The brain Flashcards
What is the anterior view?
From the front.
What are the 4 lobes of the cerebrum?
- Frontal lobe.
- Parietal lobe.
- Temporal lobe.
- Occipital lobe.
What does the brain stem connect?
The brain and spinal cord.
What is localisation of function?
The idea that certain functions (language, memory…) have certain locations within our brain.
How was localisation initially studied and how is it studied now?
It was first examined through case studies (Phineas Gage), however, now it is studied through neuroimaging and scientific scanning methods.
What does the brain stem control?
The brain stem controls involuntary processes, including heartbeat, breathing and consciousness.
What is the role of the spinal cord (in relation to the brain)?
To transfer messages to and from the brain, and the rest of the body.
What is the posterior view?
From the back.
What is the cerebrum?
The outer layer of the brain.
Where is the frontal lobe located?
Behind the forehead at the front of the brain.
What is the lateral view?
Side.
Which brain lobe processes auditory information?
The temporal lobe.
What is a dorsal view?
From the top.
Which brain lobe integrates information from the different senses and spatial navigation?
The parietal lobe.
What is a bilateral view?
Both sides.
Which brain lobe is associated with higher-order functions (planning, abstract reasoning and logic)?
The frontal lobe.
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
Speech, muscle movements and judgements (planning, decision-making, abstract thought and reasoning).
Which brain lobe processes visual information?
The occipital lobe
What is a ventral view?
From the bottom.
What is hte function of the corpus callosum?
It allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate.
In which lobe is the motor cortex found?
The frontal lobe.
Where is the parietal lobe?
Lies at the top of the brain near the back.
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
Receives information about vision and is associated with visual fields.
Where is the temporal lobe?
It lies above the ears on both sides.
Which cortex is found within the occipital lobe?
The visual cortex.
What are the four key areas of function in the brain?
- Motor cortex.
- Somatosensory cortex.
- Visual cortex.
- Auditory cortex.
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
Process sensations from the skin and muscles and deals with spatial awareness.
How do the two cerebral hemispheres communicate?
Through the corpus callosum.
Auditory information taken in from the left ear would be processed where?
In the right temporal lobe (opposites).
Which cortex can be found in the frontal lobe?
The motor cortex.
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
Receives auditory information (from the opposite ear), involved in hearing, memory and language.
Where is the occipital lobe?
At the very back of the head.
What is the function of the somatosensory cortex?
It receives sensory information from the skin to produce sensation related to pain, pressure, temperature…
Robertson (1995) found what about the somatosensory area of deaf people?
Those who read Braille have more sensitive fingertips and their somatosensory area is larger as a result.
What is the cerebrum split into?
Two hemispheres.
Auditory information taken in from the right ear would be processed where?
In the left temporal lobe (opposites).
Which lobe is referred to as the judgement centre of the brain?
The frontal lobe.
In which lobe is the somatosensory cortex found?
The parietal lobe.
Which cortex can be found at the back of the head?
The visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).
Which part of the brain would be active in moving the arm or the leg?
The motor cortex (found within the frontal lobe).
Visual information from the right visual field is processed where?
In the left hemisphere of the visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).
What is the function of the auditory cortex?
Analysing and processing acoustic information.
Different parts of the auditory cortex are responsible for what?
Processing simple features of sound, including volume, tempo and pitch.
Where is the cerebellum?
At the back of the cerebrum.
Hitzig and Fritsch (1870) electrically stimulated an area of the frontal lobe in dogs, what did they find and what implications did this have?
They found the motor cortex, which was responsible for movement of muscles.
Where is the auditory cortex found?
In the temporal lobe.
What is the function of the motor cortex?
Responsible for voluntary movements by sending signals to the muscles.
Which cortex is found in the parietal lobe?
The somatosensory cortex.
What are the three concentric layers of the brain?
- The central core.
- The limbic system.
- The cerebrum.
What is the function of the central core?
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.
What key part of the brain is held within the central core?
The brain stem.
Which key part of the brain is held within the limbic system?
The hippocampus.
Which concentric layer of the brain is ‘grey-matter’?
The cerebrum.
Which layer of the brain sits around the central core?
The limbic system.
Which layer of the brain sits around the limbic system?
The cerebrum.
Different parts of the visual cortex are responsible for what?
Processing different types of information including colour, shape or movement.
Different parts of the motor cortex are responsible for what?
Muscular contractions in different areas of the body.
Which concentric layer of the brain is the hippocampus in?
The limbic system.
Which cortex is located within the temporal lobe?
The auditory cortex.
Which concentric layer of the brain controls our emotions?
The limbic system.
Which concentric layer of the brain controls higher intellectual processes?
The cerebrum.
Different parts of the somatosensory cortex are responsible for what?
Receiving sensations from different parts of the body.
What does the cerebellum do?
Controls motor skills and balance, co-ordinates muscles to allow precise movements.
What does the brain stem do?
Regulates essential functions for life, breathing etc.
Which concentric layer of the brain is the brain stem in?
The central core.
Visual information from the left visual field is processed where?
In the right hemisphere of the visual cortex (within the occipital lobe).
Explain the case study of Phineas Gage:
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.
What is lateralisation?
The dominance of one hemisphere of the brain for particular physical and psychological functions.
The two hemispheres of the cerebrum are joined by a bundle of fibres, what is this bundle called?
The cerebral cortex.
The hemispheres of the cerebrum are contra-lateral, what does this mean?
The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body.
Who discovered Broca’s area? (and when)
Paul Broca (1861).
How was Broca’s area discovered?
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.
Wernicke’s area was discovered more than 10 years after Broca’s area, what did Wernicke conclude about language?
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).
Where does speech production occur?
Broca’s area.
People with damage to Broca’s area develop Broca’s aphasia, what is this?
It results in slow and inarticulate speech.
Where was the damage to “Tan’s” brain that caused his (Broca’s) aphasia?
There was a lesion in the left frontal lobe.
How was the damage to “Tan’s” brain examined?
Broca conducted a post-mortem examination on Tan’s brain.
What did Broca conclude about the area he discovered?
That it was responsible for speech production.
Where is Broca’s area located?
In the left frontal lobe next to the motor cortex.
Who discovered Wernicke’s area? (and when)
Carl Wernicke (1874)
Where is Wernicke’s area?
The left temporal lobe.
What is Wernicke’s area thought to be involved with?
Language processing and comprehension.
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
People with damage to the area struggle to comprehend language, often producing sentences that are fluent, but meaningless.
Damage to either Broca’s are and Wernicke’s area lead to different types of aphasia, what is aphasia?
A language impairment, affecting the production or comprehension of speech.
Where does speech comprehension occur?
Wernicke’s area.
What is meant by brain plasticity?
The brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
Can the brain repair itself or recover any of the lost function?
Yes, the brain continues to make neural pathways.
Does brain plasticity provide support for a holistic view or a localised theory?
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.
Lashley proposed the equipotentiality theory, what does this suggest?
It suggests that basic motor and sensory functions are localised, but higher mental functions are not.
