The brain: lobes and structures
The lobes of the brain and their functions, the language areas, the grooves that separate them, the deep structures (thalamus, hypothalamus, corpus callosum), the cerebellum, the brainstem, the meninges and the cerebrospinal fluid, and the deficits a lesion of each causes.
- 38 cards
- 3 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Scenarios
- Understand
A few cards from the deck
Frontal lobe: what is it?
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The lobe in front of the central sulcus: voluntary movement (precentral gyrus), planning, behaviour and, usually on the left, speech production.
A frontal lesion can change personality without paralysis.
After a stroke, a right-handed patient understands everything but speaks with effort, in single words. Where is the lesion?
- Left frontal lobe (Broca's area)
- Right occipital lobe
- Cerebellum
- Left temporal lobe (Wernicke's area)
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Left frontal lobe (Broca's area)
Broca produces speech; in most right-handers the left hemisphere is dominant.
Parietal lobe: what is it?
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The lobe behind the central sulcus: body sensation (postcentral gyrus), body image and spatial orientation.
A right parietal lesion can make the left half of space ignored (neglect).
Why does a cerebellar lesion cause problems on the same side?
- Its pathways cross twice, linking it to the same side of the body
- None of its pathways crosses the midline
- It drives the muscles directly through fibres of its own
- It takes its orders from the cerebral hemisphere on the same side
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Its pathways cross twice, linking it to the same side of the body
Unlike the motor cortex, each half of the cerebellum handles the same side.
Temporal lobe: what is it?
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The lobe below the lateral sulcus: hearing, language comprehension (Wernicke's area) and, deep inside, memory (hippocampus).
It is a common site of epilepsy.
A patient walks as if drunk and misses their nose when trying to touch it. Which structure is affected?
- The occipital lobe
- The cerebellum
- Broca's area
- The hypothalamus
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The cerebellum
The cerebellum coordinates; its lesion causes ataxia and clumsy movements.