing. All sensory information coming into the body goes through the thalamus which is divided up into regions corresponding to different areas of the brain.
neurons
provide electro-chemical activity
glial cells
provide maintenance and support for the neurons
Neuron is made up of…
the dendrites, the soma, the axon, and the synapse
soma
a simple battery that stores electrical energy by maintaining an electrical charge differential between the inside and outside of its cell wall.
the main fiber of the neuron
axon
Between the end of each axon and the dendrite of another cell that it connects to is a gap known as
the synapse
est period during which time the neuron recovers, i.e. rebuilds its charge
refractory
At the end of each axon is a button-shaped terminal generating chemicals known as
neurotransmitters
Receptor sites may increase or decrease over time in response to
the average volume of neurotransmitter activity