The Brain Flashcards
(32 cards)
Frontal lobe
Motor control, decision-making, planning, speech (Broca’s area), personality.
Parietal lobe:
Somatosensory processing (touch, pressure, pain), spatial orientation.
Temporal lobe:
Hearing, language comprehension (Wernicke’s area), memory.
Occipital lobe:
Visual processing.
Insula (deep to temporal lobe):
Involved in taste, visceral sensation, emotional responses
Thalamus:
Relay station for all sensory information (except smell); transmits to cortex.
Hypothalamus:
Regulates homeostasis—temperature, thirst, hunger, endocrine activity (via pituitary).
Basal ganglia:
Coordinates initiation and smooth execution of movement; dysfunction → Parkinson’s disease.
Cerebellum:
Coordinates voluntary movement, posture, balance, and motor learning.
Brainstem:
Midbrain, pons, medulla:
Controls vital functions—breathing, heart rate, blood pressure.
Cranial nerve origin (III–XII)
reflex centers for swallowing, vomiting, etc
Ventricular System:
Lateral ventricles → third ventricle → fourth ventricle → subarachnoid space/central canal
Lined by choroid plexus, which produces cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Primary motor cortex:
Located in precentral gyrus (frontal lobe); controls voluntary movement.
Primary somatosensory cortex:
Postcentral gyrus (parietal lobe); processes touch, proprioception.
Primary visual cortex:
Occipital lobe; interprets visual input.
Primary auditory cortex:
Temporal lobe; interprets sound.
Association areas
integrate inputs for complex processing (e.g., recognising faces, language meaning).
Interpret meaning using memory.
Sensory Input and Behavior
Sensory stimuli → sensory receptors → afferent pathways → primary sensory cortices.
Integrated information is relayed to motor areas to guide behavioral responses.
The reticular activating system (RAS)
regulates arousal and consciousness.
Procedural Memory:
Skills and tasks (e.g., riding a bike).
Involves cerebellum and basal ganglia.
Acquired through repetition, unconscious recall.
Declarative Memory:
Facts and events.
Involves hippocampus and cerebral cortex.
Can be consciously recalled and verbally expressed.
Limbic System
structures and function
Key structures: Hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, dentate gyrus.
Functions:
Emotion regulation (amygdala)
Memory consolidation (hippocampus)
Links emotion and memory to behavior.
CSF:
Clear fluid from choroid plexus; circulates through ventricles and subarachnoid space.
Cushion brain, removes waste, transports nutrients.
Circulation
Lateral ventricles → third → fourth → subarachnoid space → arachnoid villi → venous sinuses.
