Week 6-Neuroscience 2

Question 1

Describe how the structure of the central nervous system influences behaviour (brainstem cerebellum hypothalamus thalamus limbic system basal ganglia)

Answer 1

Brainstem: autonomic behaviour like breathing, maintaining blood pressure, sleep, alertness
Cerebellum: controls ations involved with percise timing, coordination, balance, motor learning
Hypothalamus: regulates feelings that control hunger, sex, regulation
Thalamus: regulates wakefulness and sleep
Limbic system: involved in motivation, emotion, some types of memory
Basal Ganglia: play role in voluntary movements, learning, remembering how to do something

Question 2

Describe the basic brain structures and their functions

Answer 2

Hindbrain structures:
-medulla: performs functions like regulating breathing and heart rate
-pons: plays in wakefulness and role in dreaming
-cerrebellum: details of movement, balance and new motor skills
Midbrain: functions as a relay station between sensory and motor areas
forebrain: limbic system and cerebrum
Limbic system:
-hypothalamus: controls autonomic nervous system and regulates feelings that control hunger, sex, regulation
-thalamus: relay center of brain
-amygdala: facilitates memory formation for emotional events, mediates fear response
-hippocampus: involved in learning and memory

Question 3

Name the parts and functions of the cerebral cortex

Answer 3

Frontal lobe: inolves thought, planning, language, motor movements (contains primary cortex)
Parietal Lobe: sensory processing and bodily awareness (primary sensory cortex)
Occipital Lobe: visual processing (contains visual cortex)
Temporal Lobe: hearing, object recognition, language, emotion (contains auditory cortex)

Question 4

Methods used to study the brain

Answer 4

EEG: measured electrical signals from brain activity
PET scan: measure metabolic activity of brain with radioactive glucose
MRI: check for localization of a function (using magnets)
Lesioning and brain stimulation: study patients with damage in certain parts of brain or stimulate or inhibit certain arts with magnets

Question 5

Explain the concept of brain plasticity and give an example and describe cell assembly

Answer 5

Brain plasticity: brains ability to change throughout life (ex. brain responds to stress, environmental events produce stress, the brain will get into a habit of coping with particular stressful scenarios)
Cell assembly: circuits of synapse are created in your brain when you learn something

Question 6

Explain the concept of localization of function (explain types)

Answer 6

localization of function: several local centres work together to support complex functions, but functions are localized to a broad area
equipotentiality: each part of brain has equal potential to perform any task

Question 7

Explain concept of cortical lateralization of function and give an example (explain types)

Answer 7

Left and right hemispheres are specialized for different functions (ex. language is left side, appreciation for 3d space is right side, therefor language is lateralized to left)
Aphasia: language disorder resulting from brain damage, this shows that language depends on different parts of the left side of the brain

Question 8

Explain split brain operation functions and research behind it (describe broas aphasia and wernickes aphasia)

Answer 8

-two hemishpheres connected by corpus collosum
-language lateralized to left hemisphere
-motor and sensory functions are crossed- split brain experiment (info from left visual field goes to right visual cortex, motor command goes from right motor cortex to left hand so patients can draw a picture)
Broca’s area: located in let hemisphere so right hemisphere cant produce speech in split brain patient
Broca’s aphasia: difficulty producing language, little problem understanding speech
Wernicke’s aphasia: cant understand speech, and own speech doesn’t make sense but they can still produce language