Higher Function Flashcards
What are the six layers of the cerebral cortex?
- Layer I (Molecular)
- Layer II (External Granule)
- Layer III (External Pyramidal)
- Layer IV (Internal Granule)
- Layer V (Internal Pyramidal)
- Layer VI (Multiform)
What are the three major types of cell types in the cerebral cortex?
Pyramidal, Stellate, and Fusiform
This cell type in the cerebral cortex is a source of corticospinal projections and are the major efferent cell.
Pyramidal cells
This cell type in the cerebral cortex has short axons, which function as interneurons. Excitatory neurons release glutamate and inhibitory neurons release GABA.
Granule cells
This cell type in the cerebral cortex is the least numerous of the three and gives rise to output fibers from the cortex.
Fusiform cells
Most ouput leaves the cerebral cortex via what layers?
Layer V and VI
Most incoming sensory signals terminate in what layer?
Layer IV
Most intracortical association functions of the cerebral cortex are associated with what layers?
Layers I, II, and III
These areas of the brain integrate or associate info from diverse sources. They make up a large percent of the human cortex.
Association Areas
These association areas of the brain are involved with prolonged thought processes-elaboration of thought. In addition they are involved with executive functions of behavior, working memory and the processing of emotion.
Prefrontal association areas
This association area of the brain is involved with behavior, emotions, and motivation.
Limbic association area
This association area deals with the analysis of spatial coordinates of the body, it is an area for language comprehension, an area for naming objects, and an area for recognition of faces/complex form.
Parieto-occipitotemporal association area
This condition is characterized by impaired recognition of familiar faces
Prosopagnosia
This condition occurs when the connections between the fusiform gyrus and the amygdala become damaged/lesioned. The subject thinks close relatives are imposters due to lack of emotion evoked by visually seeing them.
Capgras syndrome
What are some functions of the prefrontal association area?
- Judgement
- Planning for the future
- Holding and organizing events from memory for prospective action
- Working memory
If the dominant brain hemisphere sustains damage early in life, the non-dominant hemisphere can develop those capabilities of speech and language comprehension. What is this describing?
Plasticity
This brain hemisphere is specialized for language based intellectual functions, interpretative functions of symbolism, understanding spoken, written words, analytical functions, and speech.
Usually left (dominant)
This brain hemisphere is specialized for music, non verbal visual experiences, and spatial relations.
Usually right (non dominant)
This structure allows for bidirectional communication between most of the two cortical hemispheres except for the anterior portions of the temporal lobe. It allows one hemisphere to inhibit the other.
Corpus callosum
This structure allows for bidirectional communication between the anterior portions of the temporal lobe. It also allows for amygdala-emotional response transfer.
Anterior commissure
This term is used to describe your ability to reconstruct the whole from a degraded fragment.
Memory
This part of the brain is made up of the archicortex and paleocortex. It includes the hippocampal formation (hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and subiculum).
Allocortex (10% of cerebral cortex)
What three layers does the hippocampus contain?
I, V, VI
What three layers does the dentate gyrus contain?
I, IV, VI
The hippocampal formation receives primary input from the entorhinal cortex of the parahippocampal gyrus through what pathways?
Perforant and alveolar pathways
The hippocampal formation plays an important role in what types of memory?
Declarative and episodic memory
The hippocampal formation functions as what, where sensory information is increasingly analyzed and refined as it passes from neuronal level to level.
Cortical gutter
These are presumably the principal cells in each of the layers that fire in complex bursts when an animal moves through a specific location in an environment.
Hippocampal place cells
Changes in sensitivity of synaptic transmission between neurons as a result of previous mental activity cause new pathways or facilitated pathways to develop what?
Memory traces
What are positive memories associated with?
Facilitation
What are negative memories associated with?
Habituation (suppression)
How long does short term memory last?
Seconds to minutes
How long does long term memory last?
Years to a lifetime
