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Exploring the Complexities of the Human Brain

Dive into the intricate workings of the brain, from cognition to movement, and understand how different regions control our behavior and functions. Learn about cortical function, brain divisions, and fascinating case studies like Phineas Gage. Discover how our brain processes information, language, and sensory input.

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Exploring the Complexities of the Human Brain

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  1. Non-conscious Remembering control What does Calculating our brain do? Planning The “black box” brain Character Co-ordination Thinking Talking Sensing Moving

  2. Biological Psychology Biological psychology Behaviour Brain and behaviour Ethology Psychopharmacology Animal learning theory Brain structure and function

  3. Brain Telencephalon Cortex & Diencephalon Forebrain Mesencephalon - Midbrain Metencephalon - Pons, cerebellum Myelencephalon - Medulla } { Organisation of the mammaliannervous system Voluntary NS Sympathetic NS Autonomic NS Parasympathetic NS Peripheral NS Nervous system Spinal cord Brain Central NS Telencephalon Cortex & Diencephalon Forebrain Mesencephalon - Midbrain Rhombencephalon – Hindbrain } {

  4. The divisions of the brain TelencephalonDiencephalonMesencephalonMetencephalonMyelencephalon Cortex Thalamus Tectum Pons Medulla Basal ganglia Hypothalamus Tegmentum Cerebellum Hippocampus Amygdala

  5. Cerebral Cortex Subcortical organisation Hippocampus Learning & memory Corpus Callosum Connection the two cortical hemispheres Cerebellum Movement, balance, posture Basal ganglia Control of behavioural patterns Brainstem Control of autonomic function Thalamus Interface between the cortex and the rest of the nervous system Hypothalamus Homeostasis, emotion Control of endocrine (hormone) system Spinal cord Nerves going to and from the rest of the body

  6. The lobes of the cerebral cortex Precentral gyrus Postcentral gyrus Central Sulcus (or fissure) Parietal lobe Frontal lobe Occipital lobe Cerebellum Lateral (Sylvian) fissure Temporal lobe

  7. Comparative Brain Structure(cortical) Adult Cortex Surface brain as % Area weight Brain wt. (cm2) Rat 2 31 6 Cat 30 60 83 Chimpanzee 420 65 1,000 Human 1,400 80 2,500 Sulci (fissures) – infoldings of the surface Gyri – the bumps on the cortical surface

  8. Understanding cortical function • Brain damaged patients • Assess cognitive deficit • Locate area of brain damage (post-mortem, neuroimaging) • Functional neuroimaging • Functional MRI measurements during task performance • Measure areas activated by different aspects of the task

  9. Primary somatosensory cortex Somatosensory association cortex Primary auditory cortex Auditory association cortex Multimodal association cortex Primary visual cortex Visual association cortex Primary olfactory cortex Olfactory association cortex We will explore the visual system in more detail in lecture 4 Sensory areas of the cortex

  10. Basal Ganglia Motor patterns Cerebellum Motor coordination Motor control Primary motor cortex Motor output to skeletal muscles Supplementary motor cortex Motor planning We will explore motor control in more detail in lecture 5

  11. Temporal Cortex Learning, Memory, Spatial recognition Higher cognitive function(reasoning, personality, emotion, learning and memory) Frontal Cortex Calculation, Reasoning, Inference Rule learning Prefrontal cortex Personality, emotion

  12. Tamping Iron dimensions : 1 meter in length, 2.5 cm diameter The story of Phineas Gage • Gage was a young railway construction supervisor in Vermont • He was well liked, reliable, energetic and good at his job • In September 1848, while preparing a powder charge for blasting a rock, he tamped a steel rod into charge-filled hole, without putting in wadding. • The charge exploded and blew the rod out of the hole straight at Gage • It entered his head through his left cheek, destroyed his eye, traversed the frontal part of the brain, and left the top of the skull at the other side. • After the accident he became extravagantanti-social, foulmouthed, bad mannered anda liar: he could no longer hold a job or plan his future. • He died in 1861, thirteen years after the accident, penniless and epileptic: no autopsy was performed on his brain.

  13. Arcuate fasciculus Wernike’s area Primary motor cortex Primary visual cortex Broca’s area Primary auditory cortex Cortical areas controlling language We will explore language in more detail in lecture 6

  14. Frontal lobe • Planning • Thinking • Motor planning • Motor output • Parietal lobe • Spatial processing • Spatial orientation • Somatosensory • function • Temporal lobe • Hearing • Smell • Memory • Feelings • Occipital lobe • Vision • Visual processing Summary of cortical function

  15. Information Transfer in a Information Transfer in a Normal Person "Split Brain" Patient Left Right Left Right Crossover Crossover outside outside Eye Eye Eye Eye brain brain Visual Cortex Visual Cortex Visual Cortex Visual Cortex C U T Motor Cortex Motor Cortex Language Cortex Language Cortex BRAIN BRAIN SPEECH SPEECH Crossover Crossover outside outside brain brain Left hand Left hand Inter hemispheric communicationthe corpus callosum Corpus callosum : a large bundle of fibres connecting the left and right cortices

  16. Studies on ‘split brain’ patients Based on early work by Roger Sperry, for which he received a Nobel Prize in 1981 The word “ball” is presented in the left visual field only The subject is asked to say what it is ….. ….. and to select it from the objects behind the screen • Unable to say what the object is • because of the organisation of the visual pathway, only the right visual cortex receives information from the left visual field We will explore laterality in more detail in lecture 7 • Can pick out the ball with his left hand, but not his right • right somatosensory cortex (left hand) ‘knows what it is looking for’, but the left (right hand) does not

  17. The cranial nerves 12 pairs of nerves on the base of the brain, which pass through holes in the skull (cranium): analogous to spinal nerves leaving the spinal cord I - Olfactory II - Optic III - Occulomotor IV - Trochlear V - Trigeminal VI - Abducens VII - Facial VIII - Vestibulocochlear IX - Glossopharangeal X - Vagus XI - Spinal accessory XII - Hypoglossal

  18. I Olfactory : Smell II Optic : Vision III Occulomotor : Eye movement; Pupil dilation IV Trochlear :Eye movement V Trigeminal : SS information from the face and head; chewing muscles. VI Abducens : Eye Movement VII Facial :Taste (anterior 2/3 of tongue); SS from ear; muscles for facial expression. VIII Vestibulocochlear : Hearing; Balance IX Glossopharangeal : Taste (posterior 1/3 of tongue); SS from tongue, tonsil, pharynx; muscles for swallowing. X Vagus : Sensory, motor and autonomic functions of viscera (glands, digestion, heart rate) XI Spinal accessory : Controls muscles used in head movement. XII Hypoglossal : Controls muscles of tongue Functions of the cranial nerves SS = somatosensory

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