Title: Psychology / Biopsychology / 06_Neuroanatomy
Tags: Biopsychology::06_Neuroanatomy Biopsychology::Semester_1

Q: What are the two features separating the human brain from simpler mammals?
A: 1. large cerebrum
2. gyrification

Q: What is special about the way the anatomical reference system works for humans?
A: As the system stems from animal research, humans need to be viewed as if they were standing on their arms and legs, "on all fours".

Q: What are the three ways of looking at the brain (anatomical reference system)?
A: coronal (through face)
sagital (through ear)
axial/horizontal (from top of head)

Q: What two parts does the forebrain consist of?
A: cerebrum
diencephalon

Q: What two parts does the brain stem consist of?
A: midbrain
medulla oblongata

Q: What are the terms for the german "Großhirn" and "Kleinhirn"?
A: Großhirn: cerebrum
Kleinhirn: cerebellum

Q: What are meninges?
A: They are three layers of membranes that wrap the brain, protecting it.

Q: What are the three layers of meninges?
A: Dura Mater
Arachnoidea
Pia Mater

Q: What is the job of the dura mater?
A: The dura mater is a hard membrane that protects the brain against outside forces.

Q: What is the space under the arachnoidea filled with?
A: Water and blood vessels.

Q: What 4 ventricles are there in the grown human brain?
A: 2 lateral ventricles
third ventricle
fourth ventricle

Q: What are the two uses of the ventricles?
A: 1. They serve as an internal cushion to protect the brain from damage
2. They play a part in the brain's immune system

Q: What effect do diseases like Alzheimers have on ventricles?
A: As neural tissue shrinks, the ventricles grow in size.

Q: When talking about the "cortex", what is usually meant?
A: The neo-cortex of the cerebrum.

Q: What are the 4 main lobes of the brain?
A: frontal lobe
parietal lobe
occipital lobe
temporal lobe

Q: In the brain, what are the associated regions next to the task-specific zones used for?
A: They partake in higher level functionality (e.g. integrating visual information in order to recognize a face)

Q: What are Brodman areas?
A: They are numberings on brain regions that provide a general reference system when talking about the brain.

Q: What is the job of the corpus callosum?
A: It is the main connection between the two hemispheres of the cerebrum.

Q: What is the main connection between the two brain hemispheres of the cerebrum?
A: The corpus callosum

Q: Which arm is controlled by which brain hemisphere?
A: right hemisphere: The left arm
left hemisphere: The right arm
(crossing of the pyrammidal tract)

Q: What is the main task of the amygdala?
A: Emotional processing (especially fear)
e.g. it playes a major role in attentional focus to facial regions that are relevant for emotions like fear (recognition/filtering)

Q: Where did the hippocampus get its name?
A: It looks like a seahorse flipped on its head.

Q: What is the most important task of the hippocampus?
A: It plays an integral part in forming memories.

Q: What two parts does the Diencephalon consist of?
A: Thalamus and Hypothalamus

Q: What does the Thalamus do?
A: It takes input from sensory organs and connects to different brain areas.
It is responsible for the activation of relevant brain areas.
→ acts as the main relay station of the brain

Q: What does the Hypothalamus do?
A: It acts as the primary interface to the hormone system (and even releases some hormones itself)

Q: What two classes of nucli are there in the midbrain?
A: colliclus superior
colliclus inferior

Q: What does the colliclus superior do?
A: takes part in visual processing, helps in spacial processing

Q: What does the colliculus inferior do?
A: Helps process auditory information

Q: What is the main job of the cerebellum?
A: Coordinating highly trained, automatic processes

Q: What is the counterpart of the corpus callosum in the cerebellum?
A: The vermis.

Q: What is the medulla oblongata?
A: The main connection between the brain and the spinal cord

Q: What is the main connection between the brain and the spinal cord called?
A: The Medulla Oblongata

Q: What is the ascending reticular arousal system?
A: The part of the medulla oblongata that controls the global activation levels of the brain (e.g. activating the brain when reacting to a loud bang)

Q: What is the part of the medulla oblongata called that switches the control of the hemispheres to the respective body part?
A: Pyrammidal tract

Q: What is special about the relation of the cerebellum and the two body halfs?
A: The assignment body half - hemisphere is not inverted!

Q: Why does the spinal cord have gray matter?
A: The local circuitry enables reflexes.

Q: What is the difference between efferents and afferents in the spinal cord?
A: afferents handle sensory input
efferents handle motor output

Q: What are cranial nerves?
A: They are nerves not going over the spinal cord. They are mainly connected to muscles and sensory organs in the face

Q: What are the two different arteries found in the brain?
A: carotid arteries
vertrebral arteris

Q: What does the blood barrier in our brain do?
A: It is selective in which molecules are let through → the brain gets protected from poisoning

Q: What are basal ganglia?
A: Conglomerates of grey matter that control interaction between the neocortex and diencephalon (activation/deactivation of certain neocortical regions)

Q: In the cortico-striato-thalamic loop, which two elements are affecting the putamen?
A: The frontal cortex excites it (comes up with plan for action)
The substantia nigra excites it (uses the neurotransmitter dopamine)

Q: In the cortico-striato-thalamic loop, which elements are affecting the pallidum?
A: The putamen inhibits it
The nucleus subthalamicus excites it

Q: In the cortico-striato-thalamic loop, what will happen to the thalamus during idle?
A: It gets deactivated/inhibited by the pallidum. (The pallidum inhibits the thalamus)

Q: What is the final step of an action activation in the cortico-striato-thalamic loop?
A: The thalamus does not get inhibited anymore, causing it to activate the supplementary motor area.

Q: What happens to the cortico-striato-thalmic loop in parkinsons's disease?
A: The substantia nigra is weaker,
meaning the excitation on the putamen is lower,
meaning the inhibition on the pallidum is weaker,
meaning the inhibition on the thalamus is stronger,
meaning the exitation on the motor areas is lower