ANATOMY &

RESEARCH
METHODS
Frances Rachel Morales, M.A.
PSYC 3353
TOPICS
 Structure of the vertebrate nervous system
 The cerebral cortex
 Research methods
STRUCTURE OF
THE VERTEBRATE
NERVOUS SYSTEM
TERMINOLOGY TO DESCRIBE
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Central nervous system (CNS) – brain & spinal
cord
 Peripheral nervous system (PNS) – connects
the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body
 Somatic nervous system: conveys sensory
information to the CNS & controls voluntary
muscles movements
 Autonomic nervous system: controls the
heart, intestines, and other organs
TERMS FOR ANATOMICAL DIRECTIONS
IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
TERMS FOR ANATOMICAL
DIRECTIONS
THE SPINAL CORD
 Part of the CNS found within the spinal column
 Communicates with the sense organs and muscles, except those of the
head
 It’s a segmented structure, each segment has on both the left & right sides
a sensory nerve & a motor nerve
 Entering dorsal roots carry sensory information and exiting ventral roots
carry motor information
 Cell bodies of the sensory neurons are located in clusters of neurons
outside the spinal cord—the dorsal root ganglia
A CROSS-SECTION
THROUGH
THE SPINAL CORD
THE SPINAL CORD
Consists of two types of matter
 Grey matter – located in the center of the spinal cord and is densely
packed with cell bodies and dendrites
 White matter – composed mostly of myelinated axons that carries
information from the gray matter to the brain or other areas of the spinal
cord
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 Sends and receives messages to
regulate the automatic behaviors
of the body
 heart rate, blood pressure,
respiration, digestion, etc.
 Divided into two parts:
 Sympathetic nervous system
 Parasympathetic nervous
system
THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 A network of nerves that prepares the organs for a burst of vigorous
activity
 Prepares the organs for “fight or flight” response
 Increases heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, decreases digestive
activity
 Composed of ganglia to the left and right of the spinal cord’s central
regions
 Most sympathetic nervous system’s axons mostly release the
neurotransmitter norepinephrine, but a few use acetylcholine
THE PARASYMPATHETIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Facilitates vegetative and nonemergency responses
 “rest & digest” system or craniosacral system
 Decreases heart rate, increases digestive activity
 Promotes sexual arousal, including erection in males
 Conserves energy
 Composed of long preganglionic axons extending from the spinal cord and
short postganglionic fibers that attach to the organs themselves
 Parasympathetic nervous system’s axons mostly release the
neurotransmitter acetylcholine onto the organs
MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE
VERTEBRATE BRAIN
THE HINDBRAIN
 Posterior part of the brain
 Consists of the:
 Medulla
 Pons
 Cerebellum

 The medulla & pons, the midbrain, &

certain central structures of the forebrain
constitute the brain stem
THE HINDBRAIN
 Medulla
 Located just above the spinal cord; like an enlarged extension of the spinal cord
 Responsible for vital reflexes such as breathing, heart rate, vomiting, salivation,
coughing, and sneezing
 Pons
 Lies on each side of the medulla (ventral and anterior)
 In the pons, axons from each half of the brain cross to the opposite side of the spinal
cord so that the left hemisphere controls the muscles of the right side of the body
and the right hemisphere controls the left side
 Cerebellum
 Structure with many deep folds
 Helps regulate motor movement, balance, and coordination
 Also important for shifting attention between auditory and visual stimuli
 Also critical for certain types of learning & conditioning
THE MIDBRAIN
Contains the following structures
 Tectum – roof of the midbrain
 Superior colliculus & inferior colliculus – processes sensory
information
 Tegmentum – intermediate level of the midbrain
 Substantia nigra – gives rise to the dopamine-containing pathway
facilitating readiness for movement
THE FOREBRAIN
 The most prominent part of the mammalian brain
 Consists of two cerebral hemispheres
 Each receives sensory information and controls motor movement from the
opposite (contralateral) side of the body
 Consists of the outer cerebral cortex and other subcortical regions
(thalamus & basal ganglia)
 The limbic system consists of several interlinked structures, forming a
border around the brainstem
 Includes the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala,
and cingulate gyrus of the cerebral cortex
 Hypothalamus is essential for control of eating, drinking, temperature
control, & reproductive behaviors
 Amygdala evaluates emotional information
THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
THE THALAMUS & THE
HYPOTHALAMUS
The thalamus and the hypothalamus together form the “diencephalon”
Thalamus
 A pair of structures in the center of the forebrain
 Relay station from the sensory organs; main source of input to the cortex
Hypothalamus
 Small area near the base of the brain
 Conveys messages to the pituitary gland, altering its release of hormones
 Associated with behaviors such as eating, drinking, temperature regulation,
sexual behavior, fighting, & other motivated behaviors
THE BASAL GANGLIA
 Group of subcortical structures
 Comprises the caudate nucleus, the putamen, and the globus pallidus
 Associated with planning of motor movement, integrating motivational &
emotional behavior
 Critical for learned skills & habits, as well as other types of learning
BASAL FOREBRAIN
 Composed of several structures that lie on
the dorsal surface of the forebrain
 Contains the nucleus basalis
 Receives input from the hypothalamus
and basal ganglia
 Sends axons that release acetylcholine
to widespread areas in the cerebral
cortex
 Key in arousal, wakefulness, and
attention
THE HIPPOCAMPUS
 A large structure located between the thalamus and cerebral cortex
 Toward the posterior portion of the forebrain
 Critical for certain types of memory
 Also essential in monitoring where you are & where you are going
THE VENTRICLES & THE
MENINGES
Ventricles – four fluid-filled cavities within the brain containing
cerebrospinal fluid
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) – a clear fluid found in the brain and spinal cord,
similar to blood plasma
 Produced by cells along the walls of the four ventricles known as choroid
plexus
 Cushions the brain against mechanical shock when the head moves
 Reservoir of hormones and nutrition for the brain and spinal cord
Meninges – membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord
 Contain pain receptors
THE CEREBRAL VENTRICLES
THE CEREBRAL
CORTEX
THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
 The most prominent part of the mammalian brain
 Consists of the cellular layers on the outer surface of the cerebral
hemispheres
 Cells on the outer surface on the cerebral cortex are gray matter, and their
axons extending inward are white matter
 Divided into two halves
 Joined by two bundles of axons called the corpus callosum & the anterior
commissure
 More highly developed in humans than other species
ORGANIZATION OF THE
CEREBRAL CORTEX
 Contains up to six distinct laminae (layers) that are parallel to the surface
of the cortex & separated from each other by layers of fibers
 Laminae vary in thickness & prominence

 Cells of the cortex are also organized into columns of cells perpendicular
to the laminae
 Cells within a given column have similar properties to one another

 The four lobes

 Occipital lobe
 Parietal lobe
 Temporal lobe
 Frontal lobe
ORGANIZATION OF THE
CEREBRAL CORTEX
AREAS OF THE HUMAN
CEREBRAL CORTEX
THE OCCIPITAL LOBE
 Located at the posterior end of the cortex
 Highly responsible for visual input
 Contains the striate cortex or primary visual cortex
 Damage can result in cortical blindness
THE PARIETAL LOBE
 Lies between the occipital lobe & the central sulcus
 Contains the postcentral gyrus (“primary somatosensory cortex”)
 Receives input from touch receptors, muscle-stretch receptors, & joint
receptors
 Also responsible for processing and integrating information about eye,
head, and body positions from information sent from muscles and joints
 Essential for spatial information as well as numerical information
THE TEMPORAL LOBE
 Is the lateral portion of each hemisphere, near the temples
 Target for auditory information and essential for processing spoken
language
 Responsible for complex aspects of vision, including perception of
movement & recognition of faces
 Associated with some emotional and motivational behaviors
THE FRONTAL LOBE
 Extends from the central sulcus to the anterior limit of the brain
 Contains the primary motor cortex (or precentral gyrus) & the prefrontal
cortex
 Primary motor cortex
 Specialized for the control of fine motor movement
 Prefrontal cortex
 Most anterior portion of the frontal lobe
 Integration center for all sensory information and other areas of the
cortex
 Associated with higher functions such as abstract thinking, decision
making & planning
 Also associated with working memory, cognitive control, & emotional
reactions
RESEARCH
METHODS
RESEARCH METHODS
The main categories of research methods to study the brain include those
that attempt to:
 Examine the effects of brain damage
 Examine the effects of stimulating a brain area
 Record brain activity during behavior
 Correlate brain anatomy with behavior
EFFECTS OF BRAIN DAMAGE
Brain damage can cause behavioral
impairments
 Ablation – removal of a brain area
 Lesion – damage to a brain area by means of
a stereotaxic instrument
 Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
– application of strong magnetic stimulation
to a portion of the scalp to temporarily
inactivate neurons below the magnet
 Enables researchers to study behavior with a
brain area active, then inactive, then active
again
EFFECTS OF BRAIN
STIMULATION
Stimulation of a brain area should increase behavior
 Old-fashioned way – inserting an electrode into an animal’s brain &
delivering brief, mild currents to stimulate one area or another
 Optogenetics – a technique that allows researchers to turn on activity in
targeted neurons using a device that shines a laser within the brain
RECORDING BRAIN ACTIVITY
Electroencephalograph (EEG)
 Records electrical activity of the brain through
electrodes attached to the scalp
 Can record brain activity in response to a
stimuli, producing evoked potentials
RECORDING BRAIN ACTIVITY
Magnetoencephalograph (MEG)
 Similar to EEG but measures faint magnetic fields
generated by brain activity instead
RECORDING BRAIN ACTIVITY
Positron-emission tomography
(PET)
 Records emission of radioactivity from
injected radioactive chemicals to
produce a high-resolution image
RECORDING BRAIN ACTIVITY
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI)
 Modified version of an MRI that uses oxygen
consumption in the brain to measure brain
activity
 Safer and less expensive than PET
 Comparison tasks are used to compare the brain
pictures while person is engaged in different
activities and recordings can allow researchers to
predict the behavior
CORRELATING BRAIN
ANATOMY
WITH BEHAVIOR
Phrenology
 The process of relating skull anatomy to
behavior
 One of the first ways used to study the
brain
CORRELATING BRAIN
ANATOMY
WITH BEHAVIOR
Computerized axial tomography (CAT scan)
 A physician injects a dye into the blood and places the person’s head into
the scanner
 X-rays are passed through the head and recorded by detectors
 Used to detect tumors and other structural abnormalities
CORRELATING BRAIN
ANATOMY
WITH BEHAVIOR
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
 Applies a powerful magnetic field to image the
brain
 Shows small anatomical details