Exam 1 Flashcards
What does a Neuron do?
electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals.
Label parts of a Neuron
Dendrite Nucleus Cell body (soma) Axon Myelin
Axon/Dendrite
Axon: Away
Dendrite: Coming in, destination
Neurons that fire together, wire together
Neurons that fire together, wire together
Neuropathways
You become entrenched in anger, sadness, etc when you go there day after day
Parts of the brain
Frontal
Parietal
Temporal
Occipital
Frontal lobe
executive functions
planning, organizing, problem solving
impulse control, decision making, memory
controlling behavior/emotions
Grows dramatically birth - adolescents
Parietal lobe
integrate sensory information from parts of body.
sensory cortex
symbols, reading, writing, language, math
Temporal lobe
Recognizing/processing sound, understanding/producing speech, memory, common fears, listening/talking to others
Occipital lobe
vision, shapes, colors, receiving and processing
Cerebellum
Located at the back/bottom of brain
balance, movement, coordination, motor control
celebrity with bells, coordination/balance
Brain stem
breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, swallowing, digestion
Pituitary gland
regulates and releases hormones, overall well being
depression, sex drive
Thalamus
Motor control, receive auditory sensory signals, relays to different places in brain (relay station)
Hal and Amos cops directing sensations
Hypothalamus
helps regulate temperature, hunger, thirst, mood, releases and controls hormones (works in conjunction with pituitary gland)
Hypo the llamas, spraying them down because they are hot and thirsty (hot flashes)
Hippocampus
memory, orient ourselves to surroundings, navigate
Hippo with compass, finding way because he forgot where home is
Amygdala
formation and storage of memories, fight or flight
Amy brain - fight or flight
Corpus callosum
connects the two hemispheres
Mirror neuron
watching someone else is like doing an activity yourself (getting tense/charged about football).
When you make a face/see a face, your brain functions the same
most basic social brain system, not necessary if you dont want to relate to others
Brodmann’s area
Identified parts of the brain as to what emotion it evokes. Some people believe it, many dont
Sulcus/Gyros
Sulcas: grove (sulk, down)
Gyros: lumps
Prefrontal cortex
problem solving, emotion, complex thought
Motor association cortex
coordination of complex movement
Cortical Homunculus
Pictoral representation of the anatomical divisions of the primary motor cortex and the primary somatosensory cortex
Primary motor cortex
initiation of voluntary movement (frontal lobe)
Frontal sulcas between this and primary somatosensory cortex
Primary somatosensory cortex
receives tactile information from the body (parietal lobe)
largest portion of sensory: hands
Frontal sulcas between this and primary motor cortex
Sensory association area
Processing of multisensory information
Visual association area
complex processing of visual information
Visual cortex
detection of simple visual stimuli
Wernicke’s area
language comprehension, understanding
Broca’s area
language production and articulation
Auditory association area
complex processing of auditory information
auditory cortex
detection of sound quality (loudness, tone)
Left/Right body brain connection
left side damage = right side impairment
Aphasia
disorder caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control language. Making it hard to read, write, and say what you intend.
Wernicke’s aphasia
loss of the ability to understand language, person can speak clearly, but the words put together make no sense
“word salad”
Broca’s aphasia
Prevents a person from producing speech, person can understand language, words are not properly formed, speech is slow and slurred
(typically from stroke)
Lateralization
Right hemisphere believed to be better at non verbal tasks and interpretation of emotional expression, visuo-spatial functions and non verbal memory, creative, music (for non musicians)
Left hemisphere: logical, linear, sequential, music (for musicians)
Draw and label a neuron!
Draw and label a neuron!
Synapse
structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell (neural or otherwise)
Neurotransmitter
chemicals which allow the transmission of signals from one neuron to the next across synapses
Soma
The soma is the cell body of a neuron
White matter
contains nerve fibers. Many of these nerve fibers (axons) are surrounded by a type of fat called myelin.
Grey matter
Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts. (cerebral cortex)
Limbic system
brain structures that lies on both sides of the thalamus.
Includes the hippocampus and amygdala.
It supports a variety of functions, including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory. Primarily responsible for our emotional life, and has a great deal to do with the formation of memories.
Neuroplasticity
The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
Cerebral cortex
layer of the brain often referred to as gray matter. It is the outer portion of the cerebrum.
Hemispheres
Two hemispheres seperated by the corpus callosum
