Neuroscience Chapter Overview

The size of the motor cortex and the sensory cortex explains our ability to create a large variety of facial expressions.

The parietal lobe is responsible for processing, integrating, and storing sensory information. It also processes the sensory information that comes from the primary sensory area, which is the final destination for sensory input.

The primary somatic sensory area is the final destination for sensory information. It receives sensory input from the body, including touch, temperature, pain, and pressure.

The primary visual cortex receives input from the eyes. It is the first area in the brain that processes visual information.

The visual association cortex is involved in the recognition and interpretation of visual information. It helps us to understand what we are seeing.

The Wernicke area is responsible for the comprehension and production of speech. Damage to this area can lead to aphasia, which is an inability to speak or a speech dysfunction.

The temporal lobe is involved in long-term memory and the secondary processing of information from the senses of hearing, smell, and taste.

The temporal lobe lies below the parietal lobe.

The hypothalamus is a part of the brain that regulates many essential functions of the body.

The hypothalamus regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sleep-wake cycles.

The midbrain is a part of the brainstem that connects the forebrain to the hindbrain. It has several important structures.

The corpora quadrigemina are two pairs of bumps on the dorsal surface of the midbrain. They are involved in visual and auditory reflexes.

The superior colliculi receive visual, auditory, and somatosensory information to help us orient our head and focus our attention.

The inferior colliculi receive auditory information and relay it to the temporal lobe for processing.

The tegmentum is a collection of neurons in the midbrain that regulate motor and sensory functions.

The substantia nigra is a part of the midbrain that is involved in the production of dopamine. It is implicated in Parkinson's disease.

The hindbrain is responsible for basic life functions like breathing, heart rate, and sleep cycles. It consists of the cerebellum, pons, and medulla oblongata.

The medulla oblongata is the lowest part of the brainstem and controls vital reflexes such as breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

The cerebellum integrates sensory information, especially from the body, to control balance, posture, and coordination.

The limbic system is a group of structures in the brain that is involved in emotions, memory, and motivation. It includes the amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and cingulate gyrus.

The cingulate gyrus is part of the limbic system and helps regulate emotions and form responses to sensory information.

The hippocampus is a part of the limbic system that is involved in long-term memories, especially those related to events and experiences.

The brainstem connects the cerebrum to the spinal cord and is responsible for basic life functions and reflexes. It consists of the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.

The reticular formation is a network of neurons in the brainstem that regulates arousal, sleep, and other autonomic functions.

The limbic system is a brain structure involved in regulating instinctive responses, visceral reactions, and emotional behaviors. It also plays a role in biological drives and our sense of self.

The limbic system regulates the fight or flight response, a primitive survival mechanism that prepares the body for immediate action.

The limbic system controls visceral reactions such as heart rate and respiration, which happen unconsciously and are important for bodily functions.

The limbic system manages emotional behaviors like anger, fear, and happiness, influencing how we express and experience our feelings.

The limbic system plays a crucial role in biological drives, including hunger, thirst, and sex, essential for survival and reproduction.

The limbic system contributes to our sense of self, including our personality, identity, and individual experiences.

The hypothalamus is the brain region responsible for thermoregulation, maintaining a stable internal temperature. This involves balancing heat production, heat loss, and heat gain.

The body has a narrow range of optimal temperature. Internal organ temperatures vary, with extremities being colder than the core and the rectum being warmer than the skin surface.

The body's response to infection or tissue damage, resulting in an increase in core body temperature.

Chemicals that help to lower the body temperature during a fever.

This phase of a fever is characterized by symptoms like loss of appetite, fatigue, and sleepiness due to the release of inflammatory chemicals.

This phase of a fever involves longer-term effects like muscle breakdown, increased blood sugar, and immune system activation.

This process helps to control the magnitude of a fever, preventing it from becoming excessively high.

An abnormally high body temperature that is not caused by the body's internal temperature control system (hypothalamus).

Severe muscle cramps that occur after prolonged exercise or strenuous activity in hot environments, often due to fluid and electrolyte loss.

A decrease in body temperature below the normal range, often caused by prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.

The anterior pituitary gland releases Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), which then triggers the release of Thyroxine (T4) from the thyroid gland. T4 acts on the hypothalamus, stimulating the release of Epinephrine (EPI).

Epinephrine increases heart rate, promotes vasoconstriction, and increases metabolic rate, leading to increased body heat production.

Radiation, conduction, convection, evaporation, increased respiration, voluntary stretching movements, peripheral vasodilation, decreased muscle tone, and adaptation to warmer climates.

Vasoconstriction and behavioral responses such as covering the body surface to minimize heat loss.

Fever is also known as pyrexia or hyperthermia.

Fever is a physiological response to an infection, aiming to reduce the effects of the invading organism.

Fever involves resetting the thermoregulatory set point in the hypothalamus, triggered by exogenous or endogenous pyrogens.

Exogenous pyrogens, primarily lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are produced by invading organisms, often from the outer membrane of bacteria and viruses. These pyrogens stimulate the release of endogenous pyrogens.