Organisation of the Cerebral Cortex Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three types of fibre that make up white matter?

A

Association Fibres – connect with areas in the same hemisphere
Commissural Fibres – connect the two hemispheres
Projection Fibres – connect the cortex with lower brain structures (e.g. thalamus)

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2
Q

How many layers of grey matter are there?

A

3-6 (they are usually numbered by roman numerals)

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3
Q

What is the neocortex?

A

A part of the cerebral cortex concerned with sight and hearing in mammals, regarded as the most recently evolved part of the cortex

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4
Q

Describe the different connections of the 6 layers of grey matter.

A

Layers 1-3 = mainly cortico-cortical connections
Layer 4 = input from the thalamus
Layer 5-6 = connections with subcortical, brainstem and spinal cord

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5
Q

What does layer 1 mainly consist of?

A

Neutropil – an area composed mostly of unmyelinated axons, dendrites and glial cell processes that forms a synaptically dense region containing a relatively low number of cell bodies

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6
Q

What type of neurone is found in layer 4?

A

Stellate neurones

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7
Q

What type of neurone is found in layer 5?

A

Pyramidal neurones

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8
Q

What are the two parts of the visual association cortex and what are they responsible for?

A

Dorsal Pathway – responsible for interpretation of spatial relationships and movements
Ventral Pathway – responsible for form and colour

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9
Q

What is the role of the posterior parietal association cortex?

A

It creates a SPATIAL MAP of the body in its surroundings from multi-modality information

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10
Q

What could injury of this part of the association cortex lead to?

A

Disorientation
Inability to read a map or understand spatial relationships
Apraxia
Hemispatial Neglect

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11
Q

Define apraxia.

A

Inability to make skilled movements with accuracy

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12
Q

What is the temporal association cortex responsible for?

A

Language
Object Recognition
Memory
Emotions

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13
Q

What are the two main consequences of injury to the temporal lobe?

A

AGNOSIA – inability for the brain to interpret sensory information although the nerves carrying sensory information to the brain are fine
E.g. visual agnosia – patients can see perfectly fine but they can’t interpret sympbols such as letters
RECEPTIVE APHASIA –unable to understand language in the spoken or written forms

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14
Q

What are the consequences of visual association cortex lesions?

A

Prosopagnosia – inability to recognise faces

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15
Q

What is the role of the frontal lobe?

A

Executive functions e.g. planning, judgement, foresight, personality

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16
Q

What are the consequences of a prefrontal lobotomy?

A

Change in personality
Inappropriate behaviour
Lack of ability to remember and relate things over time
Attention span and ability to concentrate are diminished

17
Q

What two areas does the prefrontal cortex receive massive inputs from?

A

Sensory association cortex (somatosensory, visual and auditory)
Dorsomedial Nucleus of the thalamus
NOTE: lesion of the dorsomedial nucleus will have similar consequences to prefrontal lobotomy

18
Q

If you give someone with a unilateral parietal lobe lesion something to draw, what will you expect him or her to do?

A

Hemispatial neglect – they will only draw half of it

19
Q

What effect do temporal cortex lesions have on memory?

A

Impaired short-term memory

They are effectively trapped in a 30 second window of memory

20
Q

Describe hemispheric specialisation.

A

Right hemisphere = creative + artistic

Left hemisphere = logical + scientific

21
Q

What is a callosotomy?

A

A palliative procedure used for the treatment of seizures

The corpus callosum is key for the interhemispheric spread of epileptic activity

22
Q

State a type of imaging that uses the movement of water molecules in the brain to infer the underlying structure of white matter.

A

Diffusion Tensor Imaging – Tractography

23
Q

State two types of brain stimulation testing and what it can be used for.

A

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
 Magnetic field induces a current in the cortex
 This is method of focally stimulating different areas of the cortex and testing what each area is responsible for
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS)
 This changes the excitability of neurones but does NOT directly induce neuronal firing
 Anode = increases neuronal excitability
 Cathode = decreases neuronal excitability
 TDCS could be used to reduce motion sickness by suppressing the area of the cortex associated with perceiving vestibular information

24
Q

Describe and explain how PET scans work. What can it be used for?

A

A radioactive tracer is attached to a molecule to locate areas of the brain where that molecule is being absorbed
The tracer emits positrons, which are then detected by the receptors
It can be used in Parkinson’s disease to see the uptake of dopamine precursors by dopaminergic neurones

25
Q

What is the difference between MEGs and EEGs?

A
MEGs = magnetoencephalography – measures magnetic fields  
EEGs = electroencephalography – measures electric fields
26
Q

What is a major problem with MEGs and EEGs and how is this resolved?

A

It is quite noisy – there is a lot of background activity
This is resolved by doing a trial of a large number of participants so that an average can be found
Once the average has been found, it can be deducted from the captured signal to see the underlying activity

27
Q

What is fMRI?

A

Function MRI
It detects changes in blood flow in the brain
It relies on the fact that blood flow in the brain and neuronal activity are coupled – more active parts of the brain require increased blood flow

28
Q

Which areas of the brain become more active when participants imagine positive events?

A

Amygdala

Rostral anterior cingulate cortex