| What are the terms of neural space? | Rostral (anterior/ towards the beak).
Caudal (posterior/ towards the tail).
Dorsal (superior/ towards the back).
Ventral (inferior/ towards the belly).
Lateral (towards the side).
Medial (towards the midline).
Ipsilateral (on same side as midline).
Contralateral (on opposite side of midline). |
| What is the corpus callosum? | Consists of large bundle of axons that connect two hemispheres.
Green & blue represent contralateral connections (see image).
Homotopic connects complementary region of other hemisphere (contralateral)
Heterotpic communicates to different brain regions (contralateral).
Ipsilateral is on the same side. |
| What is callosotomy? | Procedure to cut the corpus collosum to stop severe epileptic seizures.
Prevents communication between hemispheres. |
| What are the subdivisions of the forebrain? | Telencephalon.
Diencephalon. |
| What are the subdivisions of the midbrain? | Mescencephalon. |
| What are the subdivisions of the hindbrain? | Metencephalon.
Myelencephalon. |
| What are the structures associated with the telencephalon? | Cerebral cortex.
Basal ganglia.
Limbic system. |
| What are the structures associated with the diencephalon? | Thalamus.
Hypothalamus. |
| What are the structures associated with the mesencephalon? | Tectum/Tegmentum. |
| What are the structures associated with the metencephalon? | Cerebellum.
Pons. |
| What are the structures associated with the myelencephalon? | Medulla oblongata. |
| What is the cerebral cortex? | Largest structure of the human brain.
Divided into two cerebral hemispheres.
Inner "white matter" is pale because it has a high proportion of axon fibres covered in fatty myelin layer.
Outer "grey matter" where the neurons synapse and connect together. |
| What is the nuclei of the basal ganglia (including caudate nucleus & Putamen) responsible for? | Controlling involuntary movement, particularly aspects that are highly automatised or involuntary (e.g. walking). |
| What disease is associated with having a dysfunctional basal ganglia? | Parkinson's disease. This leads to weakness, tremors, limb rigidity, poor balance and difficulty initiating movements. |
| Who coined the term "Papez circuit" and what parts of the brain does this contain? | Paul McLean (1949).
Includes the hypothalamus, thalamus, cingulate gyrus, fornix, hippocampus, amygdala & orbitofrontal cortex and some nuclei of the basal ganglia. |
| What does the concept of the Limbic system refer to? | Describe an emotion circuit in the brain, however the view has shortcomings. |
| What are the shortcomings of the theory of the Limbic system? | The amygdala plays a crucial role in emotion, it is now known that the hippocampus and parts of the surrounding cortex are involved in learning & memory. |
| What role does the Thalamus have? | Major relay station for sensory inputs to the cerebral cortex.
Divided into several nuclei. |
| What role does the Hypothalamus have? | Controls autonomic nervous system and endocrine (hormone) system.
Regulates survival behaviours (fighting, feeding, fleeing, mating). |
| Where is the midbrain located? | Within the brainstem, at the topmost region of the brainstem and sits directly behind the hindbrain (also in the brainstem). |
| What does the midbrain/mesencephalon connect? | Connects the pons and cerebellum with the forebrain. |
| What does the midbrain/mesencephalon do? | Plays an important role in motor movement, particularly movement of the eye, and in auditory and visual processing. |
| What does the cerebellum in the hindbrain/metencephalon do? | The cerebellum receives information from visual, auditory, somatosensory and vestibular (balance) systems helps coordination of movement.
Damage to the cerebellum causes problem with walking and leads to jerky, poorly coordinated movement and problem maintaining balance. |
| What does the pons in the hindbrain/metencephalon do? | The pons lies on the ventral surface of the brainstem.
It contains several nuclei important in regulating sleep and arousal. It also relays information from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. |
| What does the medulla oblongata/myelencephalon in the hindbrain/metencephalon do? | Links the hindbrain to the spinal cord and contains neurons important for autonomic functions like respiration and hear rate. |
| What are the key functional divisions of the cortex? | Lobes of the cerebral cortex.
Primary visual & auditory cortex.
Primary somatosensory cortex.
Primary motor cortex. |
| What does the primary visual cortex do? | Occupies medial and lateral parts of the occipatal cortex/lobe at the back/posterior of the brain.
Receives sensory information from the retina. |
| Where are the visual field in the primary visual cortex projected? | The left and right visual field are each projected to the contralateral hemisphere.
Light stimulus form the external environment from both visual fields stimulate the corresponding area of the retina within each eye. |
| How are parts of the retina categorised? | Different regions of the retina are represented by different areas within the primary visual cortex.
Areas further out in the peripheral vision are processed by areas of the visual cortex that extend into the calcarine fissure. |
| What do neurons in the primary visual cortex show? | "Orientation selectivity". |
| What is the Parietal lobe/cortex involved in? | Attention and spatial awareness. |
| Where is the Parietal lobe/cortex located? | Sits on the dorsal surface of the cortex and is referred to as part of the dorsal stream and the "where" pathway - named for its role in spatial localisation. |
| What is the Temporal lobe/cortex important for? | Important in auditory processing.
Also involved in more complex visual processing (faces & complex object recognition). |
| Where is the Temporal lobe/cortex located? | Sits on the ventral surface of the cortex and is part of the ventral stream and the "what" pathway - named for its role in complex object recognition. |
| Where is the primary auditory cortex located? | Occupies superior part of the temporal cortex, as well as a patch of cortex that is buried within the Sylvian fissure.
It receives auditory sensory information from the cochlea (part of the inner ear concerned with hearing). |
| How are different frequencies represented in the primary auditory cortex? | Sounds of different frequencies (e.g. low versus high tones) are represented by different areas within the primary auditory cortex, forming a tonotopic map. |
| Where is the primary somatosensory cortex located? | Located immediately posterior to the central sulcus (large grove between the frontal & parietal lobe). |
| What does the primary somatosensory cortex do? | Receives sensory information from the skin (temperature, touch & pain). |
| How are different regions of skin surface represented in the primary somatosensory cortex? | Different regions of skin surface represented by different areas along the strip of cortex, forming a somatotopic map (face & hands overrepresented). |
| Where is the primary motor cortex located? | Located on the precentral gyrus, immediately anterior to the central sulcus. |
| What does the primary motor cortex do? | Different parts of the primary motor cortex sends signals that control different groups of voluntary muscles (eg. hands, feet, lips).
Like the primary sensory cortices, the primary motor cortex controls muscles on the opposite (contralateral) side of the body. |
| How is the human frontal cortex different from other animals? | Relatively larger than non primates.
A higher level of connectivity with the rest of the brain (compared to other apes). |
| What are the "higher order" functions of the frontal lobes? | Voluntary, controlled behavior.
Impulse control & emotional regulation.
Abstract reasoning & planning.
Social cognition.
Language. |
| What was the case of Phineas Gage? | Classic case of altered "executive functioning" with the frontal lobe damage.
Experienced behavioural changes:
Personality changes profoundly.
Angry, impatient, obstinate, capricious.
Unable to plan for the future.
Not employable in old job (only held jobs where he did not make decisions). |
