Ch. 2: Forebrain Flashcards
(8 cards)
what are the two parts of the forebrain and what parts do they contain?
diencephalon: thalamus and hypothalamus
telencephalon: basal ganglia, limbic system, cerebral cortex
thalamus
most sensory info, except for smell, goes here first, gets filtered, and passed along to cortex
related to conciousness
hypothalamus
a collection of nuclei located below thalamus
it is the central regulator of our body’s internal system, regulating the homeostatic functions of circadian rhythms
controls release of hormones from pituitary gland
regulates the activation of the autonomic nervous system
basal ganglia
what happens when it is damaged/degenerated?
controls motor functions by regulating the flow of excitatory signals from the thalamus and responsible for muscle memory
degeneration has been associated with Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ADD/ADHD, OCD, and schizophrenia
what is the main function of the limbic system and what are its parts?
strongly linked to emotions. also involved in motivation, memory, learning
specific emotions: amygdala, septal area,
broad emotions: cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyri, hippocampus, mammillary bodies, hypothalamus
what are the specific emotion functions in the basal ganglia?
amygdala - fear, rage and aggression, empathy; abnormalities may be implicated in autism
septal area - reward, social bonding
what are the broad functions of the basal ganglia?
cingulate gyrus - receives and processes pain, emotional experiences
parahippocampal gyri, hippocampus, mammillary bodies - memory
hypothalamus - anger, aggression, sexual arousal
parts and functions of the cerebral cortex
4 lobes:
frontal - motivation, personality, emotion, cognitive tasks and motor system
parietal - somatosensation (touch sensation), advanced visual processing
temporal - auditory perception, language comprehension
occipital - visual perception
association cortex - memory storage, integrates sensory and motor functions
