The Brain

Question 1

What are the three major divisions of the brain?

Answer 1

1. Forebrain
2. Midbrain
3. Hindbrain

Question 2

What is the hindbrain?

Answer 2

The hindbrain is located at the back of the head at the base of the brain and looks like an extension of the spinal-cord. It is also known as the brainstem.

Question 3

What is the Medulla Oblongata?

Answer 3

It controls the involuntary processes of the autonomic nervous system, including the respiratory Centre, cardiac Centre, digestion and reflexes .

Question 4

What is the cerebellum?

Answer 4

It controls balance, posture, coordination of muscles, muscle memory, motor learning and every day voluntary but automatic tasks, i.e. walking and writing

Question 5

What is the midbrain?

Answer 5

The midbrain is located in between the forebrain and hindbrain in the centre of the brain.

Question 6

What is reticular formation?

Answer 6

A complex network of brainstem nuclei and neurons that serve as a major integration and relay centre for many vital brain systems to coordinate functions necessary for survival.

Question 7

What is the forebrain?

Answer 7

The forebrain is the largest and most highly developed part of the brain. It is located at the top ‘brain’ looking part.

Question 8

What is the thalamus?

Answer 8

It relays sensory and motor signals to, and from the cerebral

Question 9

What is the hypothalamus?

Answer 9

It regulate the release of hormones that control body temperature, water levels, sleep, sex drive, and food intake.

Question 10

What is the cerebrum?

Answer 10

The cerebrum is the primary control centre for voluntary muscle movements. It is also the Primary processing centre of sensory information.

Question 11

What are the two parts to the cerebrum?

Answer 11

1. Cerebral cortex
2. Corpus callosum

Question 12

What are the lobes of the cerebrum?

Answer 12

1. Frontal lobe
2. Parietal lobe
3. Occipital lobe
4. Temporal lobe

Question 13

What is the cerebral cortex?

Answer 13

The cerebral cortex is the outmost layer of the cerebrum. It is comprised of folded grey matter.

Question 14

What is grey matter?

Answer 14

Contains the cell bodies, dendrites and axon terminals of neurons

Question 15

What is white matter?

Answer 15

Made of axons that connect different parts of grey matter to each other

Question 16

What are the hemispheres of the cerebrum?

Answer 16

1. Left
2. Right

Question 17

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 17

It connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain and allows them to communicate

Question 18

What is the longitudinal fissure?

Answer 18

It is what separates the left and right cerebral hemispheres of the cerebrum

Question 19

What is contralateral control?

Answer 19

It is when the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body

Question 20

What is hemispheric lateralisation?

Answer 20

Hemisphere collateralisation is a tendency for certain mental processes to be specialised to one side of the brain or the other

Question 21

What is a corpus colostomy?

Answer 21

It is when the two hemispheres of the brain are disconnected by cutting the corpus callosum

Question 22

What are the three parts to the Frontal Lobe?

Answer 22

1. Primary motor cortex
2. Prefrontal cortex
3. Broca’s area

Question 23

What is the primary motor cortex?

Answer 23

The primary motor cortex generates neural impulses that control the initiation and execution of voluntary movement

Question 24

What is the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 24

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functioning. For example, abstract thinking, problem-solving, logic, judgement, personality, and emotional regulation.

Question 25

What is Broca’s area?

Answer 25

It is the motor speech area. It helps in the movement of tongue, throat, and/or facial muscles for word formation and speech production

Question 26

What is broca’s aphasia?

Answer 26

Broca’s aphasia is when patients have difficulty producing grammatical sentences, and their speech is limited, mainly to short utterances of less than four words.

Question 27

What are the two parts to the temporal lobe?

Answer 27

1. Primary auditory cortex
2. Wernicke’s area

Question 28

What is the primary auditory cortex?

Answer 28

It controls the processing of auditory stimuli

Question 29

What is wernicke’s area?

Answer 29

It is involved with the understanding of spoken and written language

Question 30

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 30

Wernicke’s aphasia is when patients typically speak in long sentences and speech comes easily. However the words they are saying do not make sense.

Question 31

How are neurons in the Primary auditory cortex organised?

Answer 31

They are organised according to the frequency of sound to which they respond to best

Question 32

What is the occipital lobe?

Answer 32

The occipital lobe is responsible for visual processing areas

Question 33

What is the Visual Processing Area?

Answer 33

It receives and processes, visual information, e.g. colour, shape, and motion

Question 34

What is the parietal lobe?

Answer 34

The parietal lobe is responsible for primary sensory areas - bodily sensations, spatial awareness, perception, reading, spelling and arithmetic.

Question 35

What is the primary sensory cortex?

Answer 35

The primary sensory cortex receives general sensory information from skin and proprioceptors of skeletal muscle, joints and tendons. It is also capable of spatial discrimination, i.e. the identification of body regions being stimulated.