NEUROBIOLOGY/PHARMACOLOGY Flashcards
Largest structure of brain, Left controls right body, speech, language processing/comprehension, & logical reasoning. Right controls left side body, spatial tasks (identifying object by touch) or no visual sense.
Cerebrum
Higher thought
Language
Human consciousness
Ability to think, reason, & imagine
Cerebral cortex
Link cerebral cortex and basal ganglia to rest of body’s nervous system
Gray matter & white matter
Composed of neuronal cell bodies, dendrites, and glial cells.
Regulates movement & sensory function
Gray matter
Consist of myelinated axons of neurons
Send information to the body
Corpus collosum- connects white/gray matter.
Area of sensorimotor information exchange between the two hemispheres
White matter
Personality, behavior, emotions
Judgment, planning, problem solving, & decision making
Language/speaking & writing
Voluntary movement (motor strip)
Frontal lobe
Damage to this lobe causes decrease in: Executive function Attention Impulse control Socialization Emotional regulation
Frontal lobe
Person can still read & understand spoken language, but has difficulty in speaking & writing
Brocas aphasia
Somatosensory cortex Processing in for about: Temperature Touch Pain Movement Taste
Parietal lobe
Damage to this lobe can result in “gerstmanns syndrome” including:
Right-left confusion
Difficulty writing (agraphia)
Difficulty with math (acalculia)
Can also produce language disorders (aphasia) & inability to perceive objects normally (agnosia)
Parietal lobe
Primary auditory area
Process memories (hippocampus) integrating them with taste, sound, sight, & touch
Understanding language
Temporal lobe
Individual may speak in long sentences that have no meaning, add unnecessary words/made up
Difficulty understanding speech/unaware of mistakes.
Wernickes aphasia
Damage to this lobe may result in:
Visual or auditory hallucinations
Amnesia
Temporal lobe
Primarily responsible for vision
Interpret visual stimuli & information
(color, light, movement)
Occipital lobe
Damage to this lobe may result in:
Visual field deficits
Blindness
Visual hallucinations
Occipital lobe
Structures of the limbic system
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Hypothalamus
Thalamus
Center for: Emotional responsiveness Memory formation & integration Motivation Olfaction Safety
Limbic system
Makes new memories and converts short-term memory into long-term memory.
Chronic stress=shrinkage of this and gray matter
Vulnerable to depression, addiction, stress-related disorders
Hippocampus
Major role in processing fear, anxiety, aggression, and mediating mood.
Responsible for connecting smell & emotions
Hyperactivity: common in trauma & may underlie paranoia/schizophrenia
Hypoactivity: predicts capacity to respond to antidepressants
Amygdala
Major role in motor responses via extapyramidal motor system
Relies on dopamine to maintain muscle tone & motor stability
Basal ganglia
Filters sensory information before it reaches cerebral cortex.
Thalamus
Maintains homeostasis
Sends instructions to autonomic nervous system
(sympathetic/parasympathetic)
Regulates BP, temperature, perspiration, libido, hunger, thirst, circadian rhythms: sleep/wakefulness
Hypothalamus
Prepares body for physical/mental activity
flight/fight
Sympathetic nervous system
Responsible for bodily functions at rest
Promotes relaxation
Parasympathetic nervous system
Consists of: Midbrain Pons Medulla oblongata Cerebellum
Reticular formation: primitive brain
Regulates involuntary movement, reflex, muscle tone, vital sign cobtrol
The Brainstem
Dopamine synthesis
Midbrain
Norepinephrine synthesis
Pons
Controls the centers that regulate internal body function.
Medulla oblongata
Responsible for maintaining equilibrium
Gross movement control center (balance, posture, coordination, and gait)
Problems in this area can lead to ataxia
(uncoordinated/innacurate movements)
Romberg test
Cerebellum
Series of x-ray images of brain
Produces “slices”
Providing 3D-like reconstruction of each sepgment
Detect lesions, abrasions, infarct, aneurysm
*iodine/contrast dye
CT (computed tomography)
Uses magnetic field & radio waves to produce cross-sectional images
Relies on magnetic properties to see images of blood flow in brain as it occurs (avoids exposure to radioactive isotypes)
Can detect edema, ischemia, infection, neoplasm, trauma, detects blood flow to functionally active brain regions.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
