Chapter 2: The neural basis for cognition

Question 1

Amygdala

Answer 1

Located in limbic system

Plays primarily role in emotion and stimuli evaluation

Question 2

Prefrontal cortex

Answer 2

The outer surface (cortex) of the front part of the brain (frontal)

Crucial for planning complex and novel behaviors

Often mentioned as a main site of the brain’s executive function

Question 3

Hindbrain

Answer 3

One of the brain’s 3 main structures (along with forebrain and midbrain)

Sits atop the spinal cord

Crucial for controlling several key life functions

Question 4

Cerebellum

Answer 4

The largest of the hindbrain’s areas

Crucial for balance and controlling bodily movements

Question 5

Midbrain

Answer 5

Important in sensory reflexes, movement, and pain

Question 6

Forebrain

Answer 6

Largest and newest part of the brain

Thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebrum

Question 7

Cortex

Answer 7

Outer layer of the brain

Question 8

Convolutions

Answer 8

Wrinkles in the brain allow it to take up less space

Question 9

Longitudinal fissure

Answer 9

Largest convolution

Divides the left and right hemispheres

Question 10

Cerebral hemisphere

Answer 10

Either of the two halves of the cerebrum

Right controls left side of body and vice versa

Question 11

Frontal lobes

Answer 11

Largest lobes in the human brain

Most common area for TBI

Voluntary movement, high level executive functions, expressive language

Prefrontal and primary motor projection areas

Question 12

Central fissure

Answer 12

Separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the parietal lobes

Question 13

Parietal lobes

Answer 13

The lobe in each cerebral hemisphere that lies between the occipital and frontal lobes and that includes some of the primary sensory projection areas, as well as circuits that are crucial for the control of attention

Question 14

Lateral fissure

Answer 14

Separation dividing the frontal lobes on each side of the brain from the temporal lobes

Question 15

Temporal lobes

Answer 15

The lobe of the cortex lying inward and down from the temples

Each includes the primary projection area, Wernicke’s area, and, subcortically the amygdala and hippocampus

Question 16

Occipital lobes

Answer 16

Rearmost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere

Includes primary visual projection area

Question 17

Subcortical structures

Answer 17

Identified pieces of the brain that are underneath the cortex

Thalamus, hypothalamus, various components of the limbic system

Question 18

Thalamus

Answer 18

Major relay & integration center for sensory information

Question 19

Hypothalamus

Answer 19

A small structure at the base of the forebrain that plays a vital role in the control of motivated behaviors such as eating, drinking, and sex

Question 20

Limbic system

Answer 20

A set of brain structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus

Believed to be involved in control of emotional behavior and motivation

Key role in learning and memory

Question 21

Hippocampus

Answer 21

Structure located in the temporal lobe

Involved in creation of long-term memories and spatial memory

Question 22

Commissure

Answer 22

One of the thick bundles of fibers along which information is sent back and forth between the two cerebral hemispheres

Question 23

Corpus callosum

Answer 23

Largest commissure

Links the left and right hemispheres

Question 24

Lesion

Answer 24

A specific area of tissue damage

Question 25

Neuroimaging techniques

Answer 25

**Non-invasive** methods for examining either the **structure** or the **activation pattern** within a living brain

Question 26

Computerized axial tomography (CT scans)

Answer 26

Uses **X-rays** to construct a precise 3D image of **brain's anatomy**

Question 27

Positron emission tomography (PET scans)

Answer 27

Determines how much **glucose** (brain fuel) is being used by specific areas of the brain at a particular moment in time

Question 28

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scans)

Answer 28

Uses **magnetic fields** to construct a detailed 3D representation of brain tissue Like *CT*, *MRI* reveals the brain's **anatomy**, but it's much more precise

Question 29

functional Magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Answer 29

Uses **magnetic fields** to construct a detailed 3D representation of activity levels in different areas of the brain at a particular moment in time

Question 30

electroencephalogram (EEG)

Answer 30

A recording of **voltage** changes occuring at the scalp that reflect activity in the brain underneath

Question 31

Event-related potentials

Answer 31

Changes in *EEG* in the brief period just before, during, or after an explicitly defined event, usually measured by averaging together many trials in which this event has occured

Question 32

Fusiform face area (FFA)

Answer 32

Brain area specialized for **perception of faces**

Question 33

Transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS)

Answer 33

A technique in which a series of strong magnetic pulses at a specific location on the scalp causes temporary disruption in the brain region directly underneath this scalp area

Question 34

Localization of function

Answer 34

A particular region of the brain performs a specific job/function

Question 35

Primary motor projection areas

Answer 35

Located in rear of the *frontal lobe* Departure point for nerve cells that send their signals to lower portiuons of the brain and spinal cord, and that ultimately result in **muscle movement****

Question 36

Primary sensory projection areas

Answer 36

Main point of **arrival** for information arriving from the **sense organs**

Question 37

Contralateral control

Answer 37

Pattern in which the **left half of the brain controls the right half** of the body and the right half of the brian controls the left half of the body

Question 38

Association cortext

Answer 38

Traditional name for the portiuoin of the human *cortex* outside the motor and sensory projection areas

Question 39

Apraxias

Answer 39

Disturbance in the capacity to initiate/organize **voluntary action**, often caused by brain damage

Question 40

Agnosias

Answer 40

Disturbance in ability to **identify familiar objects**

Question 41

Unilateral neglect syndrome

Answer 41

Pattern of symptoms in which affected individuals ignore all inputs coming from one side of space

Question 42

Aphasia

Answer 42

A disruption to **language capacities**, often caused by brain damage

Question 43

Neurons

Answer 43

Individual cells in the nervous system

Question 44

Glia

Answer 44

Type of nerve cell found in the central nervous system Many functions including support of neural connections and a key role in guiding initial development of these connections Specialized glial cells provide insulatiuon to some neurons (myelin)

Question 45

Cell body

Answer 45

Area of cell coantaining nucleus and metabolic machinery that sustains the cell

Question 46

Dendrites

Answer 46

Part of neuron that usually detects the incoming signal

Question 47

Axon

Answer 47

Part of *neuron* that typically transmits a signal away from the neuron's cell body and carries the signal to another location

Question 48

Neurotransmitter

Answer 48

One of the chemicals released by *neurons* to stimulate adjacent neurons

Question 49

Synapse

Answer 49

Space between *neurons*

Question 50

Presynaptic membrane

Answer 50

Cell membrane of the *neuron* sending information

Question 51

Postsynaptic membrane

Answer 51

Cell membrane of the *neuron* receiving information

Question 52

Threshold

Answer 52

Activity level at which a cell or detector responds or **fires**

Question 53

Action potential

Answer 53

A brief change in the electrical potential of an *axon* The action poptential is the physical basis of the signal sent from one end of a *neuron* to the other Usually triggers a further (chemical) signal to other neurons

Question 54

Myelin sheath

Answer 54

Layer of tissue formed by specialized *glial cells* that provides insulation around the *axons* of many *neurons* There are gaps in the insulationand the neuronal signal jumps from one of these gaps to the next, dramatically increasing the speed of neurotransmission

Question 55

All or none law

Answer 55

A *neuron* or *detector* either fires **completely** or does **not at all** | No intermediate responses are possible

Question 56

Coding

Answer 56

System through which one type of information stands for or represents a different type of information In the context of the nervous system, this term refers to the way in which activity in *neurons* manages to stand for, or represent, particular ideas or thoughts