Brain anatomy

Question 1

What is the brain composed of?

Answer 1

Brain stem and cerebral hemispheres

Question 2

What are the three components of the cerebral hemispheres?

Answer 2

Cortex, sub-cortical structures, white-matter tracts

Question 3

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 3

white matter tracts (numerous axons) connecting the two hemispheres

Question 4

Where are gyri (gyrus)

Answer 4

plateau on cortical surface

Question 5

Where are sulci (sulcus)?

Answer 5

fold/ditch in cortical surface

Question 6

What are major sulci referred to as?

Answer 6

fissures

Question 7

What are the three main sulci/fissures?

Answer 7

Central sulcus of rolando,
patrieto-occipital sulcus,
sylvian or lateral fissure

Question 8

How are the four lobes in the brain divided?

Answer 8

By three major sulci: the central, lateral and parietal-occipital sulci

Question 9

What are the coordinates and orientations of the brain?

Answer 9

Superior (dorsal) - up
anterior (rostral) - front
posterior (caudal) - back
inferior (ventral) - down

Question 10

What are three types of slice?

Answer 10

Axial, coronal, sagittal

Question 11

What is a axial slice?

Answer 11

Cut horizontally

Question 12

What is a coronal slice?

Answer 12

Cut top to bottom

Question 13

What is a sagittal slice?

Answer 13

Cut front to back

Question 14

Who divided the cortex into a number of areas?

Answer 14

Brodmann

Question 15

What are some specific groups of neurons?

Answer 15

Reticular formation, suprachiasmatic nucleus, ventromedial nucleus

Question 16

What does the reticular formation do?

Answer 16

Involved in control of arousal and sleep

Question 17

What does the suprachiasmatic nucleus do?

Answer 17

Controls the circadian rhythm

Question 18

What does the ventromedial nucleus do?

Answer 18

Controls the conversion fo blood glucose

Question 19

What is equipotentiality?

Answer 19

different parts of the brain may be equally involved with functions

Question 20

Who investigated equipotentiality?

Answer 20

Flourens

Question 21

What is the process of perception?

Answer 21

• cortical areas where sensory info arrives
• info passed to secondary sensory areas fro sophisticated processing
• processing moves to association area

Question 22

How do cells in the temporal lobe (fusiform gyrus) respond to complex visual stimuli

Answer 22

highly

Question 23

What is prosopagnosia?

Answer 23

Damage to fusiform area cor cell loss due to degeneration which results in impaired face recognition

Question 24

What is the hierarchical organisation?

Answer 24

• primary motor cortex exerts control over movement
• other areas (e.g. premotor) plan movement
• sub-cortical structures (e.g. basal ganglia) are involved in fine-grained co-ordination

Question 25

What does the substantia nigra produce?

Answer 25

dopamine

Question 26

What can cause parkinson?

Answer 26

excess dopamine given from the substantia nigra

Question 27

Which region of the brain expanded more than any other in the course of evolution in primates?

Answer 27

Dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex

Question 28

Why is little brain space dedicated to vital functions?

Answer 28

Because they are not subject to plasticity

Question 29

What are higher-order cognitive functions supported by?

Answer 29

Cortical and sub-cortical structures

Question 30

What do primary sensory and motor regions take up a small area of the cortex compared to?

Answer 30

secondary and association areas