Introduction to the brain Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the functions of the brain?

A

1) use sensory input to guide movement

2) use sensory input to regulate internal organs

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2
Q

What are the bumps and rigids in the cortex?

A

Gyrus

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3
Q

What are the folds and calleys in the cortex?

A

Sulcus

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4
Q

What are the 3 main parts of the brain?

A

Forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain

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5
Q

What does the forebrain use?

A

current sensory input and past experience to make (and communicate) decisions

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6
Q

What does the midbrain use?

A

current sensory input to direct movement

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7
Q

what does the hindbrain use?

A

maintains the current state; controls mouth

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8
Q

how are messages sent through the nervous system?

A

uses electrical signals. Messages are sent rapidly but the communication is costly.
Network structure determines which cells receive the messages

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9
Q

How are messages sense through the vascular system?

A

Through chemical signals (hormones).
Messages are sent more slowly but the communication is cheap.
Membrane receptors determine which cells receive the messages

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10
Q

Why are both the vascular system and nervous system used for communicating

A

We have two ways of communicating because sometimes the vascular system is not quick enough (e.g. someone about to hit you wouldn’t be responded to fast enough). We can’t just have the nervous system as it is much costlier. This is a cost-benefit trade off.

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11
Q

Order of animals existing?

A

Prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells, metazoa, bilateria, chordates, vertebrates, jawed fishes, mammals, primates, homo

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12
Q

Characteristics of prokaryotic cells

A

Membrane produces energy

DNA regulates protein

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13
Q

Characteristics of eukaryotic cells

A

Energy production is no longer in the cell membrane but now the mitochondria.

Cell membrane performs phagocytosis

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14
Q

Phagocytosis

A

white blood cell engulfs bacterium

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15
Q

Characteristics of metazoa

A

After divisions, cells are now able to stick together to form a multicellularity. Cell division. Different cells can focus on different functions.
Get a digestive chamber within the cell for more efficient use of energy.

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16
Q

What is multicellular

A

of an organism or part) having or consisting of many cells.

17
Q

What is bilateria

A

The appearance of the bilateria are the first to have bilateral symmetry. They have a proper front, back, left and right. Bilateria are our direct ancestors. Prior to this there was radial symmetry (like we see now in jelly fish). Now we have bilateral symmetry which means the mouth and anus are completely separate (as shown in the right picture). The right end of the body shows the start of the brain. This has the first appearance of muscle

18
Q

What characteristcs are there of chordates

A

After cambrian explosion.

Chordates had a stiffened rod and a recognisable tail. This is the beginning of a spinal cord

19
Q

Characteristics of a jawed fish

A

First organisms to have teeth meaning they can catch and eat food more easily. This makes them more efficient and become bigger and put more energy into the brain. They can also move their eyes separate to the rest of their body. They can maintain a gaze on a prey item. The cerebellum appears here

20
Q

characteristics of mammals

A

The key innovations here are differentiated teeth (e.g. a horse vs cat have different teeth such as enlarged canines in cats).
Mammals here tended to be insectivorous.
Primates emerged from this.

21
Q

characteristics of homo

A

Changes of hands and teeth changed before the volume of cerebral cortex increased.

22
Q

Why do teleost fish have a large optic tectum?

A

have a good sense of sight

23
Q

Why do mammals have a large olfactory bulb?

A

good sense of smell

24
Q

Why do platypus have a large bill

A

to sense through electrical perception where its prey is. A huge part of its cortex is dedicated to this perception. The bill is full of sensitive regions.

25
Q

Key points

A
  • The brain sends messages to body via nervous system (electrical signals; quick/costly) and vascular system (hormones; slow/cheap)
  • The brain can be subdivided into regions that are (loosely) associated with particular functions
  • The brains of humans and other vertebrates share a similar gross structure
  • The relative size of different brain areas indicates the functional specialisations of the animal, reflecting its ecology
  • Several of the major evolutionary changes in the brain were linked to changes in motor control and digestive efficiency