Lecture 10: The Human Brain

Human Brain Development

Forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain; brainstem; spinal cord (CNS)

• Frontal lobe; prefrontal cortex
• Parietal lobe
• Temporal lobe; auditory cortex
• Occipital lobe (visual cortex)
• Broca's area; Wernicke's area

• Neuron: dendrite, axon, synapse
• Glia: astrocyte, oligodendrocyte, microglia

• Dura mater
• Arachnoid mater
• Subarachnoid space (cerebrospinal fluid + blood vessels)
• Pia mater
• Gray matter vs white matter

Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB)

• Astrocyte (end-feet), transporter
• Endothelial cell (tight junctions), pericyte

Pituitary Gland and Hypothalamus

• Hypothalamus
• Pituitary stalk (infundibulum)
• Posterior lobe; anterior lobe
• Capillaries / portal circulation
• Thyroid (downstream target in the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis)

Self-Cleaning / Clearance

• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
• Astrocytes; waste removal (glymphatic concept)

• Adrenaline (epinephrine)
• Noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
• Dopamine
• Serotonin
• Acetylcholine
• Glutamate
• GABA
• Oxytocin (neuropeptide)
• Endorphins (opioid peptides)

Emotions

• Anterior cingulate cortex; posterior cingulate cortex
• Parahippocampal gyrus; hippocampus
• Amygdala
• Hypothalamus
• Septal nuclei

Placebo / Pain Modulation / Reward

• Cingulate cortex; insula
• Thalamus
• Nucleus accumbens
• Ventral tegmental area (VTA)
• Amygdala
• Periaqueductal gray (PAG)

• Frontal lobe (prefrontal contributions)
• Temporal lobe; hippocampus
• Amygdala
• Thalamus
• Basal ganglia: caudate nucleus, putamen
• Cerebellum
• Parietal lobe (attention/association contributions)

Memory Types

• Sensory memory
• Short-term / working memory
• Long-term:
  • Declarative (explicit): episodic, semantic
  • Nondeclarative (implicit): procedural (skills/habits)

Vision

• Retina
• Optic nerve
• Optic chiasm
• Optic tract
• Thalamus (lateral geniculate nucleus, LGN)
• Optic radiations
• Occipital lobe (primary visual cortex, V1)

Music

• Auditory cortex; superior temporal gyrus; planum temporale
• Frontal lobe (e.g., inferior frontal regions for structure/syntax)
• Parietal lobe (integration/attention)
• Insula
• Limbic/reward circuitry (emotion/valence)

Timing

• Cerebellum
• Basal ganglia

Consciousness

Neuroethics