Neuroscience Part Three Flashcards
Cerebral Cortex
The outer brain
Occipital lobe
Direct back of the brain, second from the bottom, above the cerebellum.
Visual perception.
Parietal lobe
Top-back of the brain, above occipital lobe/behind the frontal lobe.
Sensory perception from all five senses, interprets input from other parts of the body.
Temporal lobe
Center of the cerebral cortex.
Helps you use your senses to understand and respond to the world around you.
Frontal lobe
Front of the brain, in front of the parietal lobe.
Voluntary movement, expressive language, and higher level functions.
Cerebellum
Bottom-back of the brain, below the occipital lobe.
For balance and coordination.
About how much does the human brain weigh?
3 pounds
Corpus callosum
Connects the two hemispheres of the brain
Neuroplasticity (brain plasticity)
The brain’s ability to adapt and reorganize.
Structural plasticity
Memories and experiences can change the brain’s structure. Allows the brain to create smoother, faster pathways between neurons, making practiced tasks easier.
Functional plasticity
Functions move from damaged to undamaged areas.
What can the brain do when it’s damaged?
The brain can reorganize existing neurons to make up for the damaged areas or —>
Neurogenesis- Produce new neurons
Contralateral hemispheric organization
The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body and vice versa.
Left hemisphere
-Sensory stimulus and motor control for the right side of the body.
-Speech, language, comprehension, recognition of words, etc.
-Analysis and calculations
-Time and sequencing
Right hemisphere
-Sensory stimulus and motor control for the left side of the body.
-Creativity and spatial ability
-Context and perception
-Recognition of faces, places, and objects
Hemispherectomy
Surgically removing a hemisphere of the brain. Most common for children with severe epilepsy or tumors.
Motor cortex
Near the back of the frontal lobe. Somatic motor association area. Voluntary muscle movement.
Sensory cortex
Near the front of the parietal lobe. Somatic sensory association area. Organizes and coordinates all five sense at once to help you make sense of the world. Every sense goes through the sensory cortex first except touch.
Visual cortex
Occipital lobe at the back of the brain. Primary visual cortex and association area. Is the most important sense of survival so it’s at the far back of the brain for protection.
Auditory cortex
In the temporal lobe. Primary auditory cortex and association area.
Gustatory and Olfactory cortexes
Located near the auditory cortex in the temporal lobe. Correspond to taste and smell, respectively.
Association areas
Connects sensory information with memory to perform higher-level functions such as learning, thinking, remembering, and speaking. Don’t light up when non-related tasks are being performed.
Prefrontal cortex: Association area
What makes you “you”. Judgement, morality, planning, and processing new memories. Develops around age 21, so younger people judge things using the amygdala and therefore emotions more often.
Parietal lobes: Association area
Logical thinking, math, and sequencing (not planning)
