Cortical Organisation and Function Flashcards
(32 cards)
What are the lobes of the brain?
Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal, Limbic, Insular Cortex
What is the frontal lobe responsible for?
Regulating and initiating motor function
Language
Cognitive functions (executive functions such as planning)
Attention
Memory
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
Sensation of touch and pain
Sensory aspects of language
Spatial orientation and self-perception
What is the occipital lobe responsible for?
Processing visual information
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
Processing auditory information
Emotion
Memories
What is the limbic lobe responsible for? What does it include?
Concerned with learning, memory, emotion, motivation and reward.
Includes the amygdala, hippocampus, mamillary body and cingulate gyrus
Where is the insular cortex? What is it responsible for?
It lies deep within the lateral fissure.
Visceral sensations
Autonomic control
Interoception
Auditory processing
Visual-vestibular integration
What is the grey matter made of?
Neuronal cell bodies and glial cells
What is the white matter made of?
Myelinated neuronal axons
What do white matter tracts do?
Connect cortical areas
What do association fibres do?
Connect areas within the same hemisphere.
What do commissural fibres do?
Connect homologous structures in the left and right hemisphers.
What do projection fibres do?
Connect the cortex with lower brain structures (such as the thalamus, brain stem and spinal cord)
What association fibre connects the frontal and occipital lobe?
Superior longitudinal fasciculus
What association fibre connects the frontal and temporal lobe?
Arcuate fasciculus
Uncinate fasciculus connects the anterior frontal and temporal lobes.
What association fibre connects the temporal and occipital lobe?
Inferior longitudinal fasciculus
What are the two main commissural fibres?
Corpus callosum and anterior commissure
Afferent projection fibres go from where to where?
Lower brain structures to the cortex.
Projection fibres radiate deeper to the cortex. What does this form?
The corona radiata.
Where do projection fibres converge between?
The thalamus and basal ganglia.
What are the three main differences between primary and secondary cortices in terms of location?
Primary cortices have predictable functions based on location.
Primary cortices are organised topographically.
Primary cortices have symmetry between the left and right.
What are the motor areas within the frontal lobe and what do they do?
Primary MA - Control fine, discrete, precise voluntary movements. Provide descending signals to execute movements
Supplementary MA - Involved in planning complex movements that are internally cued.
Premotor MA - Involved in planning movements that are externally cued.
What are the two areas of the parietal lobe involved in sensation? What do they do?
Primary somatosensory - process somatic sensations such as fine touch, vibration, two-point discrimination, proprioception, pain and temperature.
Somatosensory association - interpret the significance of sensory information e.g. recognition of an object and awareness of self and personal space.
What are the two main areas of the occipital lobe concerned with vision?
Primary visual - process visual stimuli
VA - gives meaning and interpretation of visual input
