Motor function

Question 1

the centrally positioned thalamus has an essential role in ..

Answer 1

modulating and integrating the input and output of the brain

Question 2

Name the functions of the thalamus

From whom does it receive information and to whom does it send information

Answer 2

It sends information to the somatosensory cortex and is involved in motor functions
It receives information from the basal ganglia and cerebellum and sends it to the motor cortex

Question 3

The nuclei of the thalamus are most commonly classified into four groups, which are these?

Answer 3

anterior, medial, ventrolateral, posterior

Question 4

The anterior group receives its major input from..

Answer 4

the mammillary nuclei of the hypothalamus and from the presubiculum of the hippocampal formation

Question 5

the role of the anterior group is..

Answer 5

uncertain but thought to be related to memory and emotion

Question 6

Of what does the medial group consits mainly of?

Answer 6

of the mediodorsal nucleus (each of its 3 subdivisions is connected to a specific part of the frontal cortex)

Question 7

The Medial group receives input from ..

Answer 7

the basal ganglia, amygdala and midbrain

Question 8

The ventral group is important for..

Answer 8

motor control

Question 9

The ventral group carries information from..

Answer 9

the basal ganglia and cerebellum to the cortex

Question 10

The posterior group includes ..

Answer 10

the medial and lateral geniculate nucleus, lateral posterior nucleus, and the pulvinar

Question 11

The medial geniculate nucelus is a component of ..

Answer 11

the auditory system

it is organized tonotopically, and coveys auditory information to the superior temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe

Question 12

The lateral geniculate nucleus receives information from.. and conveys it to..

Answer 12

receives info from the retina and conveys it to the primary visual cortex in the occipital lobe

Question 13

Nonspecific nuclei

Answer 13

project to several cortical and subcortical regions and are located in the middle of the thalamus or within the internal medullary lamina
some of them receive inputs from the spinal cord, brain stem and cerebellum and are thought to mediate cortical arousal

Question 14

Reticular nucleus

Answer 14

= outer shell

does not project to the neocortex but to other nuclei of the thalamus (monitors input and output)

Question 15

The area of cortex devoted to each body part is not proportional to its mass but proportional to ..

Answer 15

the desity of innervation (the fineness of discrimination of body part)

Question 16

The cortex is organized into columns of cells that have a specialized function
Which role plays the size?

Answer 16

The larger the area of cortex dedicated to a function, the greater the number of columns that are dedicated to it

Question 17

at higher levels in the hierarchy of cortical connection somatosensory info is used in..

Answer 17

motor control, eye-hand coordination and memory related touch

Question 18

Define unimodal association areas

Answer 18

cortical areas involved in early stages of sensory processing concerned with only a single modality

Question 19

Define the multimodal association areas

Answer 19

combine sensory modalities (interconnected with the hippocampus)

Question 20

For what are multimodal association areas important?

Answer 20

a) important for the production of a unified percept

b) the representation of percept in memory

Question 21

Describe the process of sensory information in the cerebral cortex

Answer 21

it begins with primary sensory areas, continues in unimodal association areas, and is completed in multimodal association areas
(the process occurs in serial and parallel pathways)