Week 6 Flashcards
(97 cards)
Brain stem
sometimes referred to as the “trunk” of the brain. Responsible for many of the neural functions that keep us alive, including regulating our respiration, heart rate, and digestion
Includes the medulla, pons, midbrain, and diencephalon (consists of the thalamus and hypothalamus)
Cerebellum
distinctive structure at the back of the brain. Critical for coordinated movement and posture. Contains the greatest number of neurons of any structure in the brain
Cerebral hemispheres
responsible for our cognitive abilities and conscious experience
Consist of the cerebral cortex and the accompanying white matter as well as the subcortical structures of the basal ganglia, amygdala, and hippocampal formation
Largest and most visible part of the brain
Consists of two hemispheres and gives the brain its characteristic gray and convoluted appearance
Folds and grooves of the cerebral cortex
Gyri and sulci
Occipital lobe
responsible for vision
Temporal lobe
involved in auditory processing, memory, and the multisensory integration
Parietal lobe
houses the somatosensory cortex and structures involved in visual attention, as well as multisensory convergence zones
Frontal lobe
Houses the motor cortex and structure involved in motor planning, language, judgment, and decision-making
Basal ganglia
critical to voluntary movement and as such make contact with the cortex, the thalamus, and the brain stem
limbic system
A loosely defined network of nuclei in the brain involved with learning and emotion
Amygdala
responsible for emotional responses, especially in situations involving anxiety, fear, or rage.
hippocampus
with your learning and memory. It converts short-term memories into long-term memories by organizing, storing and retrieving memories within your brain.
split brain patients
corpus callosum was surgically severed (callosotomy) or due to a genetic abnormality. Because of the contralateral representation of sensory information, if an object is placed in only the left or only the right visual hemifield, then only the right or left hemisphere, respectively, of the split-brain patient will see it. Because language is very often localized in the left hemisphere, if we show the right hemisphere a picture and ask the patient what she saw, she will say she didn’t see anything
Which hemisphere is associated with language
left hemisphere
Gray matter
composed of the neuronal cell bodies. The cell bodies (or soma) contain the genes of the cell and are responsible for metabolism and synthesizing proteins
White matter
composed of the axons of the neurons, and, in particular, axons that are covered with a sheath of myelin
What is the result of the loss of gray and white matter
deficits in language, memory, reasoning, and other mental functions
Phrenology
Phrenologists assumed that various features of the brain, such as its uneven surface, are reflected on the skull; therefore, they attempted to correlate bumps and indentations of the skull with specific functions of the brain
Virtual dissection
Brain is imaged using computerized axial tomography or MRI scanners; they reveal with very high precision the various structures in the brain and can help detect changes in gray or white matter
These changes in the brain can then be correlated with behaviour, such as performance on memory tests, and, therefore, implicate specific brain areas in certain cognitive functions
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
refers to a technique whereby a brief magnetic pulse is applied to the head that temporarily induces a weak electrical current in the brain
Allows for very precise study of when events in the brain happen so it has a good temporal resolution, but its application is limited only to the surface of the cortex and cannot extend to deep areas of the brain
Transcranial direct current stimulation
uses electrical current directly, rather than inducing it with magnetic pulses, by placing small electrodes on the skull
Brain area is stimulated by a low current for a more extended period of time than TMS
When used in combination with cognitive training, tDCS has been shown to improve perfromance of many cognitive functions such as mathematical ability, memory, attention, and coordination
Neuroimaging tools
used to study the brain inaction; that is, when it is engaged in a specific task
Position emission tomography
records blood flow in the brain
PET scanner detects the radioactive substance that is injected into the bloodstream of the participant just before or while he or she is performing some task
detect the injected radioactive substance in specific brain regions, allowing researchers to infer that those areas were active during the task
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
relies on blood flow in the brain
Measures the changes in oxygen levels in the blood and does not require any substance to be injected into the participant