Neurobiology Week 6 Flashcards
(135 cards)
The brain uses ______ and ______, delivered via the blood.
oxygen and glucose
metabolites
A substance necessary for a living organism to maintain life.
using 20% of the oxygen and calories we consume despite being only 2% of our total weight.
brainstem
The “trunk” of the brain comprised of the medulla, pons, midbrain, and diencephalon.
regulating our respiration (breathing), heart rate, and digestion.
Cerebellum
A nervous system structure behind and below the cerebrum. Controls motor movement coordination, balance, equilibrium, and muscle tone.
cerebrum
Consists of left and right hemispheres that sit at the top of the nervous system and engages in a variety of higher-order functions.
cerebral hemispheres
The cerebral cortex, underlying white matter, and subcortical structures.
cognitive abilities and conscious experience.
cerebral cortex
The outermost gray matter of the cerebrum; the distinctive convolutions characteristic of the mammalian brain.
largest and most visible part of the brain
subcortal structures
Structures that lie beneath the cerebral cortex, but above the brain stem.
gyri
(plural) Folds between sulci in the cortex.
sulci
(plural) Grooves separating folds of the cortex.
gyrus
(plural form, gyri) A bulge that is raised between or among fissures of the convoluted brain.
sulcus
(plural form, sulci) The crevices or fissures formed by convolutions in the brain.
The two cerebral hemispheres can be further subdivided into four lobes:
- occipital
- temporal
- parietal
- frontal lobes.
occipital lobe
The back part of the cerebrum, which houses the visual areas.
- Sight
temporal lobe
An area of the cerebrum that lies below the lateral sulcus; it contains auditory and olfactory (smell) projection regions.
memory, and multisensory integration (e.g., the convergence of vision and audition).
- hearing and smell
parietal lobe
An area of the cerebrum just behind the central sulcus that is engaged with somatosensory and gustatory sensation.
somatosensory cortex
The region of the parietal lobe responsible for bodily sensations; the somatosensory cortex has a contralateral representation of the human body.
- body sensations
frontal lobe
The most forward region (close to forehead) of the cerebral hemispheres.
motor cortex
Region of the frontal lobe responsible for voluntary movement; the motor cortex has a contralateral representation of the human body.
- motor planning, language, judgment, and decision-making
basal ganglia
Subcortical structures of the cerebral hemispheres involved in voluntary movement.
limbic system
A loosely defined network of nuclei in the brain involved with learning and emotion.
The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a dense bundle of white matter tracts called the _______.
corpus callosum
contrelatoral representation
Literally “opposite side”; used to refer to the fact that the two hemispheres of the brain process sensory information and motor commands for the opposite side of the body (e.g., the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body).
lateralized
To the side; used to refer to the fact that specific functions may reside primarily in one hemisphere or the other (e.g., for the majority individuals, the left hemisphere is most responsible for language).