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Biological and cognitive psychology > Lecture 4 > Flashcards

Lecture 4 Flashcards

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1
Q 
Define the following:
Lateral
Medial
Dorsal
Ventral
Anterior
Posterior
A 
Towards the edge
Towards the midline
Towards the back
Towards the stomach
The front
The back
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2
Q

If referring to dorsal in the brain, where abouts are you talking about?
Why is this?

A

Towards the top of the head

This is because humans walk upright so directions are rotated 90 degrees in relation to the spinal cord.

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3
Q

What are the planes of the brain

A 
Horizontal plane (across the middle of the brain)
Frontal/coronal plane (through the middle of the side of the brain)
Sagittal/midsagittal plane (down the middle of the brain)
Cross section (a cut at a right angle along the long section at base of brain)
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4
Q

Split up the sections of the nervous system

A

There is the CNS and the PNS. The PNS consists of the ANS and the SNS. The ANS consists of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.

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5
Q

What does the ANS do?

A

It regulates the body’s internal environment, it controls involuntary muscles like the heart (the sensory signals are afferent to the CNS), it’s unconscious and automatic.

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6
Q

What does the SNS do?

Does it overlap with the ANS?

A

It interacts with the external environment, it controls voluntary muscles (the sensory signals are afferent to the CNS), it’s conscious and voluntary.
Yes, for example facial expressions can be voluntary and involuntary.

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7
Q

What does the sympathetic nervous system do?

A

It prepares the organs for vigorous activity, increases breathing and heart rate and decreases the digestive system.

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8
Q

What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?

A

Promotes energy conserving and non-emergency functions, does the opposite of the sympathetic. However, the two can work at the same time.

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9
Q

Describe the structure of the spinal cord

A

The spinal cord is found in the spinal column, it communicates with sense organs and muscles below the head. It’s segmented, each segment has grey and white matter. The H-structure in the middle consists of cell bodies of motor neurons. The rest is white matter, which consists of myelinated axons. In the centre there’s a central canal, which is a space filled with cerebrospinal fluid. Also, in each segment, a pair of sensory nerves (bringing information from the skin) enter via the dorsal root ganlgion and a pair of motor nerves exit the segment.

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10
Q

Describe the function of the spinal cord

A

The area of the spine corresponds to the body, for example, the bottom of the spine corresponds to the legs. If a segment is cut, the brain loses sensation from that segment and all below. This happens in paraplegia when the nerves of a particular segment are innervated. However, this is useful as we can inject anaesthetic into a segment to remove all feeling from that area and below. As it doesn’t always involve the conscious decisions, relfex arcs can happen (moving our hand away from heat). This can happen when someone is brain dead. A reflex arc doesn’t involve the brain, but the brain is aware of the response, an intrinsic nerve is involved in the spinal cord. This has a clear evolutionary advantage. This allows doctors to know the strength and integrity of the PNS and CNS, e.g. hammer on the knee. Low response = problem with PNS, overly high response = problem with the CNS.

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11
Q

Define reflex arc

A

Circuit from sensory to muscle response

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12
Q

What are the 3 major brain divisions, list the 5 other divisions found in each major division

A
  1. Forebrain, subsections: telencephalon, diencephalon.
  2. Midbrain, subsections: mesencephalon.
  3. Hindbrain, subsections: metencephalon, myelencephalon.
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13
Q

From a midsagittal viewpoint, list the 12 parts of the brain.
Then draw the brain and label it.

A
  1. Medulla
  2. Pons
  3. Pituitary gland
  4. Hypothalamus
  5. Corpus callosum
  6. Frontal lobe
  7. Parietal lobe
  8. Thalamus
  9. Occipital lobe
  10. Superior/inferior colliculi
  11. Midbrain
  12. Cerebellum
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14
Q

What components does the hindbrain consist of?
Describe the function of each
Label a diagram

A
  1. The medulla - It consists of tracts which connect the body and the rest of the brain. It controls vital reflexes like breathing, salivating, vomiting etc.
  2. Reticular formation aka the reticular activating system - It plays a role in arousal, sleep, attention, cardiac and more.
  3. Pons - This is where axons from each side of the hemisphere cross. This allows signals from the right side of the body to be interpreted in the left hemisphere.
  4. Cerebellum - This is a sensorimotor structure and it has cognitive functions like cross-modal attention shifts, e.g. the party effect.
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15
Q

What components does the midbrain consist of?
Describe the function of each
Label a diagram

A
  1. Tectum - This consists of the superior colliculi (which is more dorsal than the IC) and the inferior colliculi. The superior has visual functions an the inferior has auditory functions.
  2. Tegmentum - This consists of the red nucleus, substantia nigra and nuclei from the reticular formation. It has a sensorimotor function and deteriorates in Parkinson’s disease.
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16
Q

The forebrain contains the diencephalon, what are the components in this?
Describe the function of each
Label a diagram

A
  1. Thalamus - This has a right and a left side. This involves all sensory relays apart from olfactory information. The signals are then distributed.
  2. Hypothalamus - This regulates motivated behaviours (hunger, sexual motivations etc.) and regulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
17
Q

The forebrain contains the telencephalon, what are the components in this?
Describe the function of each

A
  1. Basal ganglia - This consists of several structures that all play a role in voluntary motor responses. The pathway from the substantia nigra to the striatum in the basal ganglia deteriorates in Parkinson’s disease. Deep brain stimulation via electrodes in this brain region can reduce the symptoms, e.g. the tremor
  2. Limbic system - This also contains a set of structures like the amygdala, the hippocampus and the cingulate cortex. This system regulates motivated behaviours (eating, drinking, sexual activity) and motivated emotions (anxiety, aggression).
  3. Cerebral cortex - This is the outer surface of the cerebral hemispheres. The SA of the cortex is significantly increased by fissures (large furrows), sulci (small furrows) and gyri (the ridges between furrows). The neurons communicate across the hemispheres via the corpus callosum, the brain is connected via the anterior and posterior commisure. This has many functions in each lobe. Deep within the brain are ventricles filled with cerebrospinal fluid.
18
Q

List some facts about the telencephalon

A

It’s the largest division of the human brain, it initiates voluntary movement, interprets sensory input and it mediates complex cognitive processes.

19
Q

What are the 3 main fissures in the brain?

A

The longitudinal fissure - This is what separates the two hemispheres.
The central fissure - This runs vertically (down) along the lateral sides of each hemisphere.
The lateral fissure - This is at the height of ears and it runs horizontally inwards on the lateral sides of each hemisphere.

20
Q

What are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex?
Each lobe is present in each hemisphere.
Label a diagram

A

Frontal lobe
Parietal lobe
Temporal lobe
Occipital lobe

21
Q

What is the function of the occipital lobe?

A

It receives input from the thalamic nuclei which receives visual input. The posterior pole of this lobe is the primary visual cortex. Also called V1 or striate cortex. If V1 is damaged, the related part of the visual field is blinded.

22
Q

What is the function of the parietal lobe?

A

This lobe is posterior to the central sulcus. It contains an area called the postcentral gyrus which is the primary somatosensory cortex or the sensory homunculus. It receives information from touch sensations and muscle stretch receptors. This lobe also contains areas involved with spatial and numerical information and attentional processes. If there’s a lesion to the right of the lobe, it results in hemispatial neglect, for example people with disregard information from the opposite side of the body like visual field. No attention is given to the left visual field if the right hemisphere is damaged.

23
Q

What is the function of the temporal lobe?

A

It receives auditory information. The left part of the lobe understands spoken language, the medial part controls memory (the hippocampus) and the inferior part receives information involving complex aspects of vision aka perception of movement and the recognition of faces (FFA)/places (PPA).

24
Q

What is the function of the frontal lobe?

A

It’s anterior to the central sulcus. It contains the precentral gyrus which is the primary motor cortex. The anterior portion is called the profrontal cortex. It receives input from all sensory systems and is involved in higher cognitive functions like working memory. A prefrontal lobotomy involves a surgical disconnection of the prefrontal cortex.

25
Q

When are neurons developed and list 5 processes that are involved in the development?

A

Before birth but olfactory and hippocampus neurons are formed after birth. They’re produced from stem cells, they then move to their destinations in the brain, the axon grows, follwed by the dendrites. Myelination then occurs throughout life and when your learn you things, synapses form.

26
Q

Discuss neuron death and synapse rearrangement

A

50% more neurons than are needed are produced. To begin with, synapses are formed haphazardly but then neural darwinism occurs. Essentially the fittest survive, and incoming activity of the axons results in synaptic rearrangement so that the synapses become more focused. Neurons that aren’t activated usually don’t survive. As you gain experience, more synaptogenesis occurs and there’s more rearrangement.

27
Q

When brain damage occurs, what are the mechanisms of recovery?

A

Axons in the PNS regrow, sprouting occurs where new axon branches are formed in the response to the loss of axons. Denervation supersensitvity occurs where the remaining neurotransmitters become more sensitive, this can lead to chronic pain. Sensory representations are reorganised when a limb is lost, so axons for a different site, sprout to the synaptic sites where the limb used to be, which can cause phantom limb. Learned adjustments of behaviour can occur where you train the remaining abilities you have.

Biological and cognitive psychology (21 decks)

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