Anatomy of the brain Flashcards
What does dorsal/ventral mean?
Towards the back/belly
What does anterior/posterior mean?
Towards the front/back
What does rostral/caudal mean?
Towards the beak/tail
What does medial/lateral mean?
Towards the middle/side
What are the 3 planes of section?
Coronal (across head)
Sagittal (down)
Horizontal (horizontal)
What are the basic subdivisions of the brain?
Spinal Cord
Hindbrain
Midbrain
Forebrain
What does the forebrain consist of?
Telencephalon and Diencephalon
What does the Midbrain consist of?
Mesencephalon
What does the Hindbrain consist of?
Metencephalon and Myelencephalon
What does Encephalon mean?
Within the head
What is the brain stem?
Hindbrain + Midbrain
What is the myelencephalon in the hindbrain also known as?
Medulla oblongata - allows you to do stuff without thinking ab the vital functions
What does the myelencephalon in the hindbrain control?
Nuclei which (amongst other things) control
Respiration (respiratory groups and respiratory rhythm)
Tongue musculature
Blood Pressure and Heart rate (nucleus ambiguus)
Nucleus ambiguus gives rise to part of the vagus nerve (vagus nerve is part of autonomic system)
ANS CONTROLS HEART MUSCLE, SMOOTH MUSCLE AND ADRENAL GLAND
What does the metencephalon in the hindbrain consist of?
Pons and cerebellum - movement
What do pons contain?
Nuclei involved in sleep and arousal (amongst others) eg locus coeruleus that provides a NT noradrenaline
Cell activity is closely related to level of arousal
What is the cerebellum?
Contains 4/5 of neurons in ur brain
Combines sensory (visual, auditory, vestibular, somatosensory) information and combines it w motor output to allow for fine movement
Interact efficiently w outside world
Damaging it causes poorly executed movement (impairs standing and walking)
What does the mesencephalon contain in the midbrain?
contains tectum and tegmentum
What is the tectum?
Meaning hills
Tectum is the bit at the top
CONSITS OF THE INFERIOR AND SUPEPRIOR COLLICULI
What is the inferior colliculi?
Part of auditory system
What is the superior colliculi?
Part of the visual system, in primates, involved in production of saccades (rapid eye movement)
What is the tegmentum?
Contains 3 major structures:
Periaqueductal grey - involved in species-typical behaviours (has an effect on lordosis)
What is the red nucleus (component of tegmentum)?
Part of the motor system (muscles of shoulder and upper arm)
What is the substantia nigra?
Part of motor system
What does the Diencephalon consist of in the Forebrain?
Thalamus (divided into nuclei - neurons of similar shape and size)
Hypothalamus
What do the nuclei in the thalamus do ?
Sensory relay nuclei transmit info from receptors to cortex
Other non-sensory nuclei function unknown, project mainly to cortex
What does the hypothalamus do?
Organises autonomic and glandular aspects of responses related to survival
the 4 fs
fighting, feeding, fleeing and FLIPPING(mating)
also homeostasis (temp, blood glucose)
What does the SCN (Suprachiasmatic nucleus) control?
Circadian rhythms (rhythms w about 24 hours)
What does the telencephalon do in the forebrain?
Connected by the corpus callosum, most of the 2 cerebral hemispheres
Mediates the most complex functions
What does the telencephalon in the forebrain consist mainly of?
The limbic system
Basal ganglia
Cerebral cortex
What are the four lobes in the cerebral cortex?
Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe
Some areas receive sensory information
Occipital lobe - primary visual cortex
Temporal lobe - primary auditory cortex
Parietal lobe - primary somatosensory cortex
Frontal lobe - movement - primary motor cortex
What is the prefrontal cortex?
Involved in planning and emotional behaviour
eg Phineas Gage
