Exam I Review Flashcards
What is the primary function of the brain?
To produce movement, collectively known as behavior
Behavior
A collection of coordinated movements that are intentionally generated, often in response to external stimuli
Neuroplasticity
The nervous system’s ability to change (physically or chemically) in response to environmental, age-related, or injurious factors
Phenotypic Plasticity
The individual’s capacity to develop a range of phenotypes
Name the four (4) lobes of the Brain
1) Frontal 2)Temporal 3) Occipital 4)Parietal
What is the function of the Parietal Lobe?
Information Processing and Goal-directed Movement
What is the function of the Occipital Lobe?
Visual Processing
What is the function of the Frontal Lobe?
Executive Function, Planning, and Execute Movement
What is the function of the Temporal Lobe?
Auditory Processing and Memory
What makes up the CNS?
The Brain and Spinal Cord
What makes up the PNS?
The nerves and ganglia out side of the brain and spinal cord
What is the Somatic PNS?
Conveys sensory information to the CNS and motor information from the CNS to the muscles
What does PNS stand for?
Peripheral Nervous System
What is the Autonomic PNS?
Enables the CNS to control the internal organs
Who are the “founding fathers” of Ethology?
Nikolaas Tinbergen, Konrad Zacharias Lorenz, Karl Ritter Von Frisch
What is Innate Behavior?
Fixed action patterns
Imprinting
Any kind of phase-sensitive learning
What ideas did Aristotle propose?
The brain cooled the blood and had no role in behavior. Our actions are controlled by a soul or psyche
Dualism
The idea that both a non-material mind and the material body contribute to behavior.
What is the “Mind-Body Problem”?
The problem of explaining how a non-material mind can control a material body
What is Materialism?
The idea that there is only the physical reality and it can be understood through scientific inquiry
Who proposed Dualism?
Descartes
What is Homology?
The likeness in structure between parts of different organisms due to evolutionary differentiation from a corresponding part in a common ancestor
Gyrus
A small protrusion or bump formed by the folding of the cerebral cortex
Sulcus
A groove in brain matter, usually found in the neocortex or cerebellum
Fissure
A very deep sulcus
Grey Matter
Predominately composed of cell bodies and blood vessels; Where neurons collect and modify information.
White Matter
Areas of the Nervous System rich in fat-sheathed neural axons; long-distance connections between brain neurons
Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
Offers protection and chemical stability in the CNS and suspends the brain.
Where can CSF be found?
It circulates through the ventricles, spinal cord and subarachnoid space
What is the Brainstem?
Central structure of the brain that’s responsible for most life-sustaining, unconscious behavior
Ventricles
Cavities in the brain that make and contain CSF
How many ventricles are there?
Four (4)
What substructures are part of the brainstem?
The hindbrain, midbrain, and diencephalon
Where is the brainstem located?
Begins where the spinal cord enters the skull and extends upward into the lower areas of the forebrain
What are the substructures of the Diencephalon?
The thalamus and hypothalamus
What are the substructures of the hindbrain?
The Reticular Formation (RF), Pons, Medulla, and Cerebellum
What is the function of the hindbrain?
Controls motor functions, balance, and fine movement
What is the evolutionary oldest structure of the brain?
The hindbrain
Reticular Formation
Brainstem area in which nuclei and fiber pathways are mixed, producting a netlike appearance; associated with sleep-wake behavior and behavioral arousal
Pons
Receives inputs from the cerebellum and connects it with the rest of the brain structure
In general, what do the Pons and Medulla do together?
They control many vital body movements
What is the Midbrain?
Central part of the brainstem; contains neural circuits for hearing and seeing as well as for orienting movements
Medulla
At the rostral tip of the spinal cord, it regulates vital function (i.e., breathing and cardiovascular system)
What are the substructures of the midbrain?
The tectum and tegmentum
Tectum
(Roof) Located posteriorly in humans; Recieves sensory information from the eyes and ears; Processes sensory information and produces orienting movements related to sensory inputs (i.e., turning towards a sound)
Tegmentum
(Floor) Located ventral to the tectum; Largely related with movement-related functions.
What are the substructures of the Tectum and their function?
The Superior Colliculus (recieves visual input) and The Inferior Colliculus (recieves auditory input)
Red Nucleus
Nuclei in the Tegmentum, controls limb movement
Substratia Nigra
Substructure in the Tegmentum that connects to the forebrain, associated with initiating movements and placing value on objects
Periaqueductal Gray Matter
Cell bodies that surround the aqueduct joining the third and fourth ventricles, containing circuits that control sical behavior.
Diencephalon
The “top” of the brainstem and intergrates sensory and motor information on its way to the cerebral cortex
Hypothalamas
A Diencephalon structure composed of 22 nuclei that contains nuclei mediating regulatory functions
Where is the Hypothalamus located?
Below the Thalamas, along the brain’s midline
What critical function does the Hypothalamas do in tandem with the pituitary gland?
Control the body’s production of hormones
What behaviors does the Hypothalamas play a role in?
Feeding, Sleeping, Temperature Regulation, Sexual and Emotional Behavior, and Movement
How does the Hypothalamas engage the pituitary gland?
With neurohormones
Thalamas
Diencephalon structure through which information from all sensory systems is organized, intergrated, and projected into the appropriate region of the neocortex
What are the substructures of the Forebrain?
The Cerebral Cortex and Basal Ganglia
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
Processes information from the optic tract and sends it to the visual region in the occipital lobe in each hemisphere
What are the substructures of the Cerebral Cortex?
The Neocortex and the Allocortex
What is the most recent part of the brain to evolve?
The Forebrain
Forebrain
The largest part of the brain; coordinates advanced cognitive functions, such as thinking, planning, and language
Cerebral Cortex
Regulates a host of mental activities ranging from pereception to planning to emotions and memory
Basal Ganglia
Subcortical forebrain nuclei that coordinate voluntary movements of the limbs and body; connected to the thalamus and to the midbrain
Allocortex
Part of the cerebral cortex, composed of three or four layers; plays a role in controlling motivational and emotional states as well as in cretain forms of memory
Neocortex
Outermost layer of the forebrain that is visibly folded in humans; composed of about six layers of cells; constructs a perceptual world and responds to that world.
What are the substructures of the Allocortex?
The Hippocampus, The Cingulate Cortex, and the Amygdala
What is the function of the Hippocampus?
Consolidation
Consolidation
The process whereby the short-term memories are solidified to long-term memories.
Cingulate Cortex
Lies above the Corpus Callosum; involved with emotion formation and processing, learning, memory, and is influencial to linking behavior with motivation
What is the function of the Amygdala?
Plays a role in anxiety and fear
Limbic System
A conceptual system controlling affective and motivated behaviors and certain forms of memory, who anatomy lies between the neocortex and brainstem. For some neuroscientist, the Limbic System is obsolete and was replaced with the allocortex.
How many layers on in the cortex?
Six (6)
Cytoarchitectonic Map
Map of the neocortex based on the organization, structure, and distribution of the cells
What does layer four (4) of the cortex do?
Afferent sensory input
What do layers one (1) through three (3) of the cortex do?
Integrative functions
What do layers five (5) and six (6) of the cortex do?
Output to other parts of the brain (efferent)
Need a break?
Hope you’re feeling better now! :3
Vomeronasal Organ
Collection of neurons that direct pheromones; it plays a role in reproduction and social behavior in many mammals, though its specific function in humans is disputed
The ____ recieves sensations from the skin and muscles and produces movements independent of the brain.
Somatic Nervous System
What does FACT stand for?
Function, Anatomy, Connections, and Topography
Cranial Nerves
The twelve (12) nerve pairs that control sensory and motor functions of the head, neck, and internal organs
Cranial Nerve #1
Olfactory | Controls smell
Cranial Nerve #2
Optic | Controls vision
Cranial Nerve #3
Oculomotor | Controls eye movement
Cranial Nerve #4
Trochlear | Controls eye movement
Cranial Nerve #5
Trigeminal | Masticatory movements and facial sensations
Cranial Nerve #6
Abducens | Controls eye movement
Vertebrae
The bones that form the spinal column
What are the five (5) regions of the spine?
1) Cervical 2) Thoracic 3) Lumbar 4) Sacral 5) Coccygeal
Deramtome
Body segment corresponding to a segment of the spinal cord
Law of Bell and Magendie
Sensory fibers are dorsal/posterior and motor fibers are ventral/anterior, with an exception
Sympathetic Division
Part of the autonomic nervous system that arouses the body for action
Parasympathetic Division
Part of the autonomic nervous system that acts in opposition to the sympathetic division
Ganglia
Collections of neural cells that connect the autonomic control centers to the spinal cord and controls interal organs
