The Brain.
THE BRAIN!!
Overview
The brain is a remarkable structure that defines who we are as individuals and how we experience the world. Recent advances in neuroimaging have allowed researchers to look inside the brain, providing vivid pictures of its subcomponents and their associated functions. The gross structure of the brain is familiar to most. The outer layer of the forebrain constitutes the familiar wrinkled tissue that is the cerebral cortex, or cortex for short. The large folds in the cortex are called gyri (from the Greek, 'circle'). The small creases within these folds are fissures (from the Greek, 'trench'). Each hemisphere of the cortex consists of four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. Other important structures are the brainstem, cerebellum the limbic system (which includes the amygdala and hippocampus).
Case studies
Perhaps the most well known-case study in neuroscience is Phineas Gage, who suffered severe damage to the prefrontal cortex following a railroad-related accident in 1848. An explosion drove a large iron rod through Gage's skull, and he was later reported to have severe social impairments. Although the extent of these impairments remains controversial, his case study was a landmark in that it correlated specific cognitive functions with a specific brain area. Since then, tens of thousands of case studies have sought to associate specific brain regions with specific functions, and many of these are documented in G2C Brain structures. However, it is important not to overstate the point. All cognitive functions result from the integration of many simple processing mechanisms, distributed throughout the brain.
Associated functions
arousal
emotion
language
learning
memory
movement
perception
sensation
thinking
many others
Associated cognitive disorders
Almost without exception, cognitive disorders correlate to multiple regions in the brain. Just as the genes and biochemicals associated with cognition are expressed throughout the brain, gross structures that correlate with cognitive disorders are widespread. This is certainly true of the six disorders covered in G2C Online: ADHD, Alzheimer's autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.
Associated with damage
It is possible for the brain to repair damaged neural networks or to compensate for the loss of function in particular structures. Common impairments resultants from brain damage include deficits in attention, emotion, language, learning, memory, movement, perception and sensation.
Substructures
amygdala
basal ganglia
brainstem
Broca's area
cerebellum
cingulate cortex
corpus callosum
dentate gyrus
entorhinal cortex
frontal lobe
hippocampus
hypothalamus
inferior temporal gyrus
limbic system
medulla
middle temporal gyrus
occipital lobe
parietal lobe
perirhinal cortex
pons
prefrontal cortex
premotor cortex
primary motor cortex
somatosensory cortex
subiculum
superior temporal gyrus
temporal lobe
thalamus
ventricles
Wernicke's area
and many others.
Stay tuned for more...
Overview
The brain is a remarkable structure that defines who we are as individuals and how we experience the world. Recent advances in neuroimaging have allowed researchers to look inside the brain, providing vivid pictures of its subcomponents and their associated functions. The gross structure of the brain is familiar to most. The outer layer of the forebrain constitutes the familiar wrinkled tissue that is the cerebral cortex, or cortex for short. The large folds in the cortex are called gyri (from the Greek, 'circle'). The small creases within these folds are fissures (from the Greek, 'trench'). Each hemisphere of the cortex consists of four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. Other important structures are the brainstem, cerebellum the limbic system (which includes the amygdala and hippocampus).
Case studies
Perhaps the most well known-case study in neuroscience is Phineas Gage, who suffered severe damage to the prefrontal cortex following a railroad-related accident in 1848. An explosion drove a large iron rod through Gage's skull, and he was later reported to have severe social impairments. Although the extent of these impairments remains controversial, his case study was a landmark in that it correlated specific cognitive functions with a specific brain area. Since then, tens of thousands of case studies have sought to associate specific brain regions with specific functions, and many of these are documented in G2C Brain structures. However, it is important not to overstate the point. All cognitive functions result from the integration of many simple processing mechanisms, distributed throughout the brain.
arousal
emotion
language
learning
memory
movement
perception
sensation
thinking
many others
Associated cognitive disorders
Almost without exception, cognitive disorders correlate to multiple regions in the brain. Just as the genes and biochemicals associated with cognition are expressed throughout the brain, gross structures that correlate with cognitive disorders are widespread. This is certainly true of the six disorders covered in G2C Online: ADHD, Alzheimer's autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia.
Associated with damage
It is possible for the brain to repair damaged neural networks or to compensate for the loss of function in particular structures. Common impairments resultants from brain damage include deficits in attention, emotion, language, learning, memory, movement, perception and sensation.
Substructures
amygdala
basal ganglia
brainstem
Broca's area
cerebellum
cingulate cortex
corpus callosum
dentate gyrus
entorhinal cortex
frontal lobe
hippocampus
hypothalamus
inferior temporal gyrus
limbic system
medulla
middle temporal gyrus
occipital lobe
parietal lobe
perirhinal cortex
pons
prefrontal cortex
premotor cortex
primary motor cortex
somatosensory cortex
subiculum
superior temporal gyrus
temporal lobe
thalamus
ventricles
Wernicke's area
and many others.
Stay tuned for more...
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