PS263 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Cerebral Cortex, Midbrain Tectum, Brainstem
Document Summary
Starts in middle of brain, more prominent in nonhumans. Superior and inferior colliculus = swellings on each side of tectum, important for auditory and visual sensory processing. Tegmentum lies under tectum, covers other midbrain structures. Contains substantia nigra, gives rise to dopamine containing pathway that facilitates readiness for movement. Consists of 2 cerebral hemispheres organized to receive sensory info mostly from contralateral side of body. Controls muscles by way of axons into the spinal cord and cranial nerve nuclei. Outer portion of forebrain is the cerebral cortex. Interlinked structures important for motivations and emotions (eating, sex, anxiety, drinking), olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus. Pair of structures in centre of forebrain, look like 2 small acovados joined side by side in left and right hemispheres of brain. All sensory info except smell is processed by thalamus and sent to cerebral cortex. Cerebral cortex sends info back to thalamus, prolonging and magnifying certain input and focusing attention on particular stimuli.
