The brain Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the anterior view?

A

From the front.

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2
Q

What are the 4 lobes of the cerebrum?

A
  • Frontal lobe.
  • Parietal lobe.
  • Temporal lobe.
  • Occipital lobe.
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3
Q

What does the brain stem connect?

A

The brain and spinal cord.

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4
Q

What is localisation of function?

A

The idea that certain functions (language, memory…) have certain locations within our brain.

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5
Q

How was localisation initially studied and how is it studied now?

A

It was first examined through case studies (Phineas Gage), however, now it is studied through neuroimaging and scientific scanning methods.

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6
Q

What does the brain stem control?

A

The brain stem controls involuntary processes, including heartbeat, breathing and consciousness.

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7
Q

What is the role of the spinal cord (in relation to the brain)?

A

To transfer messages to and from the brain, and the rest of the body.

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8
Q

What is the posterior view?

A

From the back.

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9
Q

What is the cerebrum?

A

The outer layer of the brain.

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10
Q

Where is the frontal lobe located?

A

Behind the forehead at the front of the brain.

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11
Q

What is the lateral view?

A

Side.

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12
Q

Which brain lobe processes auditory information?

A

The temporal lobe.

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13
Q

What is a dorsal view?

A

From the top.

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14
Q

Which brain lobe integrates information from the different senses and spatial navigation?

A

The parietal lobe.

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15
Q

What is a bilateral view?

A

Both sides.

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16
Q

Which brain lobe is associated with higher-order functions (planning, abstract reasoning and logic)?

A

The frontal lobe.

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17
Q

What is the function of the frontal lobe?

A

Speech, muscle movements and judgements (planning, decision-making, abstract thought and reasoning).

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18
Q

Which brain lobe processes visual information?

A

The occipital lobe

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19
Q

What is a ventral view?

A

From the bottom.

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20
Q

What is hte function of the corpus callosum?

A

It allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate.

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21
Q

In which lobe is the motor cortex found?

A

The frontal lobe.

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22
Q

Where is the parietal lobe?

A

Lies at the top of the brain near the back.

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23
Q

What is the function of the occipital lobe?

A

Receives information about vision and is associated with visual fields.

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24
Q

Where is the temporal lobe?

A

It lies above the ears on both sides.

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25
Q

Which cortex is found within the occipital lobe?

A

The visual cortex.

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26
Q

What are the four key areas of function in the brain?

A
  • Motor cortex.
  • Somatosensory cortex.
  • Visual cortex.
  • Auditory cortex.
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27
Q

What is the function of the parietal lobe?

A

Process sensations from the skin and muscles and deals with spatial awareness.

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28
Q

How do the two cerebral hemispheres communicate?

A

Through the corpus callosum.

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29
Q

Auditory information taken in from the left ear would be processed where?

A

In the right temporal lobe (opposites).

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30
Q

Which cortex can be found in the frontal lobe?

A

The motor cortex.

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31
Q

What is the function of the temporal lobe?

A

Receives auditory information (from the opposite ear), involved in hearing, memory and language.

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32
Q

Where is the occipital lobe?

A

At the very back of the head.

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33
Q

What is the function of the somatosensory cortex?

A

It receives sensory information from the skin to produce sensation related to pain, pressure, temperature…

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34
Q

Robertson (1995) found what about the somatosensory area of deaf people?

A

Those who read Braille have more sensitive fingertips and their somatosensory area is larger as a result.

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35
Q

What is the cerebrum split into?

A

Two hemispheres.

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36
Q

Auditory information taken in from the right ear would be processed where?

A

In the left temporal lobe (opposites).

37
Q

Which lobe is referred to as the judgement centre of the brain?

A

The frontal lobe.

38
Q

In which lobe is the somatosensory cortex found?

A

The parietal lobe.

39
Q

Which cortex can be found at the back of the head?

A

The visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).

40
Q

Which part of the brain would be active in moving the arm or the leg?

A

The motor cortex (found within the frontal lobe).

41
Q

Visual information from the right visual field is processed where?

A

In the left hemisphere of the visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).

42
Q

What is the function of the auditory cortex?

A

Analysing and processing acoustic information.

43
Q

Different parts of the auditory cortex are responsible for what?

A

Processing simple features of sound, including volume, tempo and pitch.

44
Q

Where is the cerebellum?

A

At the back of the cerebrum.

45
Q

Hitzig and Fritsch (1870) electrically stimulated an area of the frontal lobe in dogs, what did they find and what implications did this have?

A

They found the motor cortex, which was responsible for movement of muscles.

46
Q

Where is the auditory cortex found?

A

In the temporal lobe.

47
Q

What is the function of the motor cortex?

A

Responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles.

48
Q

Which cortex is found in the parietal lobe?

A

The somatosensory cortex.

49
Q

What are the three concentric layers of the brain?

A
  • The central core.
  • The limbic system.
  • The cerebrum.
50
Q

What is the function of the central core?

A

regulates our most primitive and involuntary behaviours such as breathing, sleeping, sneezing, eating and drinking.It includes the brain stem and regulates the endocrine system.

51
Q

What key part of the brain is held within the central core?

A

The brain stem.

52
Q

Which key part of the brain is held within the limbic system?

A

The hippocampus.

53
Q

Which concentric layer of the brain is ‘grey-matter’?

A

The cerebrum.

54
Q

Which layer of the brain sits around the central core?

A

The limbic system.

55
Q

Which layer of the brain sits around the limbic system?

A

The cerebrum.

56
Q

Different parts of the visual cortex are responsible for what?

A

Processing different types of information including colour, shape or movement.

57
Q

Different parts of the motor cortex are responsible for what?

A

Muscular contractions in different areas of the body.

58
Q

Which concentric layer of the brain is the hippocampus in?

A

The limbic system.

59
Q

Which cortex is located within the temporal lobe?

A

The auditory cortex.

60
Q

Which concentric layer of the brain controls our emotions?

A

The limbic system.

61
Q

Which concentric layer of the brain controls higher intellectual processes?

A

The cerebrum.

62
Q

Different parts of the somatosensory cortex are responsible for what?

A

Receiving sensations from different parts of the body.

63
Q

What does the cerebellum do?

A

Controls motor skills and balance, co-ordinates muscles to allow precise movements.

64
Q

What does the brain stem do?

A

Regulates essential functions for life, breathing etc.

65
Q

Which concentric layer of the brain is the brain stem in?

A

The central core.

66
Q

Visual information from the left visual field is processed where?

A

In the right hemisphere of the visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).

67
Q

Explain the case study of Phineas Gage:

A

In 1848 he was working on a railway line when a piece of iron went through his skull. he survived, but lost lots of his pre-frontal cortex was highly damaged, he experienced a drastic change in personality which supports the idea of localisation.

68
Q

What is lateralisation?

A

The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain for particular physical and psychological functions.

69
Q

The two hemispheres of the cerebrum are joined by a bundle of fibres, what is this bundle called?

A

The cerebral cortex.

70
Q

The hemispheres of the cerebrum are contra-lateral, what does this mean?

A

The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body.

71
Q

Who discovered Broca’s area? (and when)

A

Paul Broca (1861).

72
Q

How was Broca’s area discovered?

A

Paul Broca was treating a patient who could understand spoken language but was unable to produce coherent words, only saying ‘Tan’. He conducted a post-mortem and found damage to an area in the left frontal lobe.

73
Q

Wernicke’s area was discovered more than 10 years after Broca’s area, what did Wernicke conclude about language?

A

He concluded language involved a separate motor and sensory region, the motor region is Broca’s area (production) and the sensory region is Wernicke’s area (comprehension).

74
Q

Where does speech production occur?

A

Broca’s area.

75
Q

People with damage to Broca’s area develop Broca’s aphasia, what is this?

A

It results in slow and inarticulate speech.

76
Q

Where was the damage to “Tan’s” brain that caused his (Broca’s) aphasia?

A

There was a lesion in the left frontal lobe.

77
Q

How was the damage to “Tan’s” brain examined?

A

Broca conducted a post-mortem examination on Tan’s brain.

78
Q

What did Broca conclude about the area he discovered?

A

That it was responsible for speech production.

79
Q

Where is Broca’s area located?

A

In the left frontal lobe next to the motor cortex.

80
Q

Who discovered Wernicke’s area? (and when)

A

Carl Wernicke (1874)

81
Q

Where is Wernicke’s area?

A

The left temporal lobe.

82
Q

What is Wernicke’s area thought to be involved with?

A

Language processing and comprehension.

83
Q

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

A

People with damage to the area struggle to comprehend language, often producing sentences that are fluent, but meaningless.

84
Q

Damage to either Broca’s are and Wernicke’s area lead to different types of aphasia, what is aphasia?

A

A language impairment, affecting the production or comprehension of speech.

85
Q

Where does speech comprehension occur?

A

Wernicke’s area.

86
Q

What is meant by brain plasticity?

A

The brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.

87
Q

Can the brain repair itself or recover any of the lost function?

A

Yes, the brain continues to make neural pathways.

88
Q

Does brain plasticity provide support for a holistic view or a localised theory?

A

Holistic, when part of the brain is damaged other parts can ‘chip in’ to reduce the effects of the damage. Which means we should consider it as a whole.

89
Q

Lashley proposed the equipotentiality theory, what does this suggest?

A

It suggests that basic motor and sensory functions are localised, but higher mental functions are not.