Behavioral Neuroscience Module 3.2 Definitions

Layers of cells on the outer surface of the cerebral hemisphere of the forebrain

Bundle of axons that connects the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex

Layers of cell bodies that are parallel to the surface of the cerebral cortex and separated from each other by layers of fibers

• varies in thickness and prominence from one part of the cortex to another, and a given lamina may be absent from certain areas.

• lamina v (sends long axons to the spinal cord & other areas) thickest in the motor cortex, has the greatest control of the muscles

• lamina lv (receives axons from the sensory nuclei of the thalamus) is prominent in the sensory areas of the cortex-visual, auditory, and somatosensory- but absent from the motor cortex

• Collection of cells having similar properties, arranged perpendicular to the laminae • not straight • have similar properties to one another: if one cell column responds to touch on the left Palm, then other cells in that column do too • If one cell responds to a horizontal pattern of light at a particular location, then other cells in the column respond to the same pattern in nearby locations • each extends through several laminae

Is the main target for visual information; The posterior pole of the occipital lobe is known as the primary visual cortex, or striate cortex, because of its striped appearance in its cross section; • destruction of any part of the striate cortex causes cortical blindness in the related part of the visual field • extensive damage to the striate cortex of the right hemisphere causes blindness in the left visual field; A person with cortical blindness has normal eyes and pupillary reflexes, but no conscious visual perception and no visual imagery (not even in dreams); People who have eye damage & become blind, but have an intact occipital cortex and previous visual experience, they can still imagine visual scenes and can still have visual dreams. Eyes provide the stimulus, and the visual cortex provides the experience.

Lies between the occipital lobe and the central sulcus - monitors all information about eye, head, and body positions and passes it on to brain areas that control movement - is essential not only for spatial information but for numerical information too! This overlap is why we use our fingers to count

One of the deepest grooves in the surface of the cerebral cortex

• Area just posterior to the central gyrus • Primary receptor site for touch and other body sensations • touch receptors, mus-cle-stretch receptors, and joint receptors • Includes 4 bands of cells parallel to the central sulcus • Separate areas along each band receive simultaneous information from different parts of the body • Two of the bands receive mostly light-touch information, one receives deep-pressure information, and one receives a combination of both

It is the primary cortical target for auditory information • In humans, mostly the left temporal lobe, is essential for understanding spoken language • also contributes to complex aspects of vision, including perception of movement and recognition of faces • a tumor here may=elaborate auditory or visual hallucinations • a tumor in the occipital lobe typically evokes simple sensations, like flashes of light • important for emotional and motivational behaviors • damage can lead to klüver-Bucy syndrome

A behavioral disorder caused by temporal lobe damage; Previously wild and aggressive monkeys fail to display normal fears and anxieties after temporal lobe damage; may handle a snake because it’s no longer afraid (emotional change) or because it no longer recognizes what a snake is (cognitive change)

Contains the primary motor cortex and the prefrontal cortex

• Specialized for the control of fine movements, • Such as moving one finger at a time • Separate areas are responsible for different parts of the body, mostly on the contralateral (opposite) side but also with slight control of the ipsilateral (same) side

• Responds mostly to the sensory stimuli that signal the need for a movement • The larger a species cerebral cortex, the larger percentage that the prefrontal cortex occupies • The dendrites have up to 16 times as many dendritic spines as neurons in other cortical areas • Integrates an enormous amount of information

Surgical disconnection of the prefrontal cortex from the rest of the brain; Common consequences= apathy, loss of the ability to plan and take initiative, memory disorders, distractibility, and a loss of emotional expressions; Lost their social inhibitions, ignoring the rules of polite, civilized conduct. They often acted impulsively because they failed to calculate adequately the probable outcomes of their behaviors.

Assignment in which an animal must respond on the basis of a signal that it remembers but that is no longer present; They see or hear something, and then have to respond to it after a delay

The question of how various brain areas produce a perception of a single object

The question of how various brain areas produce a perception of a single object