Neuropsychology
Lecture 1
Grey Matter and White Matter
➔ Grey matter: Contains neuron cell bodies, dendrites and synapses. It is where
information is processed. Found mainly in the cerebral cortex and subcortical
nuclei.
➔ White Matter: Composed of myelinated axons that connect different brain
regions. It enables fast communication between distant areas.
➔ Ventricles: Cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that cushion the brain and
help maintain chemical stability.
Lobes, Gyri and Sulcus
➔ Gyri and sulcus are anatomical divisions of different lobes.
Fissures and Poles
➔ Central sulcus: Boundary between frontal lobe and parietal lobe
➔ Lateral fissure: Separates temporal lobe from parietal lobe
➔ Parieto-occipital sulcus: Separates parietal lobe from occipital lobe.
Poles:
➔ Frontal pole: Anterior tip of frontal lobe
➔ Occipital Pole: Posterior tip of occipital lobe
➔ Temporal pole: Anterior tip of temporal lobe
,Limbic System:
➔ Part of the brain that is involved in our emotional behavioral responses.
◆ Largely focused on survival responses ➞ Fight or flight response,
wakefulness and sleeping, reproduction, desire to eat.
➔ Limbic system has 4 main regions:
◆ Hypothalamus: Produces hormones that regulate body temperature,
heartrate, hunger and mood (homeostasis)
◆ Amygdala: Fear processes (emotion)
◆ Thalamus: Relays motor and sensory information between brain areas
(relays information)
● Also deals with alertness
● Also seems to facilitate memory and cognitive processes
◆ Hippocampus: Important for memory and spatial navigation (memory
conversion)
➔ Cingulate gyrus is also a part of the limbic system just above the corpus callosum
and is involved in sexual behaviour, among other social interaction, decision
making and executive function.
Ventral and Dorsal Streams
, ➔ Dorsal stream (Where/How Pathway)
◆ Processes spatial location, motion and guiding actions
◆ Occipital ➞ Parietal
➔ Ventral Stream ( What pathway)
◆ Object recognition,color and form
◆ Occipital ➞ Temporal
Brain Location Vocabulary
Directional Terms:
➔ Rostral/ Superior: Locations towards the front of the head
➔ Caudal/ Inferior: Locations towards the feet
➔ Dorsal : From neuroaxis toward the back
➔ Ventral: From neuroaxis toward the belly
➔ Because the neuroaxis bends in the brain:
◆ The top of the brain is dorsal, the chin is ventral
◆ The front of the brain is rostral or anterior, the back of the brain is
caudal or posterior.
➔ Lateral: Towards the side of the body
➔ Medial: Towards the midline of the body
, Anatomical Planes:
➔ Frontal or Coronal Plane: Cut in a vertical plane from the crown of the head
down ➞ Reveals a frontal view
➔ Sagittal plane: Cut lengthways, front to back ➞ Reveals a medial view from the
side
➔ Horizontal Plane: Cut is along the horizontal ➞ Produces a dorsal view looking
down on the brain from above.
Why are there different nomenclatures?
➔ Important for describing where lesions are in the brain
➔ Nomenclature: naming system
How do brain lesions led to the modern understanding of the brain function and
organization
Phineas Gage
➔ In 1848, he taught us a lot about regional brain functions
➔ He had a damage to the frontal lobe because a stick went through his frontal lobe
and then he became a different person
➔ This case really made the idea that functions were localized in the brain very
popular
Lecture 1
Grey Matter and White Matter
➔ Grey matter: Contains neuron cell bodies, dendrites and synapses. It is where
information is processed. Found mainly in the cerebral cortex and subcortical
nuclei.
➔ White Matter: Composed of myelinated axons that connect different brain
regions. It enables fast communication between distant areas.
➔ Ventricles: Cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that cushion the brain and
help maintain chemical stability.
Lobes, Gyri and Sulcus
➔ Gyri and sulcus are anatomical divisions of different lobes.
Fissures and Poles
➔ Central sulcus: Boundary between frontal lobe and parietal lobe
➔ Lateral fissure: Separates temporal lobe from parietal lobe
➔ Parieto-occipital sulcus: Separates parietal lobe from occipital lobe.
Poles:
➔ Frontal pole: Anterior tip of frontal lobe
➔ Occipital Pole: Posterior tip of occipital lobe
➔ Temporal pole: Anterior tip of temporal lobe
,Limbic System:
➔ Part of the brain that is involved in our emotional behavioral responses.
◆ Largely focused on survival responses ➞ Fight or flight response,
wakefulness and sleeping, reproduction, desire to eat.
➔ Limbic system has 4 main regions:
◆ Hypothalamus: Produces hormones that regulate body temperature,
heartrate, hunger and mood (homeostasis)
◆ Amygdala: Fear processes (emotion)
◆ Thalamus: Relays motor and sensory information between brain areas
(relays information)
● Also deals with alertness
● Also seems to facilitate memory and cognitive processes
◆ Hippocampus: Important for memory and spatial navigation (memory
conversion)
➔ Cingulate gyrus is also a part of the limbic system just above the corpus callosum
and is involved in sexual behaviour, among other social interaction, decision
making and executive function.
Ventral and Dorsal Streams
, ➔ Dorsal stream (Where/How Pathway)
◆ Processes spatial location, motion and guiding actions
◆ Occipital ➞ Parietal
➔ Ventral Stream ( What pathway)
◆ Object recognition,color and form
◆ Occipital ➞ Temporal
Brain Location Vocabulary
Directional Terms:
➔ Rostral/ Superior: Locations towards the front of the head
➔ Caudal/ Inferior: Locations towards the feet
➔ Dorsal : From neuroaxis toward the back
➔ Ventral: From neuroaxis toward the belly
➔ Because the neuroaxis bends in the brain:
◆ The top of the brain is dorsal, the chin is ventral
◆ The front of the brain is rostral or anterior, the back of the brain is
caudal or posterior.
➔ Lateral: Towards the side of the body
➔ Medial: Towards the midline of the body
, Anatomical Planes:
➔ Frontal or Coronal Plane: Cut in a vertical plane from the crown of the head
down ➞ Reveals a frontal view
➔ Sagittal plane: Cut lengthways, front to back ➞ Reveals a medial view from the
side
➔ Horizontal Plane: Cut is along the horizontal ➞ Produces a dorsal view looking
down on the brain from above.
Why are there different nomenclatures?
➔ Important for describing where lesions are in the brain
➔ Nomenclature: naming system
How do brain lesions led to the modern understanding of the brain function and
organization
Phineas Gage
➔ In 1848, he taught us a lot about regional brain functions
➔ He had a damage to the frontal lobe because a stick went through his frontal lobe
and then he became a different person
➔ This case really made the idea that functions were localized in the brain very
popular
