Systems Level Neural Architecture Flashcards
What are the subdivisions of the brain? (3 parts)
Forebrain
Midbrain
Hindbrain
What are the subdivisions of the brain? (5 parts)
Telencephalon
Diencephalon
Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Myelencephalon
What does the myelencephalon (medulla) contain?
Tracts carrying signals between the rest of the brain and the body
What vital functions is the myelencephalon involved in?
Sleep/wakefulness
Movement
Maintenance of muscle tone
Cardiac/circulatory/respiratory/excretory reflexes
What is the function of the pons?
Relay from the cortex and midbrain to the cerebellum
What is the function of the cerebellum?
Motor coordination
Recently implicated in cognitive and affective/emotional function
What are the two main parts of the midbrain?
Tegmentum
Tectum
What is the function of the tectum?
Visual/spatial and auditory frequency maps
What is another name for the tectum?
Colliculli
What is the superior colliculus sensitive to?
Sensory change - orienting/defensive movements
What is the inferior colliculus sensitive to?
Sensory change - auditory events
What are the 3 parts of the tegmentum?
Periaqueductal gray
Red nucleus
Substantia nigra
What is the function of the periaquductal gray?
Role in defensive behaviour
Role in pain (ascending and descending signals)
Role in reproduction
What is the function of the red nucleus?
Role in pre-cortical motor control (especially arms and legs)
What is the substantia nigra part of?
Basal ganglia
What is the diencephalon comprised of?
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
What is the function of the specific nuclei in the thalamus?
Relay signals to cortex/limbic system for all sensations (but smell…)
What is the function of the non-specific nuclei in the thalamus?
Role in regulating state of sleep and wakefulness and levels of arousal
What does the hypothalamus regulate?
Regulates the pituitary gland which regulates hormonal secretion: interface between brain and hormones
What does the hypothalamus have a role in?
Hormonal control of motivated behaviour …including hunger, thirst, temperature, pain, pleasure and sex
What are the subcortical portions?
Basal ganglia
Limbic system
What is the basal ganglia involved in?
Motor function since involved in movement disorders
What is the limbic system involved in?
Emotion, motivation and emotional association with memory
What does the limbic system influence the formation of?
Memory by integrating emotional states with stored memories of physical sensations
What structures are part of the limbic system?
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Fornix
Cingulate Gyrus
Septum
Mamillary Body
What is the Amygdala involved in?
Involved in associating sensory stimuli with emotional impact
What is the mamillary body important for?
Formation of recollective memory – amnesia
What is the hippocampus involved in?
Involved in memory (long term)
Involved in spatial memory
What is the Septum involved in?
Involved in defense and aggression
What is the Cingulate gyrus involved in?
Linking behavioural outcomes to motivation and autonomic control – atrophied in schizophrenia
What is the function of the fornix?
Carries signals from the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies and septal nucleus
What does the cerebral cortex contain?
Contain the precentral gyrus from which motor instructions (particularly for fine motor control) that are sent to muscles controlling hands and feet
What is the function of the primary motor cortex?
Contains many of the cells giving origin to the descending motor pathways - it is involved in the initiation of voluntary movements.
What is the function of the premotor and supplementary motor areas?
Higher level motor plans and initiation of voluntary movements
What is the function of the cerebral cortex?
Involved in:
Executive planning
Working memory
Control of behaviour
What does the parietal lobe contain?
The postcentral gyrus
What is the function of the postcentral gyrus?
Receives sensation from the rest of the body
What is the function of the primary somatosensory cortex?
Maintains representations of the body’s and of the head’s position in space.
Permits complicated spatio-temporal predictions – e.g. catching something when you are moving
Where is the primary somatosensory cortex located?
Parietal lobe
Where is the primary auditory cortex located?
Temporal lobe
What is the function of the inferotemporal cortex?
Recognition of faces and objects
