Institute on Neuroscience ION/Teach Build-A-Brain!
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Transcript of Institute on Neuroscience ION/Teach Build-A-Brain!
Institute on NeuroscienceION/Teach
Build-A-Brain!
This Is Your Brain
Middle English words for front, back, top and bottom
Directional Terms
Nonhuman animals are oriented differently
So are their brains
Frontal Lobe
• reasoning• planning • parts of speech• movement• emotions• problem-solving
Temporal Lobe
• Hearing or audition• memory
Parietal Lobe
perception related to:• touch• pressure• temperature• pain
Occipital Lobe
• Vision or sight
The Cerebrum
Lobes are only organized like this in the brains of mammals
Brain Stem & Spinal Cord
-Hypothalamus – the 4 F’s-Thalamus—sensory relay station
•Midbrain
•Hindbrain-Pons - ”bridge” (plus nuclei)-Medulla oblongata-Cerebellum
-Tectum -Processing visual and auditory stimuli -Lower vertebrates: vision-Tegmentum -basal ganglia: motor activity
•Diencephalon
The Cerebellum
•Functions:
coordination of balance, locomotion and movement
•Note:
All vertebrates have a cerebellum which varies in size depending on the class of animals
Brain Complexity & Surface Area
How does this brain compare to other vertebrate brain models?
•Convolutions = folds
•Increase surface area
•Reflect more complexity (in cerebrum and/or cerebellum only)
Vertebrate Brain Diversity• Brain diversity across
vertebrate classes
• Size of forebrain related to "intelligence" of species
• behavioral complexity?
• Compare across species to consider structure-function relations
• e.g. olf bulb or cerebellum
Vertebrate Brains and Brain Diversity
Brain Diversity & Adaptations
Understanding an animal’s behavior or how it interacts with its environment can help you make predictions about what its brain might look like
Knowing about an animal’s brain can help you make predictions about its behavior or sensory systems
Relative brain size is more important than overall brain size
Who has the best brain?
That depends on what you need it for.
Evolutionary increase in relative brain size.
• Humans and several other animals have much larger brains than expected, based on body mass.
• Ratio was named the “encephalization quotient”, by H. J. Jerison.
Hypothesized reasons: climate change eating fruit! improved vasculature neoteny
How are dog and cat brains different?
• Which do you think has a proportionally larger olfactory bulb?
• How about cerebral cortex? Which has more wrinkles (convolutions)?
• How about the cerebellum? Which is bigger? Which has more convolutions?
Dog vs. Cat
Brains and Behavior of Aquatic Mammals: A Comparison of Dolphins, Sea Lions and
Manatees
Comparison Porpoise Sea Lion Manatee
Class Mammal Mammal Mammal
Primary way to find food (forage)
echolocation visual tactile
Diet shrimp, fish fish sea grasses
Vocalizations complex -- mother-pup I.D.
Territorial no yes no
Dominance hierarchy yes yes no
Tricks Acrobatic/balance Acrobatic/balance --
Olfaction Lobes and nerves absent Pup I.D. probably
Cerebral cortex Guess! Guess! Guess!
Sea Lion
Bottle-nose Dolphin
Marine Mammal:Florida Manatee
Compare Marine Mammal Brains
Consider These BrainsForebrain/Cortex
Cerebellum(Coordination)
Midbrain(Visual)
What do these brains tell you about the behavior of these
animals?Forebrain/Cortex
Cerebellum(Coordination)
Midbrain(Visual)
Now Build Your Own Brain!• It can be a brain from a real or imaginary
creature
• Supplies: Play-Doh (at least four different colors), your imagination, and hands!
• What does the relative size of different brain regions say about the environment of the animal?