Anatomy and Cell Biology 3319 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Medulla Oblongata, Grey Matter, Basal Ganglia
Document Summary
Midbrain: the structure that looks like a horizontal bracket white matter (neuronal fibers or axons, encephalization: humans developed a really large cerebral hemisphere and cerebral cortex. Its okay for the superficial gray matter layer to get larger but creates a physical problem: how do you get that layer of gray matter into a confined space (skull) without having a large head. So our gray matter ends up with folds: these folds are what we use to differentiate between diff anatomical parts of the cerebral cortex. Gyri (ridges) and sulci (grooves) provide anatomical separation of areas. Insular cortex was one place where connectivity changed between reactors and non reactors. In development there was always this division between sensory and motor parts: that sensory-motor division is maintained at the level of the cerebral cortex. In front of the central sulcus is the pre-central gyrus (primary somatomotor cortex) Its the motor cortex for the movement of the limbs and the torso.