Lesson 6: Brain Anatomy (cont.)

Question 1

How is the brain initially formed?

Answer 1

Neural tube (first month of human development)
- Symmetrical cell division: until day 40. One progenitor cell splits into two new progenitor cells
- Asymmetrical cell division: until day 125. Neurogenesis: progenitor cell splits into one progenitor cell and one neuron/glial cell
- Apoptosis: after day 125. A process of programmed cell death.

Question 2

What are the brain structures of the hindbrain?

Answer 2

Medulla oblongata, pons, cerebellum

Question 3

What is the medulla oblongata?

Answer 3

Contains a collection of brain nuclei that regulate different autonomic (involuntary) functions, such as heart rate and blood flow, breathing, vomiting, sneezing, etc.
- area postrema: blood-brain barrier is weak here
- reticular formation: sleep and arousal

Question 4

What is the pons?

Answer 4

Relays information between the cerebrum and cerebellum
- contains reticular formation

Question 5

What is the cerebellum?

Answer 5

Motor control
- does not initiate movement, but contributes to its coordination, precision, and accurate timing
- makes movements look smooth and natural

Question 6

What are the brain structures in the midbrain?

Answer 6

Tectum and tegmentum

Question 7

What is the tectum?

Answer 7

Top 2 bumps are the superior colliculi: orienting to things seen in peripheral vision
Bottom 2 bumps are the inferior colliculi: orienting to unexpected sounds

Question 8

What is the tegmentum?

Answer 8

Processing pain and recognizing threats

Question 9

What are the relays in the brain structures?

Answer 9

Cerebral cortex and cerebellum
Thalamus and pons
Hypothalamus and medulla oblongata

Question 10

What are the brain structures in the forebrain?

Answer 10

Cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, thalamus, and hypothalamus

Question 11

What is the hypothalamus?

Answer 11

Bilateral structure which regulate autonomic nervous system activity
- survival (four F’s)
- body temperature, sleep-wake cycles, hunger, sex, aggression, etc.
- links the nervous system to the endocrine system (via the pituitary gland)

Question 12

What is the thalamus?

Answer 12

Relay ascending sensory information to different regions of the cerebral cortex

Question 13

What is the cerebral cortex?

Answer 13

6 layers in mammals: neurons are interconnected between layers in a way that gives rise to cortical columns
- largest site of neural integration in the central nervous system
- attention, perception, awareness, thought, memory, language, decision-making, and consciousness

Question 14

What are the names of the grooves and/or fissures in the cerebral cortex?

Answer 14

Sulci: small grooves
Fissures: large or major grooves
Gyri: ridges between sulci or fissures

Question 15

What are the two important fissures and the sulcus of the brain?

Answer 15

Lateral fissure: separates frontal and temporal lobe
Longitudinal fissure: separates the left and right hemisphere
Central sulcus: separates rostral and caudal

Question 16

What unifies the two cerebral hemispheres of the brain?

Answer 16

Corpus callosum

Question 17

What are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 17

Frontal lobe: motor information
Parietal lobe: touch information
Occipital lobe: visual information
Temporal lobe: auditory information

Question 18

Where are taste and smell processed in the brain?

Answer 18

Taste: insular cortex
Smell: piriform cortex

Question 19

What are the parimary cortical areas and which lobe are each associated with?

Answer 19

Frontal lobe: primary motor cortex
Parietal lobe: primary somatosensory cortex
Occipital lobe: primary visual cortex
Temporal lobe: primary auditory cortex

Question 20

Where are the prefrontal and premotor cortexes?

Answer 20

Frontal lobe

Question 21

What is the basal ganglia?

Answer 21

Regulate intentional movements, motivation, reinforcement learning, and habits
- Parkinson’s disease
- formation of habits: gets information on movement and context and sees if it was successful or unsuccessull. If it was successful, reinforces learning the movement

Question 22

What brain structures are in the limbic system?

Answer 22

Hippocampus: explicit memory formation
- damage: won’t know you learned something
Amygdala: feeling and recognition of emotions (fear)
- damage: no fear
Cingulate cortex: interconnects limbic areas of the brain