ALERT BEHAVIUOR

Nguyen-thi-Doan-Huong

BEHAVIORAL STATES

Slight sleep - deep sleep - REM sleep Relaxed awarenessawareness- awareness with concentrated attention Different patterns of EEG

THALAMUS
Is the major relay station for most sensory impulses
contributes to motor functions by transmitting information from the cerebellum and basal ganglia to the primary motor area plays a role in the maintenance of consciousness

THALAMUS

Epithalamus: connections to olfactory systems Epithalamus: Ventral thalamus: thalamus: receives input from the cerebellum and basal ganglia and send output to motor areas of the cerebral cortex ; it also plays a role in movement control(ventral anterior nucleus) relays impulses for somatic sensations such as touch, pressure, vibration, itch, tickle, temperature, pain, and propioception from the face and body to the cerebral cortex (ventral posterior n.) relay visual impulses for sight from the retina to the primary visual areas of the cerebral cortex (lateralgeniculate n.) Dorsal thalamus: thalamus: specific sensory relay n. Nuclei concerned with efferent control mechanisms

THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

CEREBRAL CORTEX
Plays a key role in : Memory Attention Perceptual awareness Thought Language Conciousness

HIPPOCAMPUS

NEOCORTEX

Laminar pattern 6 layers 10 20 billion neurons 95 % surface of the hemisphere

NEOCORTEX

Thickness of cortical layers Predominant cell type Others factors: neurochemical markers

Characteristics of layers
I.. Molecular layer local inhibitory interneurons (associative learning and attention) II. External granular association neurons III. External pyramidal commissural neurons (interhemispheric corticocortico-cortical afferents,corticoafferents,corticocortical efferents) IV. Internal granular receives thalamocortical projections V. Internal pyramidal projecting neurons (basal ganglia, brain stem, spinal cord) cord) VI. Multiform layer corticothalamic neurons

NEOCORTEX,
types of neurons

Pyramidal neurons

Apical and basal dendrites Dendritic spines Excitatory (glutamate) Homogenous group 60 70 %

Non-pyramidal Nonneurons

Aspiny Heterogenous group Inhibitory (GABA)

30 40 %

Pyramidal neurons Layer V. MI Golgi impregnation

Projection neurons, excitatory, glutamate Long axons Local circuit neurons, inhibitory, GABA

Interneurons, short axons

My investigations showed that the functional superiority of the human brain is intimately bound up with the prodigious abundance and unusual wealth of forms of the so-called neurons with the short axons.
S. R. y Cajal: Recuerdos de mi vida. 1917.

Interneurons are butterflies of the soul. S.R. y Cajal 1923

CORTICAL MICROCIRCUITS

Cortical columns Minicolumns: basic functional units of the cortex

K.Brodmann, 1907, 1911

11 regions 52 areas

CONNECTIONS To various subcortical structures (thalamus, basal nuclei)

Association areas

Afferent neocortical connections

Thalamic nuclei (thalamocortical fibers)

Amygdala Claustrum Nc. basalis (Meynert)(Meynert)-cholinergic system Hypothalamus Raphe nuclei (serotonin) Locus coeruleus (noradrenalin) Subst. Nigra (VTA) - dopamin

Excitatory connections in the neocortex Layer 4 termination of thalamocortical projections Layer 4 projects to layer 3 Layer 3 projects to layer 5

Efferent neocortical connections

Thalamic nuclei Basal ganglia (striatum, amygdala, claustrum) Brain stem (pretectal area, tectum, nc. ruber, RF, nuclei of cranial nerves, pontine nc., nc. gracilis, nc. cuneatus) Spinal cord ( corticospinal pathway, interneurons, motoneurons)

MOTOR AREAS

G. Fritsch and E. Hitzig (1870) demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the dogs frontal lobe results in contralateral muscular contractions (movements) The motor areas are located in 2 hemispheres Related to control voluntary movements

MOTOR AREAS

Primary motor cortex: cortex: executes voluntary movements Supplementory motor areas(SM) and premotor areas(PM): select voluntary movements Posterior parietal cortex: cortex: guides voluntary movements in space DorsoDorso -lateral prefrontal cortex : decides which voluntary movements to make according to higherhigher-order instructions, rules, and selfself-generated thoughts

Primary motor area M I

Precentral gyrus, area 4 Part of the cortex from which movements are easily produced by electrical stimulation Motor homunculus (overrepresentation muscles of the thumb, hand, face, tongue, somatotopic representation) Afferents : S I, thalamic VL Efferents : basal ganglia, thalamus, (VL) RF, superior colliculus, nc. ruber, RF, pontine ncc., spinal cord cord Control of distal muscles, muscles, executes voluntary movements Damage produces paralysis of contralateral muscles

Premotor area, PM

Area 6 Somatotopic representation of the body musculature, less precisely organized Efferents M I, basal ganglia, RF, Spinal cord (influences paravertebral and proximal limb musculature) Afferents thalamic VA (basal ganglia), S I, Preparation to move, move, selection voluntary movements

Supplementary motor area

Area 6, medial surface of the hemisphere Somatotopic organization,less precisely organized Afferents thalamic VA (basal ganglia), parietal cortex Efferents MI, Basal ganglia, RF, Spinal cord Area is involved in organizing and planning the sequence of muscle activation

SENSORY AREAS

Receive and process information from the senses

Somatosensory area S I

Postcentral gyrus Areas 3a, 3b, 1, 2 Afferents : VPL, VPM(thalamus) VPM(thalamus) Efferents : M I, thalamus (VPL, VPM), pontine ncc., nuclei of cranial nerves (V.), spinal cord 3a signals from muscle spindles 3b cutaneous receptors 2 joint receptors 1 all modalities

3a signals from muscle spindles 3b cutaneous receptors 2 joint receptors 1 all modalities

Sensory homunculus

LANGUAGE AREAS
Broca : patient losses the ability to speak, produces single words, or syllables. Understanding of language is preserved. Often combined with agraphia.

Wernicke : sensory or receptive aphasia, spontaneous speech is fluent, but sounds are often put together into meaningless words word salad . Often combined with alexia the inability to read.

Auditory cortex

Area 41 Afferents auditory pathway (thalamic medial geniculate body) Efferents thalamus (medial geniculate body), inferior colliculus, associative cortical areas (what and where paths)

Visual cortex

Area 17, granular cortex Afferents visual pathway, thalamic lateral geniculate body Efferents thalamus (lateral geniculate body), area 18, 19, parietal cortex, temporal cortex. Dorsal stream parietal cortex (where : rods, periphery of retina, area 7) Ventral stream temporal cortex (what(what- colors, form : cones, central area of retina, area 37, inferior. temporal cortex

Corpus callosum transekce

ASSOCIATION AREAS

Produce a meaningful perceptual experience of the world Support abstract thinking and language

ASSOCIATION CONNECTIONS

LANGUAGE AREAS
Broca area: left hemisphere, area 44/45 Patient losses the ability to speak, produces single words, or syllables. Understanding of language is preserved. Often combined with agraphia.

Wernicke : area 22 Patient has sensory or receptive aphasia, spontaneous speech is fluent, but sounds are often put together into meaningless words word salad . Often combined with alexia the inability to read.

Cerebral cortex

All mammals depend on it A man without a cortex is almost vegetable, speechless, sightless, senseless (D. Hubel and T. Wiesel 1979). The cortex supports sensory perception, reasoning, planning and execution of behaviors