Cerebral Cortex & Limbic System Ilona Blee & Jonathan
Tsun
Slide 2
Useful resource: I found this book really helped with this
lecture and for spinal tracts as well. Pages 127-141 for cerebral
cortex stuff Quite short & integrates clinically relevant
stuff, which is what will probably come up in the exam
Slide 3
Functional areas of the cortex! What is the role of the
occipital lobe? Vision Facial, shape & colour recognition What
is the role of the temporal lobe? Language Auditory Speech What is
the role of the frontal lobe? Personality & acceptable
behaviour Speech output planning behaviours What is the role of the
parietal lobe? Building mental body image Spatial awareness In
other words sensory
Slide 4
Posterior parietal cortex What are the TWO roles of this area?
1. Integrates sensory inputs 2. Controls perception of
contralateral environment/body What can damage to this area result
in? Patient ignores or is not aware of the contralateral half of
their world What is this called? Hemi-spatial neglect How might
this present in a patient? Patient might say they are getting very
bruised on one side, or you might notice yourself when they come to
see you, they walk into the chair/desk because they arent aware it
was there!
Slide 5
A patient comes to you saying Dr. Ive had a fall and banged the
back of my head. List THREE things you might find as a result of
them damaging their occipital lobe. 1. Vision defect eg.
Quadrantopia 2. Inability to recognise colours (What is this
called?) Achromatopsia 3. Inability to recognise faces (What is
this called?) Prosopagnosia
Slide 6
Cortical areas: speech & language What is each of these
areas called? 1.Brocas area 2.Wernickes area 3.Angular gyrus
4.Primary auditory cortex What artery supplies the hearing speech
& language regions? Middle cerebral we will go through this in
a couple of slides What can damage to Brocas area result in?
Patient will speak slowly or some words will be missing but content
correct Eg. Mother went to the shop today Mother shop today What
can damage to Wernickes area result in? Content of the speech is
incorrect but the patient will speak fluently This is called
receptive aphasia Eg. You ask them how theyre doing and they
respond with Yes, broccoli flew tonight.
Slide 7
How does it all connect together? Association fibres These are
interconnections which enable complex functions for example,
reading/aloud This is the example I am using here 1.See the text
2.Recognition of letters 3.Understanding the letters & making
words 4.Speech output saying or expressing the words you have
understood
Slide 8
Vertebral Carotid What areas are supplied by which artery? PCA
MCA ACA PCA
Slide 9
Circle of Willis Which two arteries make up the Circle of
Willis? 1. Internal carotid 2. Vertebral
Slide 10
Circle of Willis continued Which artery is this?
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LIMBIC SYSTEM fml.
Slide 12
Limbic system functions? Sensations of emotion Visceral
responses to emotion Memories What are some main structures that
make up the limbic system? Cingulate gyrus Hypothalamus Amygdala
Thalamus Hippocampus Mamillary bodies Nucleus accumbens Fornix
Slide 13
Papez Circuit The Heart of the Limbic System 1.Hippocampus
2.Fornix 3.Mamillary Bodies 4.Mamillothalamic tract 5.Anterior
thalamic nucleus 6.Cingulum (projections from Cingulate gyrus)
7.Entorrhinal cortex 8.Hippocampus! 1 2 3 4 5 6 78
Slide 14
Hippocampus For those of you who were here 2 weeks ago for my
Depression session, what happens to hippocampal activity in
depression? Decreases What symptom does this result in? Poor
memory
Slide 15
Hippocampus What does it do? Short-term to long-term memory
conversion Memory recall Spatial navigation Damage to hippocampus
results in what condition? Anterograde amnesia What is anterograde
amnesia? Inability to form new memories What is retrograde amnesia?
Inability to recall memories formed before onset
Slide 16
Memory What types of memory are there? Sensory memory
Short-term (working) memory Long-term memory
Slide 17
Jane is brought into A&E by her husband. She appears sober
and lucid, but smells strongly of alcohol. While taking Janes
history, she tells you stories about being abducted by fairies 10
years ago, about being eaten alive by a cow while on vacation in
the Bahamas 12 years ago. 10 minutes later, you return to ask her
some more questions but she has no recollection of ever meeting
you. What condition do you think Jane has? Korsakoffs Psychosis
Which elements of her history support this and what are the
phenomena called? Anterograde amnesia Confabulation What do you
think has caused this? Excessive alcohol consumption, leading to
thiamine (B1) deficiency Thiamine deficiency leading to mamillary
bodies and anterior thalamic damage
Slide 18
Amygdala For those of you who were here 2 weeks ago for my
Depression session, what happens to amygdala activity in
depression? Increases
Slide 19
Amygdala What does it do? Brings about reactions of: Fear Anger
Behavioural emotions Impulsivity Sexual behaviour & emotions
Recognises emotional content of facial expressions
Slide 20
54 year old Jared is brought into the GP surgery by his wife.
When you ask Jared to sit on a chair, he looks at it and asks what
it is. Jareds wife complains that hes been uncharacteristically
easy-going, almost completely lacking any extreme emotions. She
also tells you hes being exceptionally randy at work and at home,
and has been reprimanded for fondling a female co-worker. During
the consultation, Jared eats 14 chocolate bars and complains hes
still hungry. What condition do you think Jared has? Kluver-Bucy
Syndrome Which elements of this consultation support your decision?
Visual agnosia inability to recognise objects Easy-going = docile
(lacking fear or anger) Hypersexual Excess exploratory behaviours
with hands Increased appetite What part of the brain has been
damaged? Bilateral damage to amygdala
Slide 21
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