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
