9 - Gross anatomy of the brain I

Question 1

What are gyri?

Answer 1

Ridges of brain

Question 2

What are sulci?

Answer 2

Small folds in the brain

Question 3

What are the main folds and fissures in the brain?

Answer 3

• longitudinal cerebral fissure
• central sulcus
• lateral sulcus

Question 4

How are grey and white mater organised in the brain?

Answer 4

White mater is enclosed by grey mater - white on the inside

Question 5

What is the overall function of the cerebrum?

Answer 5

• cerebral cortex controls higher brain activity
• memory, intelligence, personality
• interpretation of impulses
• initiation of voluntary movement

Question 6

What are the lobes of the cerebrum?

Answer 6

• frontal
• temporal
• parietal
• occipital
• insula

Question 7

Where is the insula located?

Answer 7

Deep to frontal, parietal and temporal

Question 8

What divides the hemispheres of the cerebrum?

Answer 8

Falx cerebri

Question 9

What are folia?

Answer 9

Ridges of the cerebellum

Question 10

Where is the cerebellum located?

Answer 10

• posterior to medulla, pons and midbrain
• inferior to cerebrum
• lies in posterior cranial fossa

Question 11

What connects the hemispheres of the cerebrum?

Answer 11

corpus collosum

Question 12

What connects the hemispheres of the cerebellum?

Answer 12

Vermis

Question 13

What is the function of the cerebellum?

Answer 13

controls balance on the ipsilateral side of the body

Question 14

What makes up the brainstem?

Answer 14

• medulla
• pons
• midbrain

Question 15

Where is the midbrain located?

Answer 15

Junction of anterior/posterior cranial fossi

Question 16

What makes up the diencephalon?

Answer 16

• epithalamus
• hypothalamus
• thalamus

Question 17

Where is the medulla located?

Answer 17

• continuous with spinal cord
• posterior cranial fossa

Question 18

Where is the pons located?

Answer 18

• forms bridge between medulla and midbrain
• anterior part of posterior cranial fossa

Question 19

What CN are associated with the midbrain?

Answer 19

• CN III
• CN IV

Question 20

What CN are associated with the medulla?

Answer 20

• CN IX
• CN X
• CN XII

Question 21

What CN are associated with the pons?

Answer 21

CN V

Question 22

What CN arise between the junction of the pons and medulla?

Answer 22

• CN VI
• CN VII
• CN VIII

Question 23

What is another name for the insula?

Answer 23

limbic system

Question 24

What is contained in the insula?

Answer 24

• hypocampus
• fornix
• amygdala

Question 25

How are the frontal and parietal lobes separated?

Answer 25

Central sulcus

Question 26

How are the parietal and occipital lobes separated?

Answer 26

Parieto-occipital sulcus (medial side)

Question 27

How are the temporal, parietal and frontal lobes separated?

Answer 27

Lateral sulcus

Question 28

What are the different areas of the frontal lobe?

Answer 28

- prefrontal cortex - motor cortex - broca's area

Question 29

Describe the prefrontal cortex.

Answer 29

- most anterior - problem solving, complex planning and decision making, personality - depth of feeling, judgement, initiative - coordinates all association areas

Question 30

Describe the somatic motor association area.

Answer 30

- premotor cortex - anterior to primary motor cortex - learned movements

Question 31

What is a cortical association area?

Answer 31

An area that coordinates motor responses or interprets sensory information.

Question 32

Describe the primary motor cortex.

Answer 32

- pre central gyrus - control of voluntary movement - specific areas of the gyrus map to specific body parts

Question 33

Describe Broca's area.

Answer 33

- motor speech area - production of speech - usually found in the left hemisphere (ie the dominant hemisphere) - regulates breathing patterns when speaking - coordinates muscles to produce correct sounds

Question 34

What is broca's aphasia?

Answer 34

Patients can comprehend words but not form them themselves (speech and writing)

Question 35

What are the different areas in the parietal lobe?

Answer 35

- primary somatosensory cortex - sensory association area (posterior parietal cortex)

Question 36

Describe the primary somatosensory cortex.

Answer 36

- postcentral gyrus - tactile sensation - conscious perception of pain, temperature, vibrations, taste, touch etc

Question 37

Describe the posterior parietal cortex.

Answer 37

- interpretation of the sensory information - spatial perception - cognitive function - ability to recognise objects without having seen them (ie feel with hands)

Question 38

What is the homunculus?

Answer 38

- map of the body to the gyrus - motor and sensory - size relates to degree of fine motor skill or sensory feedback

Question 39

What are the different areas of the occipital lobe?

Answer 39

- visual cortex - visual association area

Question 40

Describe the primary visual cortex.

Answer 40

- located at the calcarine sulcus - receives visual information from the thalamus - conscious perception of visual information - right field of vision is represented in the LHS of brain

Question 41

Describe the visual association area.

Answer 41

- relates information from visual cortex to previous experiences

Question 42

What are the different areas of the temporal lobe?

Answer 42

- auditory cortex - auditory association area - Wernicke's area - temporal cortex

Question 43

Describe the auditory cortex.

Answer 43

Perception of sounds including words, pitch and tone

Question 44

Describe Wernicke's area.

Answer 44

- language comprehension - found in dominant hemisphere - important to personality

Question 45

What is Wernicke's aphasia?

Answer 45

- can form words but in meaningless sentences - rhyming words are often used - understanding of what words mean is lost

Question 46

What connects Wercnike's and Broca's area?

Answer 46

Arcuate fasciculus

Question 47

Describe the auditory association area.

Answer 47

- recognition of words - memory related to grammar and vocabulary

Question 48

What is the function of the insula?

Answer 48

- anterior involved in language (planning and coordination) - posterior involved in integrating information regrading pain - connected to olfactory cortex and gustatory - cardiovascular homeostasis - emotional and empathic response