o   The signal from the left auditory nerve travels to two left cochlear nuclei in the medulla, and on to the superior olivary complex in the pons, where the signals synapse with multiple neurons-half of these decussate and half do not, allowing both hemispheres to receive information from both sides of the body (Pinell & Edwards, 2008). This enables Jack to locate where a sound is coming from.

o   The signal continues into the thalamus by way of the medial geniculate nuclei, which passes the signal on to the auditory radiations where it is finally transmitted ipsilaterally to the primary auditory cortex in the temporal lobe (McGill, n.d.). 

o   The primary auditory cortex organizes sounds by frequency or tone and passes this information on to the secondary auditory cortex, which analyzes sound localization, and where Wernicke’s area lies (McGill, n.d.). Wernicke’s area and the inferior parietal lobule plays an important role in comprehending speech, allowing Jack to understand the words his peer is saying (Pinell & Edwards, 2008; McGill, n.d.).  

o   The signal is passed on to the ventral posterior nucleus of the thalamus and then to the primary somatosensory cortex in the postcentral gyrus. Sensory information is preferentially processed in the right half of the brain, so this information must also be shared with the right primary somatosensory cortex through the corpus callosum (Coghill et al., 2001).

o   This information from the somatosensory system, along with auditory and visual information is transmitted to the posterior parietal cortex, which will provide information to the frontal lobe to interpret appropriate somatosensory action, and help Jack determine what to do next (Pinell & Edwards, 2008).

o   The retinal ganglion cells from across the retina carry the signal out of the eyeball in a bundle referred to as the optic nerve; the optic nerve leads to the optic chiasm, where half of the retinal ganglion axons decussate and half do not (Neuroscientifically Challenged, n.d.).

o   The optic tract then carries the signal to the lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus, where optic radiations carry it to the primary visual cortex of the occipital lobe where signals are organized according to their visual features like color, shape, location and/or movement in space (Pinell & Edwards, 2008). 

 

o   After organization in the primary visual cortex, visual information travels down one of two pathways:

 

o   The Amygdala has two pathways of receiving information, the short route (fast in case of real danger), and the long route (slow but more precise):

o   Jack has encountered a similar experience before with this peer-the peer took Jack’s toy and as a result, Jack experienced sadness, fear, and anger. Their ventromedial prefrontal cortex uses behavioural context to retrieve appropriate memories from the hippocampus to make predictions about this peer and calibrate his behaviour (Preston & Eichenbaum, 2013). 

o   Jack’s left hippocampus also has to work with the right temporoparietal junction to combine autobiographical memory with his ability to infer the mental states of others, allowing Jack to react appropriately in this scenario (Spreng & Mar, 2012). The left hippocampus and right temporo-parietal junction do not directly connect in this pathway, but both overlap with a number of related areas in the brain (including the posterior superior temporal sulcus, the angular gyrus, the bilateral superior temporal gyrus, posterior cingulate, dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the amygdala) (Spreng & Mar, 2012). 

·   Jack must use executive function skills to make a decision on what to do next. Executive functioning can be defined as “a group of neurocognitive processes that direct, connect, and organize information in the brain, which is then manifested in planned behaviour” (Blasco et al., 2014, p. 3). These processes mostly take place in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Rissanen, 2022). Making a sound decision will require Jack to use cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. 

o   Working memory takes place in the Jack must also resist the influence of task-irrelevant stimulus to ensure that working memory can focus on this problem; their prefrontal cortex works to lessen the impact that task-irrelevant stimulus (like another peer playing with a similar toy nearby, two peers singing across the room, or one shouting in the next center) has on working memory (Blasco et al., 2014). 

o   Though negative emotion can decrease working memory performance (Ribeiro et al., 2019), making Jack more susceptible to forget his tools and effectively problem solve, there is an emotion-related circuit in the prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction that is integrated with subcortical and limbic structures that functions to lessen the negative emotional responses so that Jack can make sound decisions (Lee & Xue, 2018).

o   Cognitive flexibility takes place in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Blakey et al., 2016). 

o   The thalamus is also important in switching between rules for different contexts-In an experiment by Rikhye et al., thalamic influence on cognitive flexibility involved supressing rules that are not currently needed, while still preserving them in short term memory in case they are needed again (2018). 

o   Cognitive flexibility allows Jack to change roles in play and prioritize his actions (Blasco et al., 2014): should his focus be on quickly grabbing the toy back, asking politely, getting help from a teacher, or by using physical aggression to retaliate?

o   Inhibitory control is related to emotional and behavioural regulation, which takes place in the orbitofrontal circuit, where limbic and emotional information are integrated into appropriate behaviour, however, when inhibitory control skill is low, the parietal, occipital, and limbic systems play a part in processing the stimulus instead (He et al., 2019).  

o   The task-irrelevant stimuli can also affect Jack’s ability to make the best decision, as overstimulation can negatively impact inhibitory control (Blasco et al., 2014). 

·   Though Jack’s anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex may prefer he take the action with the most short-term reward: immediately taking the toy back, or retaliating physically, Jack is very practiced with his executive functioning skills:

o   His cognitive flexibility has allowed him to switch roles in his play, from playing to reporting the incident to his teacher, which is ultimately the decision he makes. 

·  The basal ganglia are heavily involved in facilitating movement in the body. The structures of the basal ganglia are part of a complex loop that acquires information from the frontal, prefrontal and parietal lobes, then communicates it to the supplementary motor area through the thalamus (McGill, n.d.). 

·   The cerebellum is also incredibly important in movement. The cerebellum is responsible for storing and initiating learned sequences of movement and coordinates signals from other parts of the brain to allow for fluid movements (McGill, n.d.). The motor, somatosensory, and posterior parietal areas of the cortex send signals to the pons, which in turn sends signals to the cerebellum, which communicates back to the motor cortex to influence the muscles of the body (McGill, n.d.). While the basal ganglia plays a larger role in movement of distal limbs, the cerebellum plays a greater role in balance and postural adjustment (Pinell & Edwards, n.d.).

o   Pyramidal neurons carry information through the brain stem, where they decussate and continue to the spinal cord; they can either synapse with lower motor neurons, which extend from the spinal cord to elicit response in muscles (Neuroscientifically Challenged, n.d.), or they may synapse with interneurons, which will carry the signal on to the motor neurons (Pinell & Edwards, 2008).

o   Studies provide strong evidence that the circuitry to produce locomiotion is held in the spinal cord through a neural network called the central pattern generator (CPG) (Gollhofer, 2008). Patterns of movement (in this case, walking) are initiated by the motor cortex, carried out by the CPG, which receives signals from the CNS and sensorimotor systems to correct motions of adapt to new stimuli (Gollhofer, 2008). 

o   There is evidence that two separate motor pathways are involved in speech production-vocalizing and using muscles to control and shape those vocalizations (Holstege & Subramanian, 2016).

 

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