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Cerebral Cortex Flashcards

1
Q

Describe the organisation of grey matter and white matter

A

Grey matter is on outside and white matter is within the brain.
Grey matter contains cell bodies and white matter and white matter contain neuronal tracts.

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2
Q

What are the three types of fibres and what are their connection?

A

Association fibres: connect areas within the same hemisphere

Commissural fibres: connect left hemisphere to the right hemisphere (e.g. corpus callosum)

Projection fibres: connect cortex with lower brain structures (e.g. thalamus), brain stem and spinal cord (e.g. corticospinal tract all the way down to alpha motor neurons)

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3
Q

Define the dorsal and ventral surface of the brain?

A

The dorsal is the outer surface

The ventral is the inner surface

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4
Q

How many layers of grey matter are there?

A

There are 3 to 6 layers

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5
Q

What is the neocortex?

A

Part of the cerebral cortex concerned with sight and hearing in mammals most recently evolved part of the cortex

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6
Q

Describe layer 1

A

Most dorsal, very few neurons, glial cells are present, largely association fibres

Neutropil – an area composed mostly of unmyelinated axons, dendrites and glial cell processes that forms a synaptically dense region containing a relatively low number of cell bodies

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7
Q

Which layer receives input from the thalamus?

A

Layer 4

Layer 4 is also rich is stellate neruons which are star shape and GABAergic

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8
Q

Summarise the connections of the layers

A

Layers 1-3 = mainly cortico-cortical connections
Layer 4 = input from the thalamus
Layer 5-6 = connections with subcortical, brainstem and spinal cord

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9
Q

What type of neurons are found in layer 5?

A

pyramidal neurons

Betz cells - large motor neurons that project all the way down the spinal cord

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10
Q

How is neocortex arranged?

A

Lamina (layers) and columns
More dense vertical connections - topical organisation
neurons with similar properties are found in the same column

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11
Q

What are the different lobes of the neocortex?

A

Frontal
Parietal
Occipital
Temporal

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12
Q

Which corticies are involved in skeletal muscle movement?

A

Primary motor cortex

Motor association cortex

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13
Q

What are the two parts of the visual association cortex and what are they responsible for?

A

Dorsal Pathway – responsible for interpretation of spatial relationships and movements WHERE pathway
Ventral Pathway – responsible for form and colour WHAT pathway

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14
Q

What is APRAXIA?

A

Inability to perform skilled movements with accuracy

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15
Q

What is AGNOSIA?

A

Disorder of the brain whereby patient can’t interpret sensations correctly despite sense organs and nerves conducting sensation to brain correctly.
auditory agnosia
tactile agnosia
visual agnosia

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16
Q

What is RECEPTIVE APHASIA?

A

The patient is unable to understand language in its spoken or written form

17
Q

Compare primary cortices and association cortices?

A

Primary - function predictable, topographical, left-right symmetry

Association - less predictable function, not organised topographical, left-right symmetry is weak

18
Q

Discuss use of functional MRI

A

Decent spatial awareness
Long time to measure response
Blood flow response will take about 5-7 seconds after onset of a stimulus

19
Q

Lesion of visual association cortex effects?

A

Lesions of visual posterior association area can result in inability to recognise faces/learn faces
PROSOPAGNOSIA

20
Q

What is the role of the posterior parietal association cortex?

A

It creates a SPATIAL MAP of the body in its surroundings from multi-modality information

21
Q

What could injury of this part of the association cortex lead to?

A

Disorientation
Inability to read a map or understand spatial relationships
Apraxia
Hemispatial Neglect

22
Q

What are the consequences of a prefrontal lobotomy?

A

Change in personality
Inappropriate behaviour
Lack of ability to remember and relate things over time
Attention span and ability to concentrate are diminished

23
Q

What two areas does the prefrontal cortex receive massive inputs from?

A

Sensory association cortex (somatosensory, visual and auditory)
Dorsomedial Nucleus of the thalamus
NOTE: lesion of the dorsomedial nucleus will have similar consequences to prefrontal lobotomy

24
Q

If you give someone with a unilateral parietal lobe lesion something to draw, what will you expect him or her to do?

A

Hemispatial neglect – they will only draw half of it

25
What effect do temporal cortex lesions have on memory?
Impaired short-term memory | They are effectively trapped in a 30 second window of memory
26
Describe hemispheric specialisation.
Right hemisphere = creative + artistic | Left hemisphere = logical + scientific
27
What is a callosotomy?
A palliative procedure used for the treatment of seizures | The corpus callosum is key for the interhemispheric spread of epileptic activity
28
Hemispheric specialization test?
A word FACE is flashed to the right and the patient is asked to say what he saw Left hemisphere is dominant for verbal processing, the patient's answer matches the word Word FACE flashed to the left of field of view and patient is asked what he saw Right hemi cannot share info with left so patient can't say it but he can draw a face
29
What is diffusion tensor imaging?
Tractography Movement of water can infer the integrity of functional pathways, used to estimate pathway of white matter tracts, any occlusion connection is disrupted in the imaging
30
State two types of brain stimulation testing and what it can be used for.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) •Magnetic field induces a current in the cortex causing neurons to fire •This is method of focally stimulating different areas of the cortex and testing what each area is responsible for Used therapeutically for severe clinical depression Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) •This changes the excitability of neurones but does NOT directly induce neuronal firing •Anode = increases neuronal excitability •Cathode = decreases neuronal excitability •TDCS could be used to reduce motion sickness by suppressing the area of the cortex associated with perceiving vestibular information
31
Describe and explain how PET (positron emission tomography) scans work. What can it be used for?
A radioactive tracer is attached to a molecule to locate areas of the brain where that molecule is being absorbed The tracer emits positrons, which are then detected by the receptors It can be used in Parkinson’s disease to see the uptake of dopamine precursors by dopaminergic neurones Lower uptake of dopamine in posterolateral putamen in PD patients and can be seen by less light, in Parkinson's there is a loss in posterolateral putamen wit relative preservation of caudate
32
What is the difference between MEGs and EEGs ?
MEGs = magnetoencephalography – measures magnetic fields records magnetic field generated by electrical currents naturally occuring in brain EEGs = electroencephalography – measures electric fields non-invasive, electrodes on scalp, voltage fluctuates from ionic current with neurons of brain, less elaborate than MEG
33
What is a major problem with MEGs and EEGs and how is this resolved?
It is quite noisy – there is a lot of background activity This is resolved by doing a trial of a large number of participants so that an average can be found Once the average has been found, it can be deducted from the captured signal to see the underlying activity
34
What is a fMRI?
Function MRI It detects changes in blood flow in the brain It relies on the fact that blood flow in the brain and neuronal activity are coupled – more active parts of the brain require increased blood flow
35
Which areas of the brain become more active when participants imagine positive events?
Amygdala (almond shape set of neurons located in brain's deep medial temporal lobe) Rostral anterior cingulate cortex
36
What is function of occipital cortex and consequence of a lesion?
visual association cortex analyses different attributes of visual image in different places form & colour analyzed along ventral pathway; spatial relationships & movement along dorsal pathway lesions affect specific aspects of visual perception
37
What is function of temporal cortex and consequence of a lesion?
language, object recognition, memory, emotion | injury leads to AGNOSIA AND RECEPTIVE APHASIA
38
what is function of parietal cortex and consequence of a lesion?
posterior parietal association cortex creates spatial map of body in surroundings, from multi-modality information injury may cause disorientation, inability to read map or understand spatial relationships, apraxia, hemispatial neglect
39
what is function of frontal cortex and consequence of a lesion?
- executive function judgement, foresight, personality, appreciation of self in relation to world injury leads to deficits in planning and inappropriate behaviour

Neuro (17 decks)

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