lecture 5 - functions of the cortex

Question 1

the cortex - a recap

Answer 1

Key points to remember:
1. Divided into 2 hemispheres.
2. Sulci and gyri – give the brain it’s textured look!
Sulci – think “sunken”
Gyri – bumps
3. Grey and white matter- grey = cell bodies, white = axons

diagram in notes

Question 2

Key terms: a recap

Answer 2

• Anterior (rostral)
• Posterior (caudal)
• Dorsal (superior) - top
• Ventral (inferior) - bottom
• Medial - middle
• Lateral - side of brain
  Why? Names of brain regions often refer to where they are (e.g. ventral tegmental area, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex)

diagram in notes

Question 3

main subdivisions of the cortex

Answer 3

frontal lobe = planning, reasoning, imitation, attention

motor cortex = where Brin sends info to body telling you how to move

somatosensory cortex = to do with taste and touch

parietal lobe = speech

primary cortex = direct input from senses

association cortex = integrates information

occipital lobe = visual info

temporal lobe = hearing, smell, facial recognition

medial temporal lobe = learning and memory

diagram in notes

Question 4

wilder and penfield 1891 - 1976

Answer 4

put electrodes onto brain to stimulate areas
patients awake so can report what experiencing

Question 5

Penfiled and boldrey 1937

Answer 5

diagram in notes

areas labelled based on what patients reported or performed

primary motor cortex stimulated caused movement

somatosensory cortex to do with sensation

Question 6

cortical map
motor and somatosensory maps - phantom limb syndrome

Answer 6

diagram in notes

when somatosensory Cortex for limb is still there so brain doesn’t know its gone

Question 7

To summarise

Answer 7

• Frontal lobe – planning, reasoning, inhibition, attention, etc.
• Parietal lobe – speech, taste, reading etc.
• Temporal lobe – hearing, face recognition, memory etc.
• Occipital lobe – vision
• Primary cortex – receives direct input from senses
  Association cortices – receives and integrates information from a range of other areas (then frontal association cortex plans appropriate behavioural response)

Question 8

cognitive neuropsychology

Answer 8

• Brain damage. For example:
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) – motorbike accident / car crash / American football “dings” / boxing
• Progressive brain injury – Huntington’s disease / dementia / Parkinson’s
• Stroke
• Surgery (e.g., lobotomy)
• Bacterial infection…
  Huge global health issue, and cases increasing particularly of TBI.
  Damage to different regions causes different symptoms…

Question 9

Frontal lobe damage - odd behaviours

Answer 9

patient who manually evacuated her bowels - she couldn’t stop herself from doing it and did it in public

patient with difficulty with violent and aggressive behaviours and if got angry would take off her prosthetic leg and throw it at people - this aggressive and violent tendency results from frontal lobe damage and have issues suppressing it

Question 10

frontal lobe dysfunction - Phineas gage

Answer 10

1948 - Damage to frontal lobe as metal pole went through his head and took out a portion of his temporal lobe : personality changes and loss of social inhibition - before was respectable and had christian morals and after was a womaniser and had lots of sexual inhibition

Question 11

dementia - picks disease

Answer 11

Pick’s disease affects the frontal lobe
frontal part of brain shrinks
have less control over your behaviour - impairments in reasoning, memory and lacking social awareness and inhibition