Neuroanatomy by SNP/CHC Model

Question 1

Sensory functions: vision

Answer 1

Primary visual cortex is located in the striate cortex of the occipital lobe 

Question 2

Sensory functions: auditory

Answer 2

Primary auditory cortex is located in the superior of the temporal lobe 

Question 3

Sensory functions: somatosensory (touch, pain, temperature sense, limb proprioception)

Answer 3

Located in the postcentral gyrus. Two different pathways:

A. Pain and temperature since is the anterolateral system.

B. Touch, proprioception, and movement is the dorsal column-medial lemniscal system.

Question 4

Contralateral projections

Answer 4

Vision, hearing, and touch. If the deficit is in a right-sided sense organ the deficit will show as damage in the left side of the brain that controls that sense organ. Excludes smell.

Question 5

Sensory functions: smell

Answer 5

Located in the ventral region of the anterior temporal lobe. The secondary area is located in the lateral parts of the orbitofrontal cortex. The only sense not processed by the thalamus, but instead pathways go directly to the cortex.

Question 6

Motor functions: planning movements

Answer 6

Frontal regions of the cortex. The frontal region receives information about what is happening (the ventral stream terminating in the inferior temporal cortex) And where it is happening (the dorsal stream terminating in the posterior parietal lobe).

Question 7

Visuospatial processes: primary visual pathway

Answer 7

Occipital lobe. Two distinct subsystems.

A. 90% of the optic nerve axons terminate in the lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus, the relay station of the brain.

B. The other 10% terminate at other subcortical structures, including the superior colliculus of the midbrain and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus.

Question 8

Dorsal Pathway

Answer 8

The superior longitudinal fasciculus. Specialized for recognizing where an object is located, if it is moving, and its speed and direction of movement. The where pathway.

Question 9

Ventral Pathway

Answer 9

The inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Specialized for object identification and perceiving related movements. The what pathway.

Question 10

Learning and memory: learning and retention of new information 

Answer 10

These two structures permit the storage of information until consolidation is complete. (Not the storage sites of memories, but rather the brain regions that are essential for consolidation of new memories into long-term memory.)

A. Medial temporal lobe, primarily the hippocampus and secondarily the amygdala

B. Midline diencephalon, the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus.

Question 11

Retrograde amnesia

Answer 11

Damage to the temporal lobe in areas besides the hippocampus can produce loss of previous memories while the ability to form new memories remains intact. 

Question 12

Learning and memory: encoding and retrieval of information

Answer 12

Prefrontal cortex.

A. Episodic retrieval activates the right prefrontal cortex.

B. Semantic retrieval activates the left prefrontal cortex.

Question 13

Executive functions

Answer 13

Overall, in the frontal lobe. Also excitatory and inhibitory pathways starting in subcortical regions of the brain (e.g., basal ganglia and thalamus) and project to the frontal cortex and vice versa.

Question 14

Executive functions: skeletomotor circuit

Answer 14

Regulates, large and fine muscle movements 

Question 15

Executive functions: oculomotor circuit

Answer 15

Regulates eye movements

Question 16

Executive functions: dorsolateral prefrontal circuit

Answer 16

The “executor of the brain.” Regulates anticipation, goal selection, planning, monitoring, use of feedback in task performance, focusing and sustaining attention, generating hypotheses, maintaining or shifting sets, verbal and design fluency, visual-spatial search strategies, constructional strategies on learning and copying tasks, and motor programming disturbances

Question 17

Executive functions: orbitofrontal circuit

Answer 17

Integration of emotional information into contextually appropriate behavioral responses, and integration of emotional functions with the internal states of the child.

Question 18

Executive functions: Anterior Cingular circuit

Answer 18

Motivational mechanisms (e.g., apathy), behavioral initiation responses, creativity and concept formation, and allocation of attentional resources.

Question 19

Executive functions: inferior/temporal posterior parietal circuit

Answer 19

Working memory

Question 20

Attention: Subcortical Portions

Answer 20

The reticular activating system- Helps regulate and maintain arousal

Question 21

Attention: higher cortical regions

Answer 21

Pre-frontal lobes and anterior cingulate cortex - helps allocate attentional resources, selectively attend, and regulate response inhibition. 

Question 22

Processing speed

Answer 22

In general, processing speed appears dependent on the white and gray matter of the brain. Processing speed increases as the axons of neurons in the central nervous system become myelinated.

Slower processing speed is associated with lower white matter volume, along the superior longitudinal fasciculus, which connects the frontal and parietal lobes.