Neuroanatomy- Auditory/ Vestibular and Visual Pathways

Question 1

Which bone of the skull contains the auditory/vestibular system?

Answer 1

Temporal

Question 2

Which cranial nerve is associated with hearing?

Answer 2

CNVIII

Question 3

Which foramina does CNVIII pass through?

Answer 3

Internal acoustic meatus

Question 4

What is the role of the spiral ganglion?

Answer 4

Bipolar neurons stimulated by hair cells carrying action potentials from organ of Corti to cochlear nuclei in pons

Question 5

Where is the primary auditory cortex found?

Answer 5

Inferior to the lateral fissure and the central sulcus on left side of brain

Question 6

Where do fibres carrying information about low/high frequency sound information end up in the auditory cortex?

Answer 6

Low frequency= anterolateral part

High frequency= posteromedial part

Question 7

What is aphasia?

Answer 7

Inability to use language

Question 8

What are clinical signs of damage to Broca’s area?

Answer 8

Difficulty producing language, use few words and only say most important words in sentence
No difficulty comprehending language
Motor or expressive aphasia

Question 9

What are the clinical signs of damage to Wernicke’s area?

Answer 9

Difficulty comprehending language.
Defects from words out of order to meaningless words
Sensory or receptive aphasia

Question 10

What information is used to maintain equilibrium?

Answer 10

Vision
Proprioception
Vestibular Apparatus (Labyrinth)

Question 11

Which cranial nerve is associated with balance?

Answer 11

CNVIII Vestibular nerve

Question 12

Where does vestibular information project on the cerebral cortex?

Answer 12

Bilateral, less well defined

No agreed region of brain that is exclusively for vestibular stimulation

Question 13

Optic tract wraps around which part of the brainstem?

Answer 13

Midbrain

Question 14

Where are visual areas on the cortex?

Answer 14

Primary visual cortex and visual association cortex are in occipital area of brain behind parietal-occipital sulcus

Question 15

The lateral geniculate nucleus is associated with visual/auditory cortex?

Answer 15

Lateral= visual

Question 16

The medial geniculate nucleus is associated with visual/auditory cortex?

Answer 16

Medial= auditory

Question 17

In relation to the calcimine sulcus where does the lower visual field vs upper visual field project to the gyrus?

Answer 17

Lower= gyrus superior to calcarine sulcus
Upper= gyrus inferior to calcarine sulcus

Question 18

In comparison to the rest of the visual field, does the macula occupy a greater/smaller proportion of the visual cortex?

Answer 18

Greater for higher acuity

Question 19

What are the two brain areas that are involved in eye movement?

Answer 19

Visual cortex

Frontal eye field

Question 20

Which type of eye movements is the visual cortex responsible for?

Answer 20

Movements in response to visual stimuli e.g. tracking moving objects

Question 21

Which type of eye movements are the frontal eye fields responsible for?

Answer 21

“Movements of command”

Movements independent of moving visual stimuli

Question 22

What is the difference between movements of command and tracking movements?

Answer 22

Tracking movements are smooth
Movements of command are “jumpy”
Example: move eyes from left to right then do it following a finger

Question 23

If vision is lost in the same visual field in both eyes, what is the term for this and the opposite of this?

Answer 23

Homonymous

Opposite of this would be heteronymous

Question 24

What are association fibres in the white matter?

Answer 24

Fibres that connect cortical sites lying in the same hemisphere

Question 25

What are commissural fibres in the white matter?

Answer 25

Fibres that connect one hemisphere to the other, usually connecting areas with similar function

Question 26

What are projection fibres in the white matter?

Answer 26

Fibres that connect hemispheres to deeper structures including thalamus, corpus striatum, brain stem and spinal cord