Neuro - Cerebral cortex Flashcards
What are the 4 lobes?
Occipital frontal parietal temporal
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
Regulating and initiating motor function Language Cognitive functions Attention Memory
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Sensation - touch and pain
Sensory aspects of language
Spatial orientation and self-perception
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
Process visual information
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
Process auditory information
Emotions
Memories
What makes up the limbic lobe?
The amygdala
Hippocampus
Mammillary body
Cingulate gyrus
What is the function of the limbic lobe?
Learning Memory Emotion Motivation Reward
What is the function of the insular cortex?
Visceral sensation Autonomic control Interoception Auditory processing Visual vestibular integration - communication from visual input and balance organs
What does grey matter contain?
Neuronal cell bodies and glial cells
What does white matter contain?
Myelinated neuronal axons, arranged in tracts
What are the different types of fibres within the white matter tracts and what parts of the brain do they connect?
Association fibres - connect areas within the same hemisphere
Commissural fibres - connect homologous structures in left and right hemispheres
Projection fibres - connect cortex and lower brain structures
What types of association fibres are there?
Short - connect areas within same lobe
Long - connect areas in different lobes
What type of projection fibres are there?
Efferent
Afferent
What are the differences between the primary and secondary/association cortices?
Primary:
Function is predictable
Organised topographically
Symmetry between left and right
Secondary/association:
Function less predictable
Not organised topographically
Left-right symmetry weak or absent
What occurs due to parietal lobe lesions?
Contralateral neglect - lack of awareness on side of body opposite to the hemisphere the lesion occurred in
What occurs due to temporal lobe lesions?
Agnosia - inability to recognise
Effect of lesion to Broca’s area?
Expressive aphasia - poor production of speech, comprehension intact
Effect of lesion to wernicke’s area?
Receptive aphasia - poor comprehension of speech, production is fine
Effect of lesions to primary visual cortex?
Blindness
Effect of lesion to visual association area?
Deficits in interpretations of visual information
E.g. prosopagnosia
How is function of the cerebral cortex measured?
PET scans - blood flow directly to a brain region when doing a certain activity or action
fMRI - amount of blood oxygen in a brain region
Encephalography - electrical signals measured
