Lecture 2: Brain structure and function of brain atomony Flashcards
What are the two main divisions of the nervous system?
Central Nervous System (CNS) – brain and spinal cord; Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – includes Somatic and Autonomic systems.
What are the divisions of the autonomic nervous system and their roles?
Sympathetic NS (fight/flight); Parasympathetic NS (rest/digest).
What are the major parts of the brain included in structural anatomy?
Brainstem, cerebral hemispheres, cortex, subcortical structures, white-matter tracts.
What is the difference between grey and white matter?
Grey matter: neuron bodies and dendrites (outer); White matter: myelinated axons (inner).
What are sulci and gyri?
Gyri are raised ridges; sulci are grooves/folds on the cortical surface.
What are the major sulci of the brain?
Central sulcus, lateral fissure, and parieto-occipital sulcus.
What are the anatomical directions used in brain orientation?
Anterior (rostral), posterior (caudal), superior (dorsal), inferior (ventral), medial, lateral.
What are the three main planes used to slice the brain?
Axial (horizontal), coronal (frontal), sagittal (side view).
What is the corpus callosum and what does it do?
A white matter tract connecting the two hemispheres; allows intercallosal transfer of signals.
What is Brodmann’s contribution to brain anatomy?
He mapped the cortex into areas based on cytoarchitecture—many match specific functions (e.g., V1, motor cortex).
What functions are controlled by the brainstem, thalamus, and hypothalamus?
Brainstem: arousal, respiration, digestion. Thalamus: sensory relay. Hypothalamus: circadian rhythms, glucose/fat metabolism.
What does the reticular formation control?
Arousal and sleep.
What is localisation of function?
The idea that specific brain regions are responsible for specific psychological/physiological functions.
What is the hierarchical organisation of sensory processing?
Primary areas (basic input), secondary areas (complex processing), association areas (multimodal integration).
Which functions are clearly localised?
Movement (motor cortex), touch (somatosensory), vision (V1), hearing (auditory cortex), smell and taste (olfactory, gustatory cortices).
What is the role of the thalamic nuclei in sensory processing?
They act as relays for sensory inputs to cortical areas.
How is visual information processed in the brain?
Starts in V1, then split into ‘what’ pathway (ventral: shape, color) and ‘where’ pathway (dorsal: location, motion).
What is the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) and its clinical relevance?
Region in the fusiform gyrus specialised for face recognition; damage leads to prosopagnosia.
Describe motor control organisation in the brain.
Primary motor cortex controls movement; premotor/supplementary areas plan; basal ganglia and cerebellum refine coordination.
What is the cortical homunculus?
A distorted map showing more cortical area for hands, face, and lips due to their complexity.
What is equipotentiality and who proposed it?
Proposed by Flourens: basic functions are localised, but higher cognitive functions are distributed.
What is known about the function of dlPFC?
Supports task-switching, focus, problem-solving; multifunctional and expanded in primates.
Why is Broca’s area not strictly language-specific?
It activates in non-language tasks; Fedorenko et al. (2012) found distinct subregions for language and general cognition.
What is reverse inference in neuroimaging?
Inferring psychological processes based on activation of known brain regions (e.g., V1 for visual imagery in PTSD flashbacks).
Summarise key brain organisation principles.
Basic functions use hard-wired, small regions (e.g. brainstem); complex cognition uses larger, flexible cortical and subcortical networks.
