Week 1: Development Flashcards
What are the brain parts (6)?
Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, cerebellum and brain stem
What are the planes used to describe the brain (3)?
Saggital plane (+ parasaggital), horizontal plane and coronal plane
Explain dorsal and ventral
Dorsal: top op the brain
Ventral: bottom of the brain
Explain anterior and posterior
Anterior: front of the brain
Posterior: back of the brain (cerebellum)
Explain lateral and medial
Lateral: from the side of the brain
Medial: closer to the midline of the brain
What consists of neural cell bodies, axons & dendrites?
Grey matter
What does white matter consist of?
Nerve fibers with myelin sheath
What do we call the closest connections between the cortex and thalamus?
Thalamus-cortical system (the thalamus is the primary relay center of the brain, sending all sensory information besides olfaction to the cerebral cortex, where it is further processed)
Name two main parts of the nervous system
Central nervous system (CNS, spinal cord and the brain) and peripheral nervous system (PNS, nerves that branch off from the spinal cord and extend to all parts of the body)
What does the CNS contain?
Brain and spinal cord
What are gyri and sulci?
Landmarks on the brain
Gyri (singular: gyrus) are the folds or bumps in the brain
Sulci (singular: sulcus) are the indentations or grooves
What do we use as a way of mapping the cortex?
Brodmann areas
What do we call the visible outer brain?
Neocortex
What is the opposite of contraleteral? i.e. axons in the same hemisphere
Ipsilateral
What lies on top of you cerebrum?
Cerebral cortex (the thin layers of cells cover the cerebral hemispheres called cerebral cortex)
What divides the posterior cortex from the frontal cortex?
Central sulcus
What area is used for emotional processing, social cognition, planning, initiating activies and monitoring one’s actions?
Prefrontal cortex
What lobe is used for motor planning and motor output?
Frontal lobe
What region is involved in the verbal expression of language? (Located in the frontal cortex)
Broca’s area
What region is involved in the comprehension of language? (Located in the posterior cortex)
Wernicke’s area
Which lobe is vital for sensory perception and integration?
Parietal lobe
What is the anterior region of the parietal lobe called?
Somatosensory cortex (receives all sensory information from various parts of the body)
Which lobe consists of auditory language, speech comprehension systems?
Temporal lobe
Which lobe contains the region fusiform face area (face recognition)?
Temporal lobe
Which lobe contains the visual cortex?
Occipital lobe
Which region is responsible for balance/controlling fine motor movements, cognitive functions and coordination?
Cerebellum
What is called a hidden part of the brain that may be involved in ‘gut feeling’ and interoception (feeling of one’s inner organs)?
The insula/the insular cortex (a region of the cerebral cortex outside the PFC, located between the frontal and the temporal lobes, that is associated with interoception and decision-making)
Which lobe is home to the hippocampus, amygdala and limbic cortex?
Medial temporal lobe
What is called a type of white matter tract that crosses the midline, connecting the same cortical area in opposite hemispheres?
Commissures
The cortical sensory motor pathways can be divided into two sets. One flows through the … and the other through the …
Cranial nerves, spinal cord
Which subcortical structure is important for remembering conscious experiences and episodic memory?
Hippocampus
Which subcortical structure is important for emotion and learning processes?
Amygdala
Which subcortical structure is important for action planning and unconscious cognitive operations?
Basal ganglia
Which two development theories of nature and nurture are there? (epigenesis)
Probabilistic epigenesis: the theory that development is not determined by genes alone but that the environment also plays a role in shaping an individual
Predetermined epigenesis: the theory that development is determined entirely by genes
What type of migration is happening when young cells are pushed away from the proliferative zone by more recently born cells?
Passive cell displacement
What is called the increase in sheath that surround
neuronal processess and fibres and increases the efficiency of electrical transmission?
Myelination
The ability to retain an object in mind after it has been hidden by another object or cover is called?
Object permanence
What is the ability to change structure or function in a sustained manner in response to some type of external stimulation called? (The ageing brain)
Plasticity
What model suggests that there are specific experiences and behaviours that give protection from age-related decline?
Cognitive reserve model
What is ion permability?
The ability of ions to cross the membrane
What is neurogenesis?
Brain areas are able to grow new neurons
What is apoptosis?
A neuron can self-initiate preprogrammed cell death (pruning)
What is the modular concept of the brain and what is the network concept of the brain?
Modular concept of the brain: each area has its own function
Network concept of the brain: each function is performed by a combination of areas
What are some predictors of cognitive decline?
- Age
- Health and biomarkers (comorbidity, genetics)
- Experience/lifestyle (low education level, lack of exercise, smoking, nutrition)
Which part of the brain is involved in the Stroop task?
The front part of the cingulate gyrus (involved in detecting or resolving tasks with conflicting stimuli)
What are some mechanisms of plasticity (5)?
- Dendritic spine development
- Pruning/apoptosis
- Myelination
- Receptor changes
- Neurogenesis
What are the areas of the ‘social brain’?
- Superior temporal sulcus (STS, the fissure that separates the superior and middle temporal gyrus, which plays a crucial role in auditory–visual integration)
- The fusiform face area (FFA, a region of the cortex in the inferior temporal lobe of the brain, face recognition)
- The orbitofrontal cortex (sensory integration, modulation of visceral reactions, and participation in learning, prediction and decision making for emotional and reward-related behaviours)
What does the scaffholding theory of ageing and cognition (STAC) suggest?
The brain adapts and reorganizes in response to neural insults associated with aging and to stimulating activities/new learning
Cognitive function in older adults can be understood in terms of the magnitude of neural insults that the brain has sustained and the compensatory neural activities that maintain behaviour
What is dendritic spine formation?
Dendritic spines are small protrusions from the dendrite membrane, where contact with neighboring axons is formed in order to receive synaptic input
Based on stimulation levels, connectivity between cells can change
