Organization of Cerebral Cortex Flashcards
What are the parts of the cerebral cortex?
The neocortex, and the allocortex.
How many neuronal layers are in the neocortex?
6
What do layers V and VI do in the neocortex?
send axons to other brain areas. It is particularly large and distinctive in the motor cortex.
What does layer IV do in the neocortex?
receives axons from sensory systems. it’s a formation of small, densely packed cells
What do layers I, II, and III do in the neocortex?
they receive input from layer IV, which receives axons from sensory systems
What encompasses the allocortex (3 layers)?
the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb
What are the primary areas of the cortex?
they receive/send information from/to the peripheral nervous system
what are the secondary areas of the cortex?
- adjacent to primary areas
- receive input from the primary areas
- engaged in interpreting sensory input or organizing movements
What are the tertiary areas also know as in the cortex?
the association cortex
What are the tertiary areas of the cortex?
located between secondary areas they mediate complex activities
What are cytoarchitectonic maps of the cerebral cortex?
maps based on the organization, structure, and distribution of cortical cells
How many areas are found in Brodmann’s atlas?
44 (mostly used cytoarchitectonic map)
How many areas are in von Economo and Koskinas’ atlas?
107 in this cytoarchitectonic map
What is the main flaw of Talairach’s otherwise helpful stereotactic atlas, which maps out the brain from 3D, which assists neural surgeons?
it is based on one, older woman’s brain. the size and shape needs to be slightly modified to gauge how to deal with other brains
What major cytoarchitectonic map is based on hundreds of brains to assist neurosurgeons?
the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) Mapping Scheme
What do the numbers mean in Broadmann’s Atlas?
They are simply the order Broadmann began studying the brain so they do not technically mean anything, other than to organize the atlas.
What are the functions listed in Broadmann’s Atlas?
Vision, auditory, body sense, sensory and tertiary, motor, and motor and tertiary.
Where is the basal ganglia located?
In the forebrain
What are nuclei are included in the basal ganglia?
The Putamen, Globus Pallidus, and Caudate Nucleus
What does the Basal Ganglia do?
supports stimulus-response learning, and functions in sequencing movements
Starting from the top, what are the parts of the forebrain (clockwise)?
Caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and thalamus (repeated on the other side of the brain)
What is the limbic system?
a collection of functionally and anatomically interconnected structures in the telencephalon and diencephalon.
What are the parts of the limbic system?
CASH: Cingulate cortex/gyrus, amygdala, septum, and hippocampus
What does the amydala do?
It deals with emotion and species-typical behaviours
What is the hippocampus involved with?
Memory and spatial navigation
What does the septum deal with?
emotion and species-typical behaviour
What is the cingulate cortex/gyrus?
It is an integral part of the limbic system involved with emotion formation, learning, and memory
What is the amydala located under?
the forebrain
What does the amygdala lie on the end of?
the hippocampus
What are found down the fornix from the amygdala
mammilary bodies
What are the long tubes that lead from the amygdala, down the hippocampus, and to the mammilary bodies?
the fornix
What loop is occurring during simple movements that are involved in the forebrain?
The primary motor loop
What loop is occurring when complex movements are involved in the forebrain?
the premotor loop
What loop is occurring when eye movements are involved in the forebrain?
oculomotor loop
What loop is occurring when cognition is involved in the forebrain?
the dorsolateral loop
What loop is occurring when reward, and/or evaluation is inspired bythe brain, and going through the forebrain?
the orbitofrontal loop
What part of the brain is involved with rapid evaluation of sensory input, and the generation of emotional responses to external stimuli?
The amygdala
What part of the brain is the hypothalamus, epithalamus, and thalamus a part of?
the diencephalon
What structure interacts with the pituitary gland, and participates in nearly all aspects of motivated behaviour?
the hypothalamus
What structure is poorly understood, and is associated with biorhythms, hunger, and thirst?
the epithalamus
What structure relays sensory information to appropriate targets, between cortical areas, and between the forebrain and brainstem, respectively?
the thalamus
What structure that is a part of the limbic system is a great ‘relay’ nucleus that bridges the cortex and the spinal cord; receives auditory, somatosensory and visual signals; relays sensory signals to the cortex (ipsilateral projections to and from the cortex); controls sleep and awake states; and is connected to the hypothalamus?
the thalamus
What is the prefrontal cortex involved with?
cognition (e.g. mathematical equations)
What is the cingulate gyrus involved with?
emotions (e.g. crying)
What is the parietal cortex involved with?
viewing distances (small vs. far away)
What is the auditory cortex involved with?
hearing
What is the motor and premotor cortex involved with?
any intentional muscular movement, like picking up something
What is the somatosensory cortex involved with?
automatic bodily functions, such as growing hair
What is the visual cortex involved with?
seeing
What are the brain does the parietal cortex deal with?
the pulvinar
What do these parts belong to? The medial preoptic nucleus, the paraventricular nucleus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the dorsomedial nucleus, the ventromedial nucleus, the arcuate nucleus, the lateral hypothalamic area, the posterior nucleus, and the mamillary body
the diencephalon
What part of the diencephalon deals with heat dissipation?
the anterior nucleus
What part of the diencephalon deals with circadian rhythms?
suprachiasmatic nucleus
What part of the diencephalon deals with appetite and thirst/
the lateral hypothalamic area
What part of the diencephalon deals with heat conversation?
the posterior nucleus
What part of the diencephalon deals with satiety?
the ventromedial nucleus
What part of the diencephalon deals with hormone regulation?
the arcuate nucleus
What is the midbrain known as?
the mesencephalon
What is located in the uppermost portion of the brainstem?
the mesencephalon
What are cerebral peduncles?
fiber tracts connecting the cortex, cerebellum, and the spinal cord
What is the tectum involved with?
the inferior and superior colliculi (“hills”)
What is the tegmentum
as the covering or the midbrain floor, it surrounds the cerebral aqueduct
What structures in the tectum receive input from the eyes?
superior colliculi
What structures in the tectum receive input from the ears?
the inferior colliculi
What is the tementum known for?
nuclei that control eye movements
What does the diencephalon sit above?
the midbrain
What does the midbrain sit above?
the hindbrain
What part of the brain do the red nucleus, substania nigra, and peri-aqueductal gray matter from?
the midbrain
what is the red nucleus for?
limb movements
what is the substania nigra for?
reward and initiation of movement
what is the peri-aqueductal gray matter for?
modulating pain response, and other species-typical behaviours (like sex)
What are the parts If you took a crosssection of the tegmentum, would you see any colours?
Yes, but very faint for the different portions of it
Within the tegmentum, which ones sit in the middle, and therefore are not a part of a pair, respectively?
the cerebral aqueduct (within the periaqueductal gray matter)
What are the pons and cerebellum a part of?
the metencephalon
What is the pons?
a “bridge” that functionally connects cortex and cerebellum
What is the cerebellum?
a neronal computer which is involved in sensorimotor integration
Where is the medulla oblongata located within?
the myelencephalon
What structure controls cardiac and respiratory functions, as well as serves as the reflex center for vomiting, coughing, sneezing swallowing, etc.?
the medulla oblongata
What do the pons and medulla belong to?
the hindbrain
What wraps around the reticular formation?
the pons
what sits behind the hindbrain?
the cerebellum
what structures serve many functions, including waking, sleeping, and locomotion?
the pons and medulla (hindbrain)
What is decussation?
structures that move to opposite sides within another structure
what structure’s pyramidal tract undergoes decussation?
the medulla
When motor areas of the cortex go down the brain, what structure do they go to first?
the corona radiata
after the corona radiata, what structure do tracts go down within the cortex?
internal capsule
What scientific and professional organization of psychologists is interested in the study of brain-behaviour relationships, and the clinical application of that knowledge to human problems?
the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40 of the American Psychological Association)
What sense is the thalamus NOT involved with?
smell (olfactory)
What is Wernicke’s Area, and what is damage of it associated with?
Deals with reception of speech and being able to articulate words, but does not make sense (Wernicke’s asphasia) attached by the articulate feniculous
What is autoradiography?
injecting a radioactive isotope to a glucose molecule, inject it to an experimental animal, taken up by neurons, and the more active neurons take up more of it, vs the less active ones; measures neural activity of grey matter and ipsilateral white cortical matter
