Human Brain Overview: Flashcards
What is the average weight of the human brain?
1400 grams (3 pounds), making up only 2% of the body’s total weight.
How do the cerebral hemispheres compare in size?
They are smaller than expected, about the size of two clenched fists.
What is the cerebral cortex (neocortex)?
A thick sheet of tissue responsible for complex functions.
Composed mainly of neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, and axons.
Appears gray due to cell bodies and dendrites (called gray matter).
What is the appearance of white matter in the brain?
Appears white due to myelin, which insulates axons and facilitates signal transmission.
What are gyri and sulci?
Gyri: Ridges of brain tissue.
Sulci: Grooves between the gyri.
They increase the surface area, allowing more cortex to fit in the skull.
Two-thirds of the cortex is hidden within these folds.
What are the four major lobes of the brain?
Frontal Lobe: Involved in movement planning and high-level cognition.
Primary motor cortex in the precentral gyrus controls voluntary movement.
Parietal Lobe: Involved in sensory processing and spatial cognition.
Primary somatosensory cortex in the postcentral gyrus processes touch sensations.
Temporal Lobe: Processes auditory information and is involved in language and memory.
Occipital Lobe: Primarily responsible for vision.
What is the Sylvian fissure (lateral sulcus)?
It divides the temporal lobe from the rest of the brain.
What is the central sulcus?
It divides the frontal and parietal lobes.
How do the four lobes of the brain interact?
Complex cognition and behavior are mediated by interactions between all four lobes.
What connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain?
The corpus callosum allows communication between them.
What do lower brain regions control?
They control life-sustaining functions such as heart rate, reflexes, and balance.
What does somatotopic organization refer to?
The primary motor cortex and somatosensory cortex have a precise mapping of the contralateral body.
How does the embryonic CNS develop?
- It starts as a tube filled with fluid.
- Three swellings form at the head end: forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
- The rest of the neural tube becomes the spinal cord.
What are the two subdivisions of the forebrain that form by 50 days?
- Telencephalon: Becomes the cerebral hemispheres, including the cortex and some deeper structures.
- Diencephalon: Forms the thalamus and hypothalamus, which are subcortical structures of the forebrain.
What does the hindbrain develop into?
- Cerebellum
- Pons
- Medulla
- These structures, along with the midbrain, are collectively referred to as the brainstem (sometimes including the diencephalon).
What shape does the brain maintain during development?
The brain maintains a fluid-filled tube shape, which forms the cerebral ventricles in the adult brain.
: How are the major brain regions subdivided?
- The major brain regions (forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain) can be further subdivided into specific structures.
- Within these regions, nuclei(clusters of neurons) and tracts (bundles of axons) organize neural functions.
What is the difference between nuclei and ganglia?
- Nuclei: Collections of neurons in the CNS.
- Ganglia: Collections of neurons outside the CNS.
What are tracts and nerves?
- Tracts: Bundles of axons within the CNS.
- Nerves: Similar bundles of axons outside the CNS.
What is true about the functions of the different brain regions?
- Each brain region serves multiple functions.
- Research into brain function and organization is ongoing.
- Detailed discussions of specific brain structures and their functions will be explored in later chapters.
