Mammal Brains Flashcards
What do the pons and medulla do?
Autonomy functions e.g breathing and blood flow
What does the cerebellum do?
It’s the ‘little brain’ and coordinates movement sequences
What does the pituitary and hypothalamus do?
Control centre for hormones
What does the thalamus do?
Relay station for sensory info e.g sight, smell etc
What is the cerebral hemisphere?
It’s the large part of the brain
What do the left and right cerebral hemispheres do?
Receive sensory info from opposite sides of the body
Plays major roles in sensory perception, learning, memory and conscious behaviour
What percentage of body mass is the human brain?
2.1%
What are pyramidal neurons?
Neurons with pyramid shaped cell body and is the most numerous excitatory cell type in the cerebrum
Has inputs from thousands of excitatory and inhibitory synapses
What are forebrain spindle neurons?
Large pyramidal neuron but simpler structure and fewer dendrites, they are generally rare
What are mirror neurons?
They’re visual neurons that respond to the sight of objects moving in particular ways
Respond both when an animal makes a particular movement or when it sees another do the same action
What part of the brain is involved in face recognition?
The temporal lobe
What do the lateral inhibitory networks contribute to?
Detection of edges in an image
What do neurons in the visual cortex respond to?
Lines or edges= specific, vigorous responses
Dark or light spots= not much response
