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Human basic neuroscience > Anatomy of the Nervous System > Flashcards

Anatomy of the Nervous System Flashcards

1
Q 
A cut in which of the following planes would sever all of the cerebral commissures, the tracts that connect the left and right cerebral hemispheres?
Select one:
a. frontal
b. midsagittal 
c. horizontal
d. diagonal
e. sagittal
A

b. midsagittal

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2
Q

Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by

Select one:

a. networks of small blood vessels that protrude into the ventricles.
b. the superior sagittal sinus.
c. the arachnoid membrane.
d. the choroid plexuses.
e. both A and D

A

e. both A and D

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3
Q 
Deterioration of the pathway from the substantia nigra to the striatum is often found in cases of
Select one:
a. autism.
b. Korsakoff's syndrome. 
c. Parkinson's disease.
d. multiple sclerosis.
A

c. Parkinson’s disease.

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4
Q 
Hydrocephalus results from the
Select one:
a. production of excessively watery CSF.
b. none of the above
c. production of water rather than CSF.
d. production of too much CSF. 
e. breakdown of the mechanism that absorbs CSF into the lateral vesicles.
A

b. none of the above

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5
Q

Interneurons

Select one:

a. don’t conduct signals from one structure to another; they integrate activity within a single brain structure.
b. have several short axons and no dendrites.
c. have two short axons but no dendrites.
d. have bipolar axons and no dendrites.
e. have one long axon and one short dendrite.

A

a. don’t conduct signals from one structure to another; they integrate activity within a single brain structure.

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6
Q

Neurons of the sympathetic nervous system are part of the

Select one:

a. somatic nervous system.
b. basal ganglia.
c. ANS.
d. peripheral nervous system.
e. both C and D

A

e. both C and D

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7
Q

The hypothalamus and thalamus compose the

Select one:

a. mesencephalon.
b. pituitary.
c. brain stem.
d. diencephalon.
e. medulla.

A

d. diencephalon.

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8
Q 
The largest cerebral commissure is the
Select one:
a. longitudinal commissure. 
b. massa intermedia.
c. corpus callosum.
d. massa commissura.
e. humungus commissura.
A

c. corpus callosum.

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9
Q

The spine of a human runs just beneath the body’s

Select one:

a. superior surface.
b. anterior surface.
c. dorsal surface.
d. posterior surface.
e. ventral surface.

A

c. dorsal surface.

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10
Q

What is the name of nerves that carry sensory signals to thee CNS?

A

Afferent nerves

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11
Q

What is the name of the nerves that carry motor signals from the CNS to the skeletal muscles?

A

Efferent nerves

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12
Q

Which part of the CNS do sympathetic nerves project from?

A

Lumbar (back) and thoracic (chest) regions of the spinal cord

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13
Q

Which part of the CNS do parasympathetic nerves project from?

A

Brain and sacral (lower back) region of the spinal cord

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14
Q

What are the names of the meninges? List from outermost to innermost

A

Dura mater
Arachnoid membrane
Pia mater

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15
Q

Where is the subarachnoid space and what is found within it?

A

Between the arachnoid membrane and pia mater; it contains many large blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid

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16
Q

The small central channel that runs the length of the spinal cord is called what?

A

Central canal

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17
Q

What is hydroencephalus?

A

the buildup of fluid in the ventricles which causes the walls of the ventricles, and thus the entire brain, to expand

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18
Q

The peripheral nervous system is located outside the ________

A

Skull and spine

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19
Q

The part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates the body’s internal environment is the _______ system

A

Autonomic nervous

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20
Q

Nerves that carry sensory messages from the skin, joints, eyes, and ears to the central nervous system are called ______ nerves

A

Afferent

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21
Q

Sympathetic nerves are a part of the ______ nervous system

A

Autonomic

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22
Q

________ nerves stimulate, organise, and mobilise energy resources in threatening situations

A

Sympathetic

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23
Q

The vagus nerves are the longest ______

A

Cranial nerves

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24
Q

The olfactory nerves and optic nerves are the only two purely sensory _______

A

Cranial nerves

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25
Q

The innermost meninx is the ______

A

Pia mater

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26
Q

The ______ space, made up of large blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid, lie between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater

A

Subarachnoid

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27
Q

The traditional view on cerebrospinal fluid production says that it is made by small blood vessels called the _______

A

Choroid plexus

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28
Q

A tumor near the ______ can produce hydroephalus

A

Cerebral aqueduct

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29
Q

The cells in the brain are tightly packed and act as a _______ to any protein or large molecules

A

Barrier

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30
Q

What is the name of glial cells with extensions that wrap around the axons of some neurons of the central nervous system?

A

Oligoedendrocytes

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31
Q

What are the four classes of glial cells?

A

Oligodendrocytes
Schwann cells
Microglia
Astrocytes

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32
Q

Which glial cell responds to injury or disease by multiplying, engulfing debris and triggering inflammatory response?

A

Microglia

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33
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the cerebral cortex apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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34
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the thalamus apart of?

A

Diencephalon

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35
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the major fissues apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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36
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the tectum apart of?

A

Mesencephalon

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37
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the major gyri apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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38
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the reticular formation apart of?

A

Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Myelencephalon (medulla)

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39
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the four lobes apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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40
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the hypothalamus apart of?

A

Diencephalon

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41
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the limbic system apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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42
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the tegmegtum apart of?

A

Mesencephalon

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43
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the basal ganglia apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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44
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the pons apart of?

A

Metencephalon

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45
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the cerebral commissures apart of?

A

Telencephalon

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46
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the optic chiasm apart of?

A

Diencephalon

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47
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the cerebellum apart of?

A

Metencephalon

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48
Q

Which of the five major divisions is the pituitary gland apart of?

A

Diencephalon

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49
Q

What makes up the limbic system?

A 
Amygdala
Hippocampus
Fornix
Cingulate cortex
Septum
Mammillary bodies
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50
Q

What makes up the tectum?

A

Superior colliculi

Inferior colliculi

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51
Q

What makes up the tegmentum?

A 
Reticular formation
Cerebral aqueduct
Periaqueductal gray
Substantia nigra
Red nucleus
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52
Q

What are afferent nerves?

A

nerves that carry sensory signals to the central nervous system

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53
Q

What does anterior mean?

A

towards the nose end of a vertebrate

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54
Q

What is the amygdala?

A

A structure in the anterior temporal lobe, just anterior to the hippocampus; plays a role in emotion

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55
Q

What is the arachnoid membrane?

A

the meninx that is located between the dura mater and the pia mater and has the appearance of a gauzelike spiderweb

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56
Q

What are astrocytes?

A

large, star-shaped glial cells that play multiple roles in the CNS

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57
Q

What is the autonomic nervous system?

A

the part of the peripheral nervous system that participates in the regulation of the body’s internal environment

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58
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A

a collection of subcortical nuclei (e.g., striatum and globus pallidus)

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59
Q

What is a bipolar neuron?

A

a neuron with two processes extending from its cell body

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60
Q

What is the blood-brain barrier?

A

the mechanism that impedes the passage of toxic substances from the blood into the brain

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61
Q

What is the brain stem?

A

the part of the brain on which the cerebral hemispheres rest; in general, it regulates reflex activities that are critical for survival (e.g., heart rate and respiration)

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62
Q

What is the caudate?

A

the tail-like structure that is part of the striatum

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63
Q

What is the central canal?

A

the small CSF-filled channel that runs the length of the spinal cord

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64
Q

What is the central fissure?

A

the large fissure that separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe

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65
Q

What is the central nervous system (CNS)?

A

the portion of the nervous system within the skull and spine

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66
Q

What is the cerebellum?

A

a metencephalic structure that is thought to participate in the storage of memories of learned sensorimoter skills

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67
Q

What is the cerebral aqueduct?

A

a narrow channel that connects the thirds and fourth ventricles

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68
Q

What are cerebral commisures?

A

tracts that connect the left and right cerebral hemispheres

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69
Q

What is the cerebral cortex?

A

the layer of neural tissue covering the cerebral hemispheres of humans and other mammals

70
Q

What are cerebral ventricles?

A

the four CSF-filled internal chambers of the brain: the two lateral ventricles, the third ventricle and the fourth ventricle

71
Q

What is the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)?

A

the fluid that fills the subarachnoid space, the central canal and the cerebral ventricles

72
Q

What is the choroid plexuses?

A

the networks capillaries that protrude into the ventricles from the pia mater and produce cerebrospinal fluid

73
Q

What is the cingulate cortex?

A

the cortex of the cingulate gyri, which are located on the medial surfaces of the frontal lobes

74
Q

What is the cingulate gyrus?

A

large gyri located on the medial surfaces of the frontal lobes, just superior to the corpus callosum

75
Q

What is columnar organisation?

A

the functional organization of the neocortex in vertical columns; the cells in each column form a mini-circuit that performs a single function

76
Q

What does contralateral mean?

A

projecting from one side of the body to the other

77
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A

the largest cerebral commissure

78
Q

What are cranial nerves?

A

the 12 pairs of nerves extending from the brain (e.g., optic nerves, olfactory nerves and vagus nerves)

79
Q

What is a cross section?

A

section cut at a right angle to any long, narrow structure of the CNS

80
Q

What does decussate mean?

A

to cross over to the other side of the brain

81
Q

What is the diencephalon?

A

one of the five major divisions of the brain; it is composed of the thalamus and hypothalamus

82
Q

What does distal mean?

A

far from something

83
Q

What does dorsal mean?

A

towards the surface of the back of the vertebrate or towards the top of the head

84
Q

What are dorsal horns?

A

the two dorsal arms of the spinal gray matter

85
Q

What is the dorsal root ganglia?

A

structures just outside the spinal cord that are composed of the cell bodies of dorsal root axons

86
Q

What is the dura mater?

A

the tough outer meninx

87
Q

What are efferent nerves?

A

nerves that carry motor signal from the central nervous system to the skeletal muscles or internal organs

88
Q

What is electron microscopy?

A

a microscopy technique used to study the fine details of cellular structures

89
Q

What are fissures?

A

the large furrows in a convoluted cortex

90
Q

What is the fornix?

A

the major tract of the limbic system; it connects the hippocampus with the septum and mammillary bodies

91
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A

the most anterior of the four central lobes

92
Q

What are frontal section?

A

any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the face; also termed coronal sections

93
Q

What is the ganglia?

A

cluster of neuronal cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system (singular ganglion)

94
Q

What are glial cells?

A

several classes of nonneuronal cells of the nervous system

95
Q

What is the globus pallidus?

A

a structure of the basal ganglia that is located between the putamen and thalamus

96
Q

What is a golgi stain?

A

a neural stain that completely darkens a few of the neurons in each slice of tissue, thereby revealing their silhouettes

97
Q

What is grey matter?

A

portions of the nervous system that are gray because they are composed largely of cell bodies and unmyelinated interneurons

98
Q

What are gyri?

A

the cortical ridges that are located between fissures or sulci

99
Q

What is the hippocampus?

A

a structure of the medial temporal lobes that plays a role in various forms of memory

100
Q

What are horizontal sections?

A

any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that are parallel to the top of the brain

101
Q

What is the hypothalamus?

A

the diencephalic structure that sits just below the anterior portion of the thalamus

102
Q

What does inferior mean?

A

toward the bottom of the primate head or brain

103
Q

What is the inferior colliculi?

A

the structures of the tectum that receive auditory input from the superior olives

104
Q

What are interneurons?

A

neurons with short axons or no axons at all, whose function is to integrate neural activity within a single brain structure

105
Q

What does ipsilateral mean?

A

on the same side of the body

106
Q

What does lateral mean?

A

away from the midline of the body of a vertebrate, toward the body’s lateral surfaces

107
Q

What is the lateral fissure?

A

the large fissure that separates the temporal lobe from the frontal lobe

108
Q

What is the lateral geniculate nuclei?

A

the six-layered thalamic structures that receive input from the retinas and transmit their output to the primary visual cortex

109
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

a collection of interconnected nuclei and tracts that ring the thalamus

110
Q

What is the longitudinal fissure?

A

the large fissure that separates the two cerebral hemispheres

111
Q

What are the mammillary bodies?

A

the pair of spherical nuclei that are located on the inferior surface of the hypothalamus

112
Q

What is the massa intermedia?

A

the neural structure located in the third ventricle that connects the two lobes of the thalamus

113
Q

What does medial mean?

A

toward the midline of the body

114
Q

What is the medial geniculate nuclei?

A

the auditory thalamic nuclei that receive input from the inferior colliculi and project to primary auditory cortex

115
Q

What are the meniges?

A

the three protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord (singular meninx)

116
Q

What is the mesencephalon?

A

one of the five major divisions of the brain; it is composed of the tectum and tegmentum

117
Q

What is the metencephalon?

A

one of the five major divisions of the brain; it includes the pons and the cerebellum

118
Q

What are microglia?

A

glial cells that respond to injury or disease by engulfing cellular debris and triggering inflammatory responses

119
Q

What is a multipolar neuron?

A

a neuron with more than two processes extending from its cell body

120
Q

What is the myelencephalon (medulla)?

A

the most posterior of the five major divisions of the brain; the medulla

121
Q

What is myelin?

A

a fatty insulating substance

122
Q

What are myelin sheaths?

A

coverings on the axons of some neurons that are rich in myelin and increase the speed and efficiency of axonal conduction

123
Q

What is the neocortex?

A

six-layered cerebral cortex of relatively recent evolution; it constitutes 90 percent of human cerebral cortex

124
Q

What are nerves?

A

bundles of axons in the peripheral nervous system

125
Q

What are neurons?

A

cells of the nervous system that are specialized for the reception, conduction and transmission of electrochemical signals

126
Q

What is a Nissl stain?

A

a neural stain that has affinity for structure in neuron cell bodies

127
Q

What is a nuclei?

A

clusters of neuronal cell bodies in the central nervous system

128
Q

What is the occipital lobe?

A

the most posterior of the four cerebral lobes; its function is primarily visual

129
Q

What are oligodendrocytes?

A

glial cells that myelinate axons of the central nervous system

130
Q

What is the optic chasm?

A

the X-shaped structure on the inferior surface of the diencephalon; the point where the optic nerves decussate

131
Q

What are parasympathetic nerves?

A

those autonomic motor nerves that project from the brain to the sacral region of the spinal cord

132
Q

What is periaqueductal gray?

A

the gray matter around the cerebral aqueduct, which contains opiate receptors and activates a descending analgesia circuit

133
Q

What is the parietal lobe?

A

one of the four cerebral lobes; it is located just posterior to the central fissure

134
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system (PNS)?

A

the portion of the nervous system outside the skull and spine

135
Q

What is the pia mater?

A

the delicate, innermost meninx

136
Q

What is the pituitary gland?

A

the gland that dangles from, and is controlled by, the hypothalamus

137
Q

What is the pons?

A

the metencephalic structure that creates a bulge on the ventral surface of the brain stem

138
Q

What is the postcentral gyri?

A

the gyrus located just posterior to the central fissure; its function is primarily somatosensory

139
Q

What does posterior mean?

A

toward the tail end of vertebrate or toward the back of the head

140
Q

What is the precentral gyri?

A

the gyrus located just anterior to the central fissure; its function is primarily motor

141
Q

What does proximal mean?

A

close to something

142
Q

What is the putamen?

A

a structure that is joined to the caudate by a series of fiber bridges; together the putamen and caudate compose the striatum

143
Q

What are pyrimidal cells?

A

large multipolar cortical neurons with a pyramid-shaped cell body, an apical dendrite and a very long axon

144
Q

What is the red nucleus?

A

a structure of the sensorimotor system that is located in the tegmentum of the mesencephalon

145
Q

What is the reticular formation?

A

a complex network of about 100 tiny nuclei that occupies the central core of the brain stem

146
Q

What are saggital sections?

A

any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the side of the brain

147
Q

What are Schwann cells?

A

the glial cells that compose the myelin sheaths of PNS axons and promote the regeneration of PNS axons

148
Q

What are sensory relay nuclei?

A

those nuclei of that thalamus whose main function is to relay sensory signals to the appropriate areas of the cortex

149
Q

What is the septum?

A

a midline nucleus of the limbic system, located near the anterior tip of the cingulate cortex

150
Q

What is the somatic nervous system (SNS)?

A

the part of the peripheral nervous system that interacts with the external environment

151
Q

What is subarachnoid space?

A

the space between the arachnoid membrane, which contains many large blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid

152
Q

What is the substatia negra?

A

the midbrain nucleus whose neurons project via the nigrostriatal pathway to the striatum of the basal ganglia; it is part of the mesotelencephalic dopamine system

153
Q

What are stellate cells?

A

small star-shaped cortical interneurons

154
Q

What is the striatum?

A

a structure of the basal ganglia that is the terminal of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway

155
Q

What are sulci?

A

small furrows in a convoluted cortex

156
Q

What does superior mean?

A

toward the top of the primates head

157
Q

What is the superior colliculi?

A

two of the four nuclei that compose the tectum; they receive major visual input

158
Q

What is the superior temporal gyri?

A

the large gyrus of the temporal lobe adjacent to the lateral fissure; the location of auditory cortex

159
Q

What are sympathetic nerves?

A

those motor nerves of the autonomic nervous system that project from the NS in the lumbar and thoracic region areas of the spinal cord

160
Q

What is the tectum?

A

the “roof” or dorsal surface, of the mesencephalon; it includes the superior and inferior colliculi

161
Q

What is the tegmentum?

A

the ventral division of the mesencephalon; it includes part of the reticular formation, substantia nigra and red nucleus

162
Q

What is the telencephalon?

A

the most superior of the brain’s five major divisions

163
Q

What is the temporal lobe?

A

one of the four major cerebral lobes; it lies adjacent to the temples and contains the hippocampus and amygdala

164
Q

What is the thalamus?

A

the large two-lobed diencephalic structure that constitutes the anterior end of the brain stem; many of its nuclei are sensory relay nuclei that project to the cortex

165
Q

What are tracts?

A

bundles of axons in the central nervous system

166
Q

What is a unipolar?

A

a neuron with one process extending from its cell body

167
Q

What does ventral mean?

A

toward the chest surface of a vertebrate or toward the bottom of the head

168
Q

What are ventral horns?

A

the two ventral arms of the spinal gray matter

169
Q

What is the ventral posterior nuclei?

A

a thalamic relay nucleus in both the somatosensory and gustatory systems

170
Q

What is white matter?

A

portions of the nervous system that are white because they are composed largely of myelinated axons

Human basic neuroscience (68 decks)

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