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Exam 4

Key Concepts:

Terms in this set (95)

Somatosensation

Travels up the DORSAL side of the spinal cord or on the LATERAL side of the spinal cord.

dorsal side of spinal cord

touch & proprioception

Lateral side of spinal cord

temperature and pain

The axon of the sensory neuron

travels up a brainstem nucleus before making its way up to the somatosensory cortex

Incoming information

ends up on the contralateral side of the brain.

prefrontal cortex

Selects the appropriate behavior and its target, using a combination of bodily and external information.

Premotor cortex

Combines information needed for movement programming, such as the target being reaching for and its location, which arm to use, and
the arm's location.

Supplementary motor area

Assembles sequences of movements, such as eating or playing the piano; coordinates movements between the two sides of the body
(e.g., task sharing between the hands).

a bundle of nerve fibers having a common origin, termination, and function and especially one within the spinal cord or brain.

Primary motor cortex

Executes voluntary movements by organizing the activity of unspecialized cells; adds force and direction control.

Uses information from secondary areas and somatosensory cortex to integrate and smooth movements; apparently involved in learning
movement sequences.
**Primary and secondary motor areas

Maintains balance, refines movements, controls compensatory eye
movements. Involved in learning motor skills.

first order neuron

detects a stimulus and transmits a signal to the spinal cord or brainstem

next in line until the signal reaches its destination

upper motor neurons

first in line, sending the initial signals to move a muscle

lower motor neurons

are second in line in sending a signal to the muscles to move

the command to move a muscle

comes directly from the motor cortex

the axon of these upper motor neurons

crosses the contralateral side of the spinal cord at the level of the medulla

makes its way down the ventral spinal cord to the next neuron in line, the lower motor neuron

lower motor neuron

has its cell in the ventral side of the spinal cord

Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis (ALS)

degenerative disorder of motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem

Dorsal spinal column

is a sensory pathway of the central nervous system that conveys sensations of fine touch, vibration, two-point discrimination, and proprioception (position) from the skin and joints.

Corticospinal tract

Is a white matter motor pathway starting at the cerebral cortex that terminates on lower motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord, controlling movements of the limbs and trunk.

Lateral spinal column

a lateral extension of the gray matter in each lateral half of the spinal cord present in the thoracic and upper lumbar regions

Motor homunculus

map showing portion of motor cortex devoted to each body region

Ventral spinal column

carry both ascending information about pain and temperature, and descending motor information.

Sensory information

comes into somatosensory cortex

PPC (posterior parietal cortex)

Prefrontal cortex,
Premotor cortex (PMC)
Supplemental Motor Area
(SMA): Assembles sequences
(step 1, step 2, etc.)
Primary Motor Cortex:
Executes signal to move

PFC (prefrontal cortex)

conscious decision making

Need to integrate

proprioceptive information & other
senses (sight, sound) to coordinate movement

a group of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements

the main neurotransmitter produced in
the substantia nigra, a part of the basal ganglia
Here it helps to regulate motor movement (not
reward).

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)

main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the
brain. This transmitter would inhibit certain aspects of muscle activation to smooth movements.

Parkinson's disease

Results from death of DA neurons in the substantia nigra
• Motor tremors, rigidity, loss of balance & coordination, difficulty
initiating movements
• Causes can be genetic but also brain injury
• Being knocked unconscious has greatest correlation

• It receives sensory information from our muscles
to make us aware of where our limbs are in
space
• It also plays a role in balance
• The cerebellum itself does NOT produce motor
movements!! It simply modifies how the
primary motor cortex sends the signal to the
muscle to actually move.

Fine-tunes information going to
sensory cortex
• ALSO talks to motor cortex to
coordinate movements
Regulates output of motor demands

Cerebellar
hypoplasia

smaller-than-normal cerebellum; seen in cats secondary to feline panleukopenia virus, which leads to incoordination

Pattern generator

the ventral respiratory group of the medulla oblongata

The cumulative sensory input to the central nervous system from all mechanoreceptors that sense body position and limb movement.

Substantia nigra

An area of the midbrain that is involved in motor control and contains a large concentration of dopamine-producing neurons

relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex

is vital to survive

Released by the
Basal Forebrain to
the cortex
Mediates conscious
attention & learning
• Released by
Brainstem Nuclei to
the cerebellum,
brainstem & spinal
cord
• Mediates attention
related to reflexes
and survival

Alpha brain waves

Brain-wave pattern associated with relaxed wakefulness and drowsiness.

• Focuses "neuronal" attention to stimuli
• Decreases "background" noise to be able to more clearly
detect signals
Sharpens neuron respnse

Basal Forebrain

a region, ventral to the basal ganglia, that is the major source of acetylcholine in the brain

Brainstem Nuclei

the nuclei in the brainstem. These include: the cranial nerve nuclei.

Beta brain waves

Brain-wave pattern associated with alert wakefulness.

Delta brain waves

Deepest sleep, lowest frequency & highest amplitude.

Change blindness

perceptual phenomenon that occurs when a change in a visual stimulus is introduced and the observer does not notice it.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp.

Endogenous cues

Experience cocktail party effect (requires our internal knowledge to recognize cue)

presented outside of the center of focus, usually highlighting the left or right box presented on the screen.

Gamma brain waves

the fastest of brain waves (high frequency, like a flute), and relate to simultaneous processing of information from different brain areas. Gamma brainwaves pass information rapidly and quietly. The most subtle of the brainwave frequencies, the mind has to be quiet to access gamma.

Locus Coeruleus

the principal site for brain synthesis of norepinephrine

distinct subjective perceptual quality which makes some items in the world stand out from their neighbors and immediately grab our attention.

Selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Theta brain waves

Low frequency, mixture of high and low amplitude brain waves experienced during sleep stage 1 & 2

are circuits of neurons that are activated
they are not all stored in the same place
are a series of associations & connections
•are made by new connections between neurons
• These neurons connect to other neurons,
creating a circuit
• When you remember something, the entire
circuit is activated.

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

coordinates memories
Part of the limbic
system
• Located right next
to the amygdala
• Associates
emotions with
memories
• Help us to
remember
FEARFUL
experiences
Important in creating associations and coordinating memories
• is one of three brain areas that produces new
neurons throughout a person's lifetime
• New associations are primarily made, however, through new
connections between existing neurons
• The proximity to the amygdala is not accidental- we need to
know the emotional strength of an experience so we can see if
we NEED to remember it or not.

• Increase firing when
individual is in a specific
location in an
environment
• Collectively form a
"spatial map"
• Dependent on
environmental cues and
landmarks
• Also found in humans and
primates

an American memory disorder patient who had a bilateral medial temporal lobectomy to surgically resect the anterior two thirds of his hippocampi, parahippocampal cortices, entorhinal cortices, piriform cortices, and amygdalae in an attempt to cure his epilepsy.

Long Term Memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Short term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

memory for the physical environment; it includes things such as location of objects, direction, and cognitive maps

external events

Conscious, active processing of incoming
auditory and visuospatial information, and of information
retrieved from long-term memory.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one
can consciously know and declare.

Semantic memory

Facts not associated with a particular context.

Episodic memory

Events associated with the spatial-temporal context in which we experienced them

Implicit memory

Memory involving the integration of many
skills, including motor learning, conditioning, visual
discrimination, and priming. This type of learning typically
involves overlapping brain circuits.

Code and put into memory

Maintain in memory

Recover from memory

Types of memory codes

acoustic, visual, semantic

types of long term memory

episodic, semantic, procedural

types of retrieval

recall and recognition

Declarative/Explicit

• Requires hippocampus
• Recalling specific memories into
working memory or consciousness
• Rat with a hippocampal lesion
could not remember which arms it
had visited

Non-declarative/Implicit

• Requires basal ganglia (aka has a
motor component)
• Automatic; requires little or no
thought

Medial Temporal Lobe (MTL)

Involved in recognition memory. This region encodes different features into episodic
representations. This region also aids with associative memories. During retrieval of memories, compares encoded memories to the new sensory information to send known memories to other brain regions for further
processing. You can think of it as a filing cabinet.

Declarative memory

the cognitive information retrieved from explicit memory; knowledge that can be declared

a system of interconnected regions of visual cortex involved in the perception of spatial location, beginning with the striate cortex and ending with the posterior parietal cortex

a system of interconnected regions of visual cortex involved in the perception of form, beginning with the striate cortex and ending with the inferior temporal cortex

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

mild cognitive impairment

Duration: 7 years
Disease begins in medial temporal lobe
Symptoms: short-term memory loss

Alzheimer's disease

Progressive neurodegenerative disease
Causes dementia
Loss of memory, difficulty maintaining conversations, cognitive decline
Up to 5.1 Million adults over 65 have Alzheimer's
Causes not 100% clear
Genes have been linked to the disorder
Environment can also play a factor
Currently no cure or medication available
Supportive treatments only

Mild Alzheimer's Disease

Duration: 2 years
Disease spreads to lateral temporal and parietal lobes
Symptoms: Reading problems, poor object recognition, poor sense of direction

Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

Duration: 2 years
Disease spreads to frontal lobe
Symptoms: Poor judgement, impulsivity, short attention

Severe Alzheimer's

Duration: 3 years
Disease spreads to occipital lobe
Sympotoms: Visual problems

acetylcholinesterase

the enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft

Amyloid beta plaques

This form of a toxic protein is found in Alzheimer's patients, damaging neural interlays and destroying synapses

a slowly progressive decline in mental abilities, including memory, thinking, and judgment, that is often accompanied by personality changes

Neurofibrillary tangles

Twisted protein fibers that form within certain brain cells as people age. People with Alzheimer's disease have an excessive number of such tangles.

the two lower chambers of the heart, and they pump blood out to the lungs and body.

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