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neuroanatomy
neuroanatomy for biological psychology
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Ablation | removal of a structure |
Anterior commissure | set of axons connecting the two cerebral hemispheres; smaller than the corpus callosum |
Autonomic nervous system | set of neurons that regulates functioning of the internal organs |
Basal ganglia | set of subcortical forebrain structures lateral to the hypothalamus, including the caudate nucleus, putamen, and globus pallidus |
Bell-Magendie law | observation that the dorsal roots of the spinal cord carry sensory information and that the ventral roots carry motor information toward the muscles and glands (SAD MEV) |
Binding problem | question of how the visual, auditory, and other areas of the brain influence one another to produce a combined perception of a single object |
Brainstem | hindbrain, midbrain, and posterior central structures of the forebrain |
Central canal | fluid-filled channel in the center of the spinal cord |
Central nervous system (CNS) | brain and spinal cord |
Central sulcus | large groove in the surface of the primate cerebral cortex, separating frontal from parietal cortex |
Cerebellum | highly convoluted structure in the hindbrain |
Cerebral cortex | outer covering of the cerebellum |
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) | liquid similar to blood serum, found in the ventricles of the brain and in the central canal of the spinal cord |
Computerized axial tomography (CT or CAT scan) | method of visualizing a living brain by injecting a dye into the blood and then passing x-rays through the head and recording them by detectors on the other side |
Corpus callosum | large set of axons that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex |
Cranial nerves | part of a set of nerves controlling sensory and motor information of the head, connecting to nuclei in the medulla, pons, midbrain, or forebrain |
Delayed-response task | assignment in which stimulus appears briefly, and the individual must respond to the remembered stimulus after a brief delay |
Dorsal | located toward the back, away from the ventral (stomach) side |
Dorsal root ganglia | set of sensory neuron somata on the dorsal side of the spinal cord |
Electroencephalograph (EEG) | device that measures the brain's electrical activity through electrodes on the scalp |
Evoked potentials or evoked responses | electrical activity of the brain in response to a stimulus, as recorded from the scalp |
Forebrain | most anterior part of the brain, including the cerebral cortex and other structures |
Frontal lobe | section of cerebral cortex extending from the central sulcus to the anterior limit of the brain, containing the primary motor cortex and the prefrontal cortex |
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) | modified version of MRI that measures energies released by hemoglobin molecules in an MRI scan and then determines the brain areas receiving the greatest supply of blood and oxygen |
Gene-knockout approach | use of biochemical methods to direct a mutation to a particular gene that is important for certain types of cells, transmitters, or receptors |
Gray matter | areas of the nervous system with a high density of cell bodies and dendrites, with few myelinated axons |
Hindbrain | most posterior part of the brain, including the medulla, pons, and cerebellum |
Hippocampus | large forebrain structure between the thalamus and cortex; named for its sea-horse shape |
Hypothalamus | forebrain structure near the base of the brain just ventral to the thalamus |
Inferior colliculus | swelling on each side of the tectum in the midbrain |
Klüver-Bucy syndrome | condition in which monkeys with damaged temporal lobes fail to display normal fears and anxieties |
Lamina (pl.: laminae) | layer of cell bodies parallel to the surface of the cortex and separated from other laminae by layers of fibers |
Lesion | damage to a structure |
Limbic system | forebrain areas traditionally regarded as critical for emotion; form a border around the brainstem, including the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus of the cerebral cortex, and several other smaller structures |
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | method of imaging a living brain by using a magnetic field and a radio frequency field to make atoms with odd atomic weights all rotate in the same direction and then removing those fields and measuring the energy that the atoms release |
Magnetoencephalograph (MEG) | device that measures the faint magnetic fields generated by the brain's activity |
Medulla | hindbrain structure located just above the spinal cord; the medulla could be regarded as an enlarged, elaborated extension of the spinal cord |
Meninges | membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord |
Midbrain | middle part of the brain, including superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, tectum, and tegmentum |
Neuroanatomy | anatomy of the nervous system |
Nucleus basalis | area on the dorsal surface of the forebrain; a major source of axons that release acetylcholine to widespread areas in the cerebral cortex |
Occipital lobe | posterior (caudal) section of the cerebral cortex |
Parasympathetic nervous system | system of nerves that facilitate vegetative, nonemergency responses by the body's organs |
Parietal lobe | section of the cerebral cortex between the occipital lobe and the central sulcus |
Peripheral nervous system | nerves outside the brain and spinal cord |
Phrenology | pseudoscience that claimed a relationship between skull anatomy and behavioral capacities |
Pituitary gland | endocrine gland attached to the base of the hypothalamus |
Pons | hindbrain structure, anterior and ventral to the medulla |
Positron-emission tomography (PET) | method of mapping activity in a living brain by recording the emission of radioactivity from injected chemicals |
Postcentral gyrus | gyrus of the cerebral cortex just posterior to the central gyrus; a primary projection site for touch and other body sensations |
Prefrontal cortex | anterior portion of the frontal lobe of the cortex, which responds mostly to the sensory stimuli that signal the need for a movement |
Prefrontal lobotomy | surgical disconnection of the prefrontal cortex from the rest of the brain |
Primate | order of mammals that includes humans, chimpanzees, gorillas, and others |
Raphe system | group of neurons in the pons and medulla whose axons extend throughout much of the forebrain |
Reticular formation | network of neurons in the medulla and other parts of the brainstem; the descending portion controls motor areas of the spinal cord; the ascending portion selectively increases arousal and attention in various forebrain areas |
Sham lesion | control procedure for an experiment, in which an investigator inserts an electrode into a brain but does not pass a current |
Somatic nervous system | nerves that convey messages from the sense organs to the CNS and from the CNS to muscles and glands |
Spinal cord | part of the CNS found within the spinal column; it communicates with the sense organs and muscles below the level of the head |
Stereotaxic instrument | device for the precise placement of electrodes in the head |
Substantia nigra | midbrain area that gives rise to a dopamine-containing pathway |
Superior colliculus | swelling on either side of the tectum, responsible for certain aspects of vision, including eye movements |
Sympathetic nervous system | network of nerves that prepare the body's organs for vigorous activity |
Tectum | roof of the midbrain |
Tegmentum | intermediate level of the midbrain |
Temporal lobe | lateral portion of each hemisphere, near the temples |
Thalamus | structure in the center of the forebrain |
Transcranial magnetic stimulation | application of an intense magnetic field to a portion of the scalp to influence the neurons below the magnet |
Ventral | located toward the stomach, away from the back (dorsal) side |
Ventricle | any of the four fluid-filled cavities in the brain |
White matter | area of the nervous system consisting mostly of myelinated axons |