the brain Flashcards
what are the 4 major regions of the brain
hindbrain
brainstem
midbrain
forebrain
what components make up the hindbrain
- medulla
- pons
- cerebellum
what parts make up the brainstems
- medulla
- pons
- midbrain
what are the components in the midbrain
solely the mid brain
what are the 2 parts of the forebrain
diencephalon
telencephalon
what components make up the diencephalon
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- epithalamus
what components make up the telencephalon
- cerebrum
what’s the nickname for the medulla oblongata
brain of vital signs
what are the functions of the medulla oblongata
- respiratory center
- cardiac center
- vasometer center
- reflexes like swallowing, coughing, sneezing
- relay station
what are the functions of the pons
- regulates breathing center with medulla
- responsible for reflexes for salivation and chewing
- contains tracts that connect parts of the brain to each other
what are the functions of the cerebellum
- responsible for the unconscious motor movement like automatic, corrective or patterned responses
- receives into from cerebrum
- receives sensory info about body position
what is the function of the midbrain
- visual reflexes
- auditory reflexes
- synthesizes dopamine
what is the function of the hypothalamus
- control center for all visceral functions + ANS
- controls endocrine system
- controls body temp
- controls sleep-wake cycles
- drives thirst and hunger
- synthesizes hormones like ADH and oxytocin
what is the function of the thalamus
- processes sensory info and sends it to the cerebrum
- edits sensory info
- considered the gateway to the cerebral cortex
- focuses our attention by forming crude recognition
what is the function of the pineal gland
- endocrine gland that is influence by light
- produces melatonin
what other terms is used for the pineal gland
epithalamus
the pituitary gland is the link between what systems?
- nervous sytem and endocrine system
the pituitary gland has 2 sections, what are they
posterior and anterior pituitary
whats the function of the posterior pituitary
- neural
- made of axons whose cell bodies are in the hypothalamus
- releases ADH and oxytocin into circulation, where they become hormones
what is the function of the anterior pituitary gland
- glandular
- regulated by neurons of the hypothalamus
- hormones that are secreted regulate other glands
how does the hypothalamus control the anterior pituitary gland
- it releases ‘releasing hormones’ that control when the anterior pituitary gland can release it’s own hormones
what is the one sensory info that the hypothalamus can’t process
smell
what is the function of RAS (reticular activating system)
- controls the level of arousal (how ‘on’) the cortex is
- ranges from sharp focus to sleep state
what does the ras effect
- alertness
- focus
- attention
what components are included in the ras
- midbrain
- medulla
- pons
- hypothalamus
- cerebral cortex
what does the limbic system control
emotions and drives
what is the structure of the limbic system
- collection of nuclei and tracts in the cerebrum and diencaphalon
what can inhibit the limbic system
- cerebral cortex
- drugs and alcohol
what are the components of the limbic system
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- cingulate gyrus
- fornix
- hypothalamus
whats the function of the hippocampus
- memory
whats the function of the amygdala
- emotional significance
- mainly fear or desire
whats the function of the cingulate gyrus
mood
whats the function of the fornix
tract that connect hippocampus and hypothalamus (hormones and memories)
what is a gyrus
elevated ridges
what is a sulcus
shallow grooves
what are fissures
major grooves
what’s the function the longitudinal fissure
it divides the brain into left and right hemispheres
where’s the central sulcus
between the frontal and parietal lobe
what is the cerebrum? what is it responsible for?
the conscious brain
- voluntary movement and sensory perception
what are the 5 lobes that make up the cerebrum
frontal
parietal
occipital
temporal
insula
the cerebrum is split into 2 major divisions. what are they
white matter and basal nuclei
what is the white matter
3 fibers:
- commissure fibers
- projection fibers
- association fibers
whats the role of commissure fibers
connect right and left hemispheres
whats the role of the projection fibers
connect the cerebral cortex to the brainstem
whats the role of the association fibers
connect things within each hemisphere
what are basal nuclei
masses of grey matter buried within each hemisphere
what is the function of the basal nuclei
- help unconscious control of voluntary movement
- regulates movement like stop start and intensity
- contributes to procedural learning for cerebral cortex
what is procedural learning
unconscious and long term learning
what is the basal nuclei connected to?
cortex motor areas
thalamus
midbrain
what is the role of the internal capsule
band of projection fibers between thalamus and basal nuclei
what is the role of the corona radiata
projection fibers radiating out from thalamus to cortical cortex
what is the cerebral cortex
gray matter of cerebrum that’s found as an outer layer
the cerebral cortex is grey matter composed of cells. what are they?
- cell bodies
- dendrites
- glial cells
- blood vessels
the cerebral cortex exhibits some things. what are they
- topographic mapping
- plasticity
- lateralization
what is topographic mapping
- the brains way of mapping the outside world
what is plasticity
- the brain can make new connection and paths
- lost functions can be regained in other areas
- all in response to stimuli
what is lateralization
how the left and right part of the brain process info in different ways and control different patterns of behaviour
what is brodmann areas
- system to divide the cerebral cortex according to functional groups
- areas are mapped and numbered
what is somatopy
- spatial mapping of function areas in the cerebral cortex that reflect the body
somatotopy is organized into 3 sections. what are they
sensory, motor, association
what are the 3 ‘rules’ of somatotopy
- each hemisphere is concerned with functions of the opposite sides of the body
- the two hemispheres are not equal in function
- no area functions on its own
what is the function of the occipital lobe
vision
what is the function of the parietal lobe
sensory somatotopy
- touch, pressure, temp
- perception and making sense of the world
what is the function of the frontal lobe
- voluntary movement
- thinking (executive function)
- personality (emotion and behaviour control)
what is the function of the temporal lobe
- hearing
- speech production
- understanding language
what is the function of the insula lobe
- taste
- limbic system
what is the function of the OVERALL sensory areas
- receives input that has been relayed from sensory receptors
what are the components that are part of the sensory areas
- primary somatosensory
- primary visual
- primary auditory
- primary gustatory
- primary olfactory
where is the primary somatosensory located
post central gyrus in parietal lobe
what info does the primary somatosensory receive? where does it receive it from?
- skin receptors and proprioreceptors
- receives info about touch, pressure, temp, pain and body position
what is the function of the primary somatosensory
determine the body area thats stimulated due to the specific neuron path in that area
what is homunculus
sensory map formed by neurons that allows you to pinpoint where sensations are originating
where is the primary visual area located
occipital lobe
what is the role of the primary visual
receive visual info from eyes
where is the primary auditory area located
temporal lobe
what is the role of the primary auditory area
receives auditory info from ears
where is the primary gustatory located
insula and frontal lobe
what is the role of the primary gustatory
receive impulses for taste
where is the primary olfactory located
in temporal lobe
what is the role of the primary olfactory area
receive impulses for smell
what is the role of primary motor areas
sends out commands for voluntary movement of skeletal muscles
how do primary motor areas control muscle movement?
by sending electrical signals that stimulate certain motor areas, which causes a contraction
what parts makes up the primary motor areas
- brocas speech area
frontal eye field
where is brocas speech area located
frontal lobe
what is the role of brocas speech area
control the muscles of the larynx, pharynx and mouth
impulse from brocas speech area to the primary motor area controls what?
the breathing muscles to help regulate air flow
where is the frontal eye field located
frontal lobe
what is the role of the frontal eye field
controls the movement of the eyes
what are facts about homunculus
- functions can be mapped out
- it reflects the map of the body
- sensitivity of area depends on the amount of receptors
- upside down representation
- contralateral control
what do association areas do
uses memory to produce an understanding of the information received
what parts make up the association areas
- somatosensory association area
- visual association
- auditory
- wernicks area
- prefrontal cortex
- premotor area
- general interpretative area
how are association areas connected
association tracts
what is the role of the somatosensory association area
- receive input from primary somatosensory area and thalamus
- allows you to determine the exact shape/texture/orientation of an object
- retains memories of past somatosensory experiences
where is the visual association area located
occipital lobe
what is the role of the visual association area
interprets visions
- interprets the color, shape and recognition
what is the role of the auditory association area
interprets sounds by using memory and recognition
what is wernickes area
interprets the meaning of speech by recognizing spoken words
what is the prefrontal cortex
area for intellect, problem solving, empathy, motivation
- the make up of someones personality
what is the premotor cortex
the motor association area
what is the role of the premotor cortex
- stores learned motor skills
- involved in controlling precise motor movements (causes specific groups of muscles to contract in a specific sequence)
what is the general interpretative area
integrates infro from other association area into one meaning or thought
where is the GIA located
temporal lobe
parietal lobe
occipital lobe
what is lateralization
a division of labour between the 2 hemispheres
how do the 2 hemispheres ensure instant communication
the corpus callosum
the left hemisphere is responsible for what?
logical stuff
the right hemisphere is responsible for what
spatial awareness, music and artistic abilities, etc
