Lecture 31- The Brain I Flashcards
Four main regions of the Brain
- The cerebral hemispheres include the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes and the basal nuclei (ganglia).
- The diencephalon includes the thalamus and hypothalamus.
- The brain stem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata.
- The cerebellum
Brain folds
Raised region- gyrus
Wrinkle- sulcus
Deep wrinkle- fissure
Grey matter
In CNS consists of short non myelinated neurons and neuron cell bodies
Brain stem has additional Grey matter nuclei scattered within white matter
Cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum have an outer layer of grey matter called the cortex
White matter
Consists of myelinated and non myelinated axons
Cerebral white matter
Responsible for communication. Between cerebral areas and cerebral cortex and lower CNS centres
Fibres that make up cerebral white matter - association fibres
tracts of cerebral white matter that run horizontally, connecting different parts of the same hemisphere.
Fibres that make up cerebral white matter- commissural fibres
run horizontally and connect corresponding areas of grey matter in the two hemispheres, allowing the hemispheres to function together as a whole
Fibres that make up cerebral white matter- projection fibres
run vertically,and connect the cerebral cortex to the lower brain or cord centres
Cerebrum
Largest region of the brain separated into right and left hemispheres
Cerebral region hemispheres (3 regions)
the superficial cortex of grey matter
internal white matter
and areas of grey matter deep within the white matter
the basal nuclei.
Four lobes
frontal
parietal
temporal
and occipital.
A fifth region, called the insula, forms part of the floor of the lateral sulcus and is covered by the lobes.
Cerebral cortex
location of the conscious mind, allowing us to communicate, remember, and understand. It has motor areas, sensory areas, and association areas.
Contralateral control
each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
Lateralization of function
there is specialization of one side of the brain for certain functions.
Primary motor cortex
located in the precentral gyrus
allows conscious control of skilled voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.
Premotor cortex
Region controlling learned motor skills
Broca’s area
motor area that controls muscles
involved in making words when speaking or writing.
Cortical homunculus
artistic depiction of how the human body would look if the body parts were scaled proportionately
to the size of the region of you cerebral cortex that processes sensory information from those body parts
Primary somatosensory cortex
processes sensory information from the body, such as touch and temperature, as well as the location of stimulation.
It is located in the postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe.
Somatosensory association cortex
Integrates sensory information and produces an understanding of the stimulus being felt.
Primary visual cortex and visual association area
in the occipital lobe receive and interpret visual stimuli.
Primary auditory cortex and auditory association area
in the temporal lobe.
They allow detection and recognition of sound
Vestibular cortex
in the parietal lobe and the insula.
It is responsible for awareness of balance
Olfactory cortex
Processes odours
Found in inferior frontal lobe and insula
Gustatory cortex
Perceives taste
Found in inferior frontal lobe and insula
Visceral sensory areas
the insula are involved
in conscious awareness of visceral sensation.
Anterior association area (prefrontal cortex)
involved with intellect, cognition, recall, and personality.
It is closely linked to the limbic system.
Posterior association area
aids in recognition of patterns and faces, as well as understanding of written and spoken language.
This includes Wernicke’s area, which links words and meanings.
Limbic association area
deals with emotions surrounding situations and includes the cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and hippocampus.
Lateralization of cortical functioning
Each cerebral hemisphere has unique control over abilities not shared by the other half
In many cases, the left hemisphere dominates language abilities, math and logic.
the right hemisphere dominates visual-spatial skills, intuition, emotion, and artistic and musical skills.
Both sides of the brain are involved in virtually all skills and processes.
Basal nuclei
consist of a group of subcortical nuclei that have overlapping motor control with the cerebellum
involved in deciding which action you should take and inhibiting other actions.
