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Flashcards in Cerebral Cortex Deck (63)
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1
Q

what are the divisions of the cerebral cortex, and of the 3 which is most prevalent in humans

A

neocortex - 95 % in humans
paleocortex
archicortex

2
Q

how many layers are in each division of the cerebral cortex

A

neocortex - 6
paleocortex - 3
archicortex - 3

3
Q

what notable structure resides in the paleocortex in humans

A

primary olfactory cortex

4
Q

what notable structure resides in the archicortex in humans

A

hippocampus

5
Q

what is the most prevalent type of neuron in the cerebral cortex

A

pyramidal cell

6
Q

the pyramidal cell is the principal projection neuron of the cortex, is it an inhibitory or excitatory projection

A

excitatory using glutamate neurotransmitter

7
Q

what are dendritic spines

A

sites of excitatory synapses on pyramidal cell/neurons

8
Q

dendritic spines can be modified as a result of learning, what does this mean ?

A

Minor changes in spine configuration lead to a better synapse efficiency
poor spine development is reason for some forms of intellectual disability

9
Q

what are nonpyramidal cells ?

A

other cortical cell/neurons, make inhibitory synapses w/ GABA neurotransmitter

10
Q

of the 2 types of neocortical neurons, which has long axons and which has short axons

A

pyramidal cell - long axons

nonpyramidal - short axons

11
Q

what are the principal interneurons of the cortex

A

nonpyramidal cells

12
Q

which layer of the neocortex would contain the most interneurons ?

A

granular layer

13
Q

what is Focal Cortical Dysplasia

A

Where the arrangement of horizontal cortical layers is NOT organized during development
-results in seizures

14
Q

in the primary sensory areas of the cortex, would it be composed of granular or aganular cortex

A

granular, b/c lots of internerurons (non-pyramidal cells)

15
Q

in the primary motor cortex, would you find granular or agranular cortical regions

A

aganular. b/c have long axon projections of pyramidal cells

16
Q

which is thicker in apperance, granular or agranular regions of the cortex ? Why ?

A

Agranular, b/c there are long projections (pyramidal cells)

17
Q

What specific Brodmann area is known as the primary motor cortex

A

precentral gyrus (area 4)

18
Q

what specific Broddmann are is the primary somatosensensory cortex

A

postcentral gyrus (area 3,1,2)

19
Q

which is more constant among individuals, the total cortical volume, or specific size of Brodmann areas

A

total cortical volume very constant

Brodmann areas can vary b/w people

20
Q

who was the famous patient who got a rod blown through his head causing left prefrontal lobe damage

A

Phineas Gage

21
Q

what are the 4 neocortical regions in reference to function

A
  • primary sensory
  • primary motor
  • association
  • limbic
22
Q

the sensory area of the cortex has a topographical organization, but that map has areas that are disproportionately large ? what are these areas and why are they so big ?

A

fingers and fovea

highly sensitive areas=larger cortex area*

23
Q

in what lobe of the cortex is the primary somatosensory cortex found in

A

parietal lobe

24
Q

what part of the parietal lobe is involved with language comprehension

A

inferior left parietal lobule

25
Q

where is the primary visual cortex found in the cortex

A

banks of calcarine sulcus of the occipital lobe

26
Q

bilateral injury to the inferior occipital lobe would result in _______ whereas bilateral injury to the occipital-temporal junction would result in _______

A
  • color blindness

- motion blindness

27
Q

what lobe is the primary auditory cortex located

A

temporal lobe

28
Q

where is Wernike’s area on the cortex and what is its function ?

A

posterior L superior temporal gyrus

-language comprehension

29
Q

where is the gustatory cortex located ?

A

frontal lobe and insula

30
Q

where is the vestibular cortex located ?

A

superior temporal gyrus and post. insula

31
Q

the frontal lobe of the neocortex is predominantly involved w/_________ function

A

motor

32
Q

where is Broca’s area and what is its function?

A

inferior L frontal lobe (frontal gyrus)

-production of spoken and written language

33
Q

what is the main function of the prefrontal cortex

A

executive functions like personality, foresight and insight

34
Q

What is the function of the association areas

A

mediate higher mental functions like language, art, music

35
Q

what are the 2 types of association areas

A

unimodal association areas

multimodal association areas

36
Q

what is the function of unimodal association areas, and where are these areas located

A

elaborating on primary visual areas

-adjacent to visual area on occipital lobe

37
Q

what is the function of multimodal association areas

A

high level intellectual functions

-inferior parietal lobule, temporal, and frontal lobes

38
Q

what is the definition of a dominant hemisphere, and what is the dominant hemisphere in most people ?

A

Hemisphere that produces/comprehends language

-usually Left

39
Q

Language areas usually border the Left __________ ?

A

lateral sulcus

40
Q

why does the lateral sulcus extend further posteriorly on the left hemisphere of the cortex vs. the right

A

B/c planum temporale is larger on the left

41
Q

how do the language areas that border the left lateral sulcus stimulate the motor cortex ?

A

Stimulate mouth to produce involuntary grunts

42
Q

what are the two perisylvian language areas and where are they ?

A

Broca’s area - L inferior frontal gyrus (production)

Wernike’s area - posterior L superior temporal gyrus (comprehension)

43
Q

what is aphasia and what are the two types

A

Inability to use language

  • Fluent
  • Nonfluent
44
Q

Damage to Broca’s area would result in what type of apahasia

A

Nonfluent aphasia

-difficult to produce word, make few words and get by w/phrases

45
Q

damage to Wernike’s area would result in what type of aphasia ?

A

Fluent aphasia
-can’t comprehend language, but can talk and write
(known as word salad)

46
Q

what is the name of the area that connects Broca’s and Wernike’s areas

A

Arcuate fasciculus

47
Q

What aspects of language are controlled in the Right hemisphere

A

prosody - emotional, rhythmical, emotional tone of words

allow to tell diff. b/w question and statement

48
Q

what is agnosia

A

inability to recognizes specific things (faces, people, sounds, etc)

49
Q

damage to what area of the cortex could cause agnosias ?

A

damage to unimodal association areas

50
Q

what part of the right hemisphere produces prosody, what part comprehends prosody ?

A

Production - R inferior frontal gyrus
Comprehend - R posterior superior temporal gyrus
Just like Left side w/Broca and wernike areas

51
Q

what part of the cortex would be injured in a patient w/contralateral neglect

A

R parietal lobe damage

52
Q

what is apraxias, and damage to where at in the cortex could result in this

A

specific “lack of actions”

-result from damage to L parietal lobe

53
Q

the prefrontal cortex controls executive functions, and is heavily interconnected to what thalamic nuclei

A

dorsomedial nucleus

54
Q

what are the 2 broad types of the prefrontal cortex

A

dorsolateral

ventromedial

55
Q

what is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex involved in

A

Involved in working memory

-interconnected w/parietal association areas

56
Q

damage to the ventromedial aspect of the prefrontal cortex would result in ?

A
  • compulsive behavior
  • inability to supress inappropriate responses/emotions
  • **What phineas Gage had ***
57
Q

what is the name of the structure that allows the R and L hemispheres to communicate with eachother

A

commissures

58
Q

what is the largest commisure in the brain

A

corpus callosum

-main connection b/w hemispheres

59
Q

what does the anterior commissure connect

A

interconnects temporal lobes

60
Q

there are only 2 places in the brain that do NOT connect R and L hemispheres via the corpus callosum, what are they ?

A
  • Hand area

- primary visual cortex

61
Q

Commissures are composed of A) white matter or B)grey matter

A

white matter

62
Q

what is alexia w/o agraphia, and what causes this ?

A

ability to write, but can NOT read

-caused by disconnection syndromes (hemispheres cant communicate)

63
Q

what are association bundles

A

long white matter tracts that interconnect ares of ONE hemisphere
**DO NOT CROSS midline **