Higher Cortical Function Flashcards
What are the inputs and output to and from the cerebral cortex - where do they come from and where do they go
Most inputs are from the thalamus and other cortical areas, important input is reticular formation
Outputs are to projection fibres going down to brainstem and cord, comissural fibres between lobes, associated fibres connecting nearby regions of the cortex in same hemisphere
Name and briefly describe the functions of the frontal lobe
Motor function - primary motor cortex. Damaged causes contralateral weakness
Expression of speech - left hemisphere. Broca’s area. Damage can cause expressive dysphagia
Behaviour regulation/judgement - prefrontal cortex located here. Inhibitory neurones develop to prevent abnormal, impulsive behaviours
Cognition - prefrontal cortex. Damage acuses difficulty with complex tasks
Eye movements - frontal eye fields
Continence - cortical areas for maintaining continence
Name and briefly describe the functions of the parietal lobe
Sensory - primary sensory cortex. Damage results in contralateral anaesthesia
Comprehension of speech - part of Wernicke’s area. Damage causes receptive dysphagia
Body image - acknowledgement that body exists
Awareness of external environment - acknowledgement that things exist in external enviroment. Right side damage leads to neglect
Calculating and writing
What structures run through the parietal and temporal lobes and why is this important if there is damage to these lobes
Superior optic radiation - through parietal. Leads to contralateral inferior homonymous quadrantanopia
Inferior optic radiation - through temporal. Leads to contralateral superior homonymous quadrantanopia
Name and briefly describe the functions of the temporal lobe
Hearing - primary auditory cortext on superior surface, near Wernicke’s area
Olfaction - primary olfactory cortex on inferomedial aspect
Memory - hippocampus is found within temporal lobe
Emotion - contains limbic structures like hippocampus and amygdala
What are the differences between the left and right hemispheres
Left hemisphere does sequential processing and deals with right side of body. Does language, math and logic
Right hemisphere does whole body processing and attends both halves of space. Does body image, visuospatial awareness, emotion, musical ability
What is hemispatial neglect
Where a patient ignores the left side/space -> will only focus on right side of a picture or page
Usually caused by right parietal lobe stroke
Left parietal lobe lesion will not cause neglect as right parietal deals with both halves of space so patient will not ignore any side
Name a syndrome that can develop if there is destruction of the corpus callosum
Alien hand syndrome
Where the hemispheres cannot communicate with each other so the hands do not know what the other one is doing
Name three structures that make up the language pathways
Broca’s area
Werincke’s area
Arcuate fasciculus - connects the two areas
Describe Broca’s area and what happens if there is damage to the area
Found in inferolateral frontal lobe, near the primary motor cortex that deals with mouth and pharynx
Is responsible for production of speech as a pattern generator
Damage to broca’s area result in broca’s/expressive dysphagia where the patient understands what is being said but cannot respond as they cannot form words
Describe wernicke’s area and what happens if there is damage to the area
Wernicke’s area is found at parieto-temporal junction, near the primary auditory complex
Responsible for comprehension of speech
Damage to the area causes wernicke’s/receptive dysphagai where patient cannot understand what is being said but speaks fluently
Describe the pathway for repeating a heard word
Signal sent from ear travels to primary auditory cortex
Signal then sent to wernicke’s area which processes the sound into a word
Signal from wernicke’s sent via arcuate fasciculus to broca’s area which then sends signal to primary motor cortex
Describe the pathway for speaking a written word
Signal send from visual cortex to the wernicke’s area which processes signal into words
Wernicke’s then sends a signal to broca’s area via arcuate fasciculus
Signal then send to primary motor cortex
Describe the pathway for speaking a thought
Thought arises from many regions of the cerebral cortex and then converges on to wernicke’s area
Signal then sent to broca’s area via arcuate fasciculus
Signal then sent to primary motor cortex
What are the different types of memory
Declarative/explicit - factual information. Cerebral cortex
Non-declarative/implicit - motor skills and emotion. Subcortical structures and cerebellum
Short term - stored as reverberations/echos in cortical circuits
Long term - stored in cerebral cortex, cerebellum, etc. Requires consolidation
