Week 10 Flashcards
Coronal Plane
Shows brain structures as they would be see from the front
Horizontal Plane
Shows brain structures as they would be seen from above
Sagittal Plane
Shows brain structures as they would be seen from the side
Ventricular System
Ventricles form four hollow interconnected chambers in the brain, which are filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The lateral ventricles (1st and 2nd) are the largest, and are located in the left and right cerebral hemispheres. The 3rd and 4th ventricles lie along the midline in a vertical orientation. CSF is manufactured by the choroid plexus, which protrudes into all four ventricles
Major Divisions in the Nervous System
The nervous system of the brain can be divided into several areas: The forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain, which can be further broken down into development areas
Forebrain
The most dorsal division of the brain, consisting of the Telencephalon and Diencephalon
Telencephalon Division
The largest division of the brain, consisting of the cerebral hemispheres, the Limbic system and the Basal Ganglia
Diencephalon Division
Includes the thalamus, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland
Midbrain
The middle division of the brain, located dorsal to the hindbrain and ventral to the forebrain
Mesencephalon Division
Located in the midbrain, this division includes superior and inferior colliculi, nuclei involved in visual and auditory processing, respectively
Hindbrain
The most caudal division of the brain. The metencephalon and myelencephalon comprise the hindbrain
Metencephalon
Part of the hindbrain, the Pons and Cerebellum are located here
Myelencephalon
Part of the hindbrain, located above the spinal column at the base of the brain
Cerebral Cortex
The outermost sheath of the cerebrum, divided into the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal cortexes
Parietal Lobe
Parietal Lobes are concerned with receiving sensory information and with perception, such as awareness of right and left sides of the body, and the position of the body in space. The parietal lobes are important in understanding what is said. Nerve fibres carrying visual information pass through these lobes
Frontal Lobe
Frontal lobes are the location for our conscious thinking and our emotions. They have many other functions, such as initiating movements and speech, storing memories, exercising impulses, control in social and sexual behaviour, initiating activity, and in judgement. The sense of smell also depends on the frontal lobes.
Occipital Lobe
The Occipital Lobes main function concerns vision. Light energy is converted by the receptor cells of the eye into electric impulses which travel along the nerve fibres and cells of the visual pathway, finally reaching nerve cells of the occipital cortex. On receiving these impulses and sending them to visual association areas of the brain concerned with object recognition and other aspects of vision, making the conscious experience of seeing possible
Temporal Lobe
The Temporal Lobe has many important functions which include storage of memories, the experience of strong emotions, and smell and taste. The temporal lobe is the destination of the auditory pathway which transmits impulses from the inner ear to the brain. Some fibres of the visual pathway pass through the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe plays a role in orientation and appreciation of time
Corpus Callosum
The corpus callosum is a band of more than 200 million myelinated axons that connect the two cerebral hemispheres. The corpus callosum is the largest cerebral commisure and carries information between the left and right hemisphere
Limbic System
The limbic system is located in a circle around the thalamus. This system is involved in regulation of emotion and motivated behaviours related to survival of organisms: feeding, fighting, flight, sexual behaviour, etc. The limbic system includes: the cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Additional components of this system include the fornix and the septum
Hippocampus
The hippocampus is the center of emotion, memory, and the autonomic nervous system
Amygdala
a roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter inside each cerebral hemisphere, involved with the experiencing of emotions.
Basal Ganglia
The basal ganglia are involved in the control of movement. Composed of three separate structures: The caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. The caudate and putamen together are referred to as the striatum
Thalamus
The thalamus is a double-lobed midline structure which is functionally divided into several nuclei: The lateral geniculate nucleus, part of the visual system. The medial geniculate necleus, part of the auditory system
Hypothalamus
The Hypothalamus controls the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system, it organizes behaviours related to the survival of the species. It is located under the thalamus, as prefix ‘hypo’ implies
Pituitary Gland
The pituitary gland is attached to the base of the hypothalamus. Most of the hormones secreted by this gland control other endocrine glands. It has been called the “Master Gland”
Medulla
Contains part of the reticular activating system (RAS) including nuclei that control vital functions such as regulation of the cardiovascular system, respiration, and skeletal muscle tone
Pons gland
Pons gland contains a portion of the reticular activating system
Cerebellum
the cerebellum Integrates visual, auditory, vestibular and somatosensory information as well as information about individual muscle movements. The cerebellum exerts a coordinating & smoothing effect on movements
Lateralization of Function
The left and right hemispheres of the brain are specialized for different functions
Brain Plasticity
The brain’s ability to change throughout life
Cell Assembly
System of interconnected neurons that activates in a specific dynamic pattern; activation of part of the cell assembly sends signals that activate the remainder of its components
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A long-term increase in the excitability of a neuron to a particular synaptic input
Dualism
The philosophical belief that reality consists of two distinct entities: mind and matter (body)
Materialism
Philosophical belief that reality can be known only through an understanding of the physical world of which the mind is a part
Physicalism
The view that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties
Monism
The view that only one kind of substance exists
Global Workspace Theory of Consciousness
Proposes that the brain’s working memory is a global workspace that serves to integrate, access, and coordinate the functioning of large numbers of specialized brain circuits
Neural Correlates
Minimal neuronal mechanisms required to produce a specific conscious precept
Blindsight
The ability to interact behaviourally with objects while remaining consciously unaware of them
Vegetative State
Describes a person who is awake and shows sleep-wake cycles but shows no signs of being aware of himself or his environment. He is unable to interact with others and shows no evidence of reproducible voluntary responses to any kind of external stimulus
Minimally Conscious State
Condition of severely altered consciousness where there is minimal evidence of any form of awareness. To be classified as minimally conscious, patients have to show some evidence of reproducible voluntary behaviour, such as responding to simple commands
Brain Death
Irreversible unconsciousness with complete loss of brain function
Locked-in Syndrome
Condition in which an individual is fully conscious, but all the voluntary muscles of the body are completely paralyzed, with the possible exception of the muscles controlling eye movement
Contingency
Causal link between events
Restoration Theory
Sleep is essential for revitalizing and restoring the physiological processes that keep the body and mind healthy and properly functioning.
Preservation and protection theory of sleep
A theory that holds that sleep serves an adaptive function. It protects the animal during that portion of the 24-hour day in which being awake, and hence roaming around, would place the individual at greatest risk.
Consolidation
Conversion of information from short-term memory to long-term memory
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Measurement and graphical presentation of the electrical activity in the brain, recorded by means of electrodes attached to the skin
Alpha activity
Neural activity in the range of 8-12 Hz
Rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep
Period of sleep during which dreaming, rapid eye movements, and muscular paralysis occur and the EEG shows beta activity
Theta Activity
Electrical activity of the brain that is in the 3.5 to 7.5 Hz range
Delta Activity
Electrical activity of the brain with a frequency of less than 3.5 cycles per second
Slow-Wave Sleep
Sleep other than REM sleep, characterized by regular, slow waves on an electroencephalograph
Beta Activity
High-frequency neural oscillations in the range of 15-30 Hz, or 15-30 cycles per second. This activity characterizes an alert, wakeful state of consciousness
REM atonia
Lack of muscle response during dreams
Parasomnia
Sleeping disorder category involving abnormal movements, perceptions or dreams during any stage of sleep
Why do we sleep?
Sleep is restorative, preservative, protective, and essential for robust, efficient, long-term memory, and even more benefits.
Dichotic Listening
Two different auditory stimuli (usually speech) are presented to the participant simultaneously, one to each ear
Filter model of attention
According to the filter model, attention is a filter on incoming sensory information. Only sensory signals that pass through the filter go on to be processed further
Visual Search
Common task of looking for something in a cluttered visual environment
Conjunction Search
Each item in the visual array must be examined to determine if it is the target stimulus
Singleton Searches
All items in the search can be identified at the same time
Feature-integration theory of attention
This theory holds that simple features are processed quickly and sorted into features. If combinations of features must be examined, then extra cognition and attention is required, slowing the process.
Attentional Blink
The second of two targets cannot be detected or identified when it appears close in time to the first
Rapid, Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP)
A technique of displaying information rapidly and sequentially for identification of a target object
Change Blindness
Failure to detect a change when vision is interrupted by a saccade (rapid eye movement) or an artificially produced obstruction
Inattentional Blindness
Failure to perceive an event when attention is diverted elsewhere
Bistable Stimuli
Ambiguous stimuli with more than one possible interpretation.
