Brain structure & function Flashcards
(38 cards)
Hindbrain?
reptilian brain –> Hindbrain: Medulla, pons and cerebellum.
Medulla
reptilian brain, Hindbrain –> Medulla (myelencephalon): Controls heart rate, respiration, Most posterior division of brain, Consist of tracks (crossing-point) carrying signals between the rest of the brain and the body, reflexes
Pons
reptilian brain, Hindbrain –> Pons: bridge between cerebral cortex and cerebellum, sleep regulating neuron clusters, helps respiration, arousal.
Cerebellum
reptilian brain, Hindbrain –> cerebellum: Muscular movements, Learning, memory (especially predictions), Regulating fast changing complex behaviour. Higher brain regions intiate movement, C co-ordinates, also fine movement, ballet and cat.
Midbrain
reptilian brain –> Midbrain (Sensory motor neurons, Sends info on to forebrain, vital part of communication): Reticular formation, Tectum, Substantia nigra, (Thalamus).
Reticular formation
reptilian brain, Midbran/Hindbrain –> reticular form: collection of neurons, involved in arousal and stereotype patters, such as walking, area that runs through brain stem, (ascending) alerts higher brain, (descending) lets through or blocks (attention), if no reticular stimulation no conscious awareness, sleep, DAMAGE: coma.
Tectum
reptilian brain, Midbran –> tectum: formed by 2 colliculi, 1. Superior colliculus: visual-motor function/ eye movements: input from retina and visual cortex & 2. Inferior colliculus: auditory function, crossed and uncrossed fibres from the auditory relay
Substantia nigra
reptilian brain, Midbran (Basal ganglia) –> substantia nigra: part of the Tegmentum (ventral of the Tectum), Large pigmented sections of cluster of neurons, important component of sensorimotor system - In relation to Parkinson’s disease
Thalamus
Reptilian brain/Limbic brain, forebrain –> Thalamus: sensory relay station between higher and lower brain centres (part of the reptilian brain), located on top of the brain stem, relays information organises input from sensory receptors, damage here can cause hallucinations, schizophrenic symptoms
thalamus subcomponents // sensory relay nuclei:
Lateral geniculate nuclei: visual relay station, Medial geniculate nuclei: auditory relay station, Ventral posterior nuclei: somatosensory relay station
- All not just send information but also receive it, get feedback
Limbic system sturcture
(Forebrain) Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Hippocampus, Amygdala, Cingulate cortex
Hypothalamus
Limbic structure/forebrain –> Hypothalamus: many parts of behaviour, especially motivated behaviour E.g. eating, drinking, and sex, emotion and stress
- Intimate communication with endocrine system, controls many hormonal secretions by regulating the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.
Involved in reward and punishment
Hippocampus
Limbic structure/forebrain –> Hippocampus: In the medial temporal lobe, Learning and memory, Forming and retrieving memory, Especially special navigation (Taxi driver study & Rats and maze)
Amygdala
in each hemisphere, adjacent to the hippocampus in anterior temporal lobe. Involved in emotion processing and fear-learning, links areas of the cortex that process “higher” cognitive information with hypothalamic and brainstem systems that control “lower” metabolic responses (e.g. touch, pain sensitivity, and respiration) - allows amygdala to coordinate physiological responses based on cognitive information e.g. fight or fly
Cingulate cortex
regulation of emotion and pain, thought to directly drive the body’s conscious response to unpleasant experiences. Involved in fear and the prediction (and avoidance) of negative consequences. Memory: Learning to avoid negative consequences is an important feature of memory. Damage: Inappropriate emotions, lack of fear, learning impairments, impaired nociception (sensation of pain)
Basal Ganglia
Overlapping with the limbic system. Comprising structures regulate initiation of movements, balance, eye movements, and posture, skill learning. Strongly connected to other motor areas in the brain, link the thalamus with the motor cortex, involved in cognitive and emotional behaviors: an important role in reward and reinforcement, addictive behaviors and habit formation.
Damage in basal ganglia?
e.g. Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease,
tremors, involuntary muscle movements, abnormal increase in muscle tone, difficulty initiating movement, abnormal posture
Substructures of basal ganglia:
caudate nucleus: long, tail-like structure, sweeping out of each amygdala
putamen: connected to caudate through series of fibre bridges
globus pallidus: located between Putamen and thalamus
nucleus accumbens: thought to be associated with rewarding effects of addictive drugs on other reinforcers
substantia nigra
subthalamic nucleus
Frontal cortex/lobe
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex. Prefrontal cortex, Frontal eye fields & Premotor cortex: Coordinating and initiating movements.
Primary Motor cortex & Broca’s area: speech production
Dorsolateral prefrontal Cortex &Medial prefrontal cortex:
involved in complex executive behaviours
Parietal lobe/cortex
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex. Integrating sensory information.
Somatosensory cortex: Gets info from thalamus, Integrates it to create picture of the outside world, without it we could not plan behaviour for motor movements, Continually updated.
temporal lobe/cortex
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex. Long-term memory, auditory perception, emotion.
A large number of substructures associated with face perception, object recognition, understanding language.
includes Superior temporal Gyrus.
Superior temporal Gyrus
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex, temporal lobe –> Superior temporal gyrus. Wernicke’s area: Speech comprehension & Primary auditory cortex: Familiarity within different frequencies .
occipital lobe/cortex
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex
rich connections to other parts of brain, starts off process of interpreting visual info, visual perception
Corpus collosum (aivokurkiainen)
Neo-cortex, Cerebral cortex
connective tissue between the hemispheres
o Allows info to move between hemispheres
