Fundamental structures and processes within the Brain Flashcards
is the field of study linking the brain and other aspects of the nervous system to cognitive processing and, ultimately, to behavior.
Cognitive neuroscience
the organ in our bodies that most directly controls our thoughts, emotions, and motivations
Brain
A major goal of present research on the brain is?
to study localization of function
refers to the specific areas of the brain that control specific skills or behaviors
Localization of function
the basis for our ability to perceive, adapt to, and interact with the world around us
Nervous system
Through this system, we receive, process, and then respond to information from the environment
Nervous system
The region of the brain located toward the top and front of the brain
Forebrain
It comprises the cerebral cortex, the basal ganglia, the limbic system, the thalamus, and the hypothalamus
Forebrain
the outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres
Cerebral cortex
It plays a vital role in our thinking and other mental processes
Cerebral cortex
True or False:
The forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain contain structures that perform essential functions for survival and for high-level thinking and feeling.
True
influences anger and aggression
Amygdala
relays information between the two cerebral hemispheres
Corpus callosum
controls thinking and sensing functions, voluntary movement
Cerebral cortex
influences anger and fear
Septum
influences learning and memory
Hippocampus
relays sensory information to cerebral cortex
Thalamus
regulates temperature, eating, sleeping, and endocrine system
Hypothalamus
reticular activating system: carries messages about sleep and arousal
Midbrain
relays information between cerebral cortex and cerebellum
Pons
coordinates fine muscle movement & balance
Cerebellum
relays nerve impulses between brain and body, controls simple reflexes
Spinal cord
are collections of neurons crucial to motor function
Basal ganglia
True or False:
Dysfunction of the basal ganglia can result in motor deficits. These deficits include tremors, involuntary movements, changes in posture and muscle tone, and slowness of movement.
True
allows us to suppress instinctive responses; helps us to adapt our behaviors flexibly in response to our changing environment and; important to emotion, motivation, memory, and learning.
Limbic system
involved in anger and fear
Septum
plays an important role in emotion as well, especially in anger and aggression
Amygdala
plays an essential role in memory formation. It is essential for flexible learning and for seeing the relations among items learned as well as for spatial memory.
Hippocampus
relays incoming sensory information through groups of neurons that project to the appropriate region in the cortex; also helps in the control of sleep and waking
Thalamus
regulates behavior related to species survival: fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating. The h____ also is active in regulating emotions and reactions to stress
Hypothalamus
The _____ plays a role in sleep.
The ____ also is important for the functioning of the endocrine system.
It is involved in the stimulation of the pituitary glands, through which a range of hormones are produced and released.
Hypothalamus
helps to control eye movement and coordination
Midbrain
RAS stands for?
Reticular Activating System
Both the __ and the ___ are essential to our having any conscious awareness of our control over our existence
RAS & Thalamus
connects the forebrain to the spinal cord
Brainstem
A structure called the P___ g__ is in the brainstem. This region seems to be essential for certain kinds of adaptive behaviors.
Periaqueductal gray (PAG)
serves as a kind of relay station because it contains neural fibers that pass signals from one part of the brain to another
Pons
also contain a portion of the RAS and nerves serving parts of the head and face
Pons
controls bodily coordination, balance, and muscle tone, as well as some aspects of memory involving procedure-related movements
Cerebellum
is evolutionarily the oldest and most primitive part of the brain. It also is the first part of the brain to develop prenatally
Hindbrain
a relatively newer addition to the brain in evolutionary terms. It is the next part of the brain to develop prenatally
Midbrain
the most recent evolutionary addition to the brain
Forebrain
plays an extremely important role in human cognition
Cerebral cortex
(singular, sulcus) are small grooves
Sulci
are large grooves
Fissures
(singular, gyrus) are bulges between adjacent sulci or fissures
Gyri
The complexity of brain function increases with the c___ a__
Cortical area
The human c___ c___ enables us to think
Cerebral cortex
True or False:
With cerebral cortex we can plan, coordinate thoughts and actions, perceive visual and sound patterns, and use language.
Without it, we would not be human.
True
What color is the surface of cerebral cortex?
Grayish
The surface of the cerebral cortex is sometimes referred to as?
Gray matter
a dense aggregate of neural fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres that allows transmission of information back and forth
Corpus callosum
are people who have undergone operations severing the corpus callosum
Split-brain patients
toward the front of the brain, is associated with motor processing and higher thought processes, such as abstract reasoning, problem solving, planning, and judgment
Frontal lobe
tends to be involved when sequences of thoughts or actions are called for and critical in producing speech
Frontal lobe
the region toward the front of the frontal lobe, is involved in complex motor control and tasks that require integration of information over time
Prefrontal cortex
at the upper back portion of the brain, is associated with somatosensory processing
Parietal lobe
receives inputs from the neurons regarding touch, pain, temperature sense, and limb position when you are perceiving space and your relationship to it
Parietal lobe
also involved in consciousness and paying attention
Parietal lobe
directly under your temples, is associated with auditory processing and comprehending language
Temporal lobe
It is also involved in your retention of visual memories; it also matches new things you see to what you have retained in visual memory
Temporal lobe
associated with visual processing
Occipital lobe
contains numerous visual areas, each specialized to analyze specific aspects of a scene, including color, motion, location, and form
Occipital lobe
are the areas in the lobes in which sensory processing occurs
Projection areas
specializes in the planning, control, and execution of movement, particularly of movement involving any kind of delayed response
primary motor cortex
Other fibers cross over the o__ c__ and go contralaterally to the opposite hemisphere
optic chiasma
They go from the left side of the visual field for each eye to the right side of the visual cortex
Neural fibers
A neural fiber that refers to the front part of the brain (literally the “nasal region”)
Rostral
A neural fiber that refers to the bottom surface of the body/brain (the side of the stomach)
Ventral
A neural fiber that literally means “tail” and refers to the back part of the body/brain
Caudal
A neural fiber that refers to the upside of the brain (it literally means “back,” and in animals the back is on the upside of the body)
Dorsal
transmit electrical signals from one location to another in the nervous system
Neurons
The __ tend to be arranged in the form of networks, which provide information and feedback to each other within various kinds of information processing
Neurons
contains the nucleus of the cell, and is responsible for the life of the neuron and connects the dendrites to the axon
Soma
are branchlike structures that receive information from other neurons, and the soma integrates the information
Dendrites
a long, thin tube that extends (and sometimes splits) from the soma and responds to the information, when appropriate, by transmitting an electrochemical signal, which travels to the terminus (end), where the signal can be transmitted to other neurons
Axon
a white, fatty substance that surrounds some of the axons of the nervous system, which accounts for some of the whiteness of the white matter of the brain
Myelin
small gaps in the myelin coating along the axon
Nodes of Ranvier
are small knobs found at the ends of the branches of an axon that do not directly touch the dendrites of the next neuron
Terminal buttons
serves as a juncture between the terminal buttons of one or more neurons and the dendrites (or sometimes the soma) of one or more other neurons; are important in cognition
Synapse
are chemical messengers for transmission of information across the synaptic gap to the receiving dendrites of the next neuron
Neurotransmitters
are synthesized by the nervous system through enzymatic actions on one of the amino acids
Monoamine neurotransmitters
are obtained directly from the amino acids in our diet without further synthesis
Amino-acid neurotransmitters
are peptide chains (molecules made from the parts of two or more amino acids)
Neuropeptides
associated with memory functions, and the loss of acetylcholine through Alzheimer’s disease has been linked to impaired memory functioning in Alzheimer’s patients.
Acetylcholine
also plays an important role in sleep and arousal
Acetylcholine
is associated with attention, learning, and movement coordination; also is involved in motivational processes, such as reward and reinforcement
Dopamine
plays an important role in eating behavior and body-weight regulation; also involved in aggression and regulation of impulsivity
Serotonin
P__ s___ and the dissection of brains have been done for centuries
Postmortem studies
To study the changing activity of the living brain, scientists must use in vivo research
Studying Live Nonhuman Animals
a brain disorder caused by a stroke
Vascular disorder
occur when the flow of blood to the brain undergoes a sudden disruption.
People who experience ___ typically show marked loss of cognitive functioning.
Stroke
usually occurs when a buildup of fatty tissue occurs in blood vessels over a period of years, and a piece of this tissue breaks off and gets lodged in arteries of the brain
Ischemic stroke
occurs when a blood vessel in the brain suddenly breaks
hemorrhagic stroke
also called neoplasms, can affect cognitive functioning in very serious ways; can either be benign or malignant
Brain tumors
a network of neurons essential to the regulation of consciousness
Reticular activating system
