Finals: Cognition Flashcards
Short axons, mainly interneurons
Shaped like a star
Excitatory (secrete glutamate) or inhibitory (secrete GABA)
Granular Neurons/Stellar Neurons
Smaller, project output fibers to lower brain centers
Fusiform Neurons
Functions of Specific Cortical Areas:
Primary Motor Area: Controls voluntary movement
Primary Sensory Areas (e.g., parietal lobe): Receives specific sensory information
Secondary Areas: Analyze and give meaning to sensory information
Thalamus acts as a sensory relay station, projects sensory information to the cortex
Damage to the thalamus affects sensory and motor function
Thalamocortical system: Cortex and thalamus form an anatomic and functional unit
note
Integrates sensory information from various areas
Computes spatial coordinates of body and surroundings
Includes Wernicke’s Area for language comprehension
Parieto-Occipito Temporal Association Area:
Shaped like pyramids
Project output fibers downward to the spinal cord
Source of large subcortical association fiber bundles
Pyramidal Neurons
Layers of the Cerebral Cortex and their functions (3)
Layers 1-3: Intracortical association functions
Layer 4: Sensory input termination
Layer 5: Projects to the spinal cord
Analyze and interpret signals from multiple regions of motor and sensory cortices
Examples include prefrontal and parieto-occipital association areas
Association Areas in the Cerebral Cortex:
Located in the prefrontal cortex
Responsible for word formation and speech articulation
Works closely with Wernicke’s Area for language expression
Broca’s Area:
Involved in planning complex motor activities
Receives pre-analyzed sensory information
Essential for motor planning and elaboration of thoughts
Prefrontal Association Areas:
Converts visually perceived words into meaningful information
Lesions can cause agraphia (inability to write) and alexia (inability to read)
Angular Gyrus:
Concerned with behavior, emotions, and motivation
Part of the limbic system
Plays a role in learning and memory consolidation
Limbic Association Area:
Involved in remembering faces
Includes regions contiguous with the visual cortex and associated with the limbic system
Lesions can lead to prosopagnosia (inability to recognize faces)
Area for Facial Recognition:
Highly developed in the dominant hemisphere
Interprets meaning transmitted between sensory areas
Damage results in loss of intellectual function
Wernicke’s Area:
Processes visual information and language-related functions
Damage may cause word blindness (alexia)
Angular Gyrus:
A rare neurological disorder consisting of tetrad symptoms which include impairment in calculations, discriminating their own fingers, inability to write by hands, and impairment of distinguishing left and right
Jerk’s Man Syndrome
One hemisphere is usually larger and preferred for processing
Highly developed areas include Wernicke’s area and angular gyrus
Dominant Hemisphere:
Elaborates thoughts and plans complex motor activities
Damage can result in loss of problem-solving abilities and social responses
Prefrontal Association Areas: