The Brain

[EnginrTheFuture]

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There haven't been any topics about this as of late (it's been a few years)... There's also conflicting ideas as to what's relevant for this exam because AAMC doesn't say anything detailed about anything ever 😡 Do we need to know where the parts of the brain are. The "categorization" of the parts just doesn't click with me.

Question 1:
forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain
Are ^ these the categories before the brain develops or after or both?

Question 2:
What the heck is in each of these categories, and should we know that?

Wiki states

1) the telencephalon (cerebral hemispheres)
2) diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)
3) mesencephalon (midbrain)
4) cerebellum
5) pons
6) medulla oblongata

are the six regions usually used.

Question(s) 3:
If so, what the heck were the three categories listed before... is that predevelopment and this is post? I feel like half of these "regions" are individual brain components (the pons) and others are groups of functional parts (i.e. midbrain)? This confuses the heck out of me.


Then they go on to list a bunch of brain components...

The optic tectum
The pallium
The hippocampus
The basal ganglia
The olfactory bulb

I just don't understand where these go in the list(s) above. Should I be concerning myself with any of this?!

Question 4:

For those neurosci buffs... what parts/functions should we absolutely know? I never learned any of this in bio and I could spend a week on it that I feel is low yielding on the MCAT. I hoping a little guidance could save me a lot of time and frustration because I'm behind schedule and it's stressing me out

 

[lesset01]

There haven't been any topics about this as of late (it's been a few years)... There's also conflicting ideas as to what's relevant for this exam because AAMC doesn't say anything detailed about anything ever 😡 Do we need to know where the parts of the brain are. The "categorization" of the parts just doesn't click with me.

Question 1:
forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain
Are ^ these the categories before the brain develops or after or both?

The forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain are the three primary vesicles of the neural tube that eventually develops into the brain.

Question 2:
What the heck is in each of these categories, and should we know that?

Wiki states

1) the telencephalon (cerebral hemispheres)
2) diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)
3) mesencephalon (midbrain)
4) cerebellum
5) pons
6) medulla oblongata

are the six regions usually used.

Question(s) 3:
If so, what the heck were the three categories listed before... is that predevelopment and this is post? I feel like half of these "regions" are individual brain components (the pons) and others are groups of functional parts (i.e. midbrain)? This confuses the heck out of me.

The telencephalon and diencephalon are the secondary structures that differentiate from the forebrain.

The mesencephalon is another name for the midbrain because it doesn't really differentiate into secondary structures.

The cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata are the secondary structures that differentiate from the hindbrain.

Then they go on to list a bunch of brain components...

The optic tectum
The pallium
The hippocampus
The basal ganglia
The olfactory bulb

I just don't understand where these go in the list(s) above. Should I be concerning myself with any of this?!

Question 4:

For those neurosci buffs... what parts/functions should we absolutely know? I never learned any of this in bio and I could spend a week on it that I feel is low yielding on the MCAT. I hoping a little guidance could save me a lot of time and frustration because I'm behind schedule and it's stressing me out

The rest of those parts derive from the structures above. Basically, the first 3 names are used to reference groups of structures easily and they also show you the relationships between those structures. Since the entire CNS is derived from a single fluid-filled tube during development, knowing how the different parts differentiate from the neural tube helps to understand the organization of the brain and how the structures are related and work together.

Hope that helps 🙂

 

[syoung]

👍👍👍

The forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain are the three primary vesicles of the neural tube that eventually develops into the brain.



The telencephalon and diencephalon are the secondary structures that differentiate from the forebrain.

The mesencephalon is another name for the midbrain because it doesn't really differentiate into secondary structures.

The cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata are the secondary structures that differentiate from the hindbrain.



The rest of those parts derive from the structures above. Basically, the first 3 names are used to reference groups of structures easily and they also show you the relationships between those structures. Since the entire CNS is derived from a single fluid-filled tube during development, knowing how the different parts differentiate from the neural tube helps to understand the organization of the brain and how the structures are related and work together.

Hope that helps 🙂

 

[EnginrTheFuture]

The forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain are the three primary vesicles of the neural tube that eventually develops into the brain.



The telencephalon and diencephalon are the secondary structures that differentiate from the forebrain.

The mesencephalon is another name for the midbrain because it doesn't really differentiate into secondary structures.

The cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata are the secondary structures that differentiate from the hindbrain.



The rest of those parts derive from the structures above. Basically, the first 3 names are used to reference groups of structures easily and they also show you the relationships between those structures. Since the entire CNS is derived from a single fluid-filled tube during development, knowing how the different parts differentiate from the neural tube helps to understand the organization of the brain and how the structures are related and work together.

Hope that helps 🙂

You rock! 😎 That was exactly what I was hoping for.Definitely made a stressful day much much much better 👍 Thanks so much!


If anyone else has a shortlist of key MCAT brain components/functions they want to copy paste in here I think it would help us non-neuro people out a lot! Willing to trade you physics knowledge 😀

 

[MedPR]

Just wanted to chime in that none of the posts above me are necessary background knowledge for the MCAT.

 

[syoung]

lawl good post!