Bio Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Comprises the brain and spinal cord
Spinal Cord
Segmented cord linked with organs and muscles of specific body regions.
Cervical
C1-C8
Thoracic
T1-T2
Lumbar
L1-L5
Sacral
S1-S5
Dura Mater
The outer most layer that protects the brain and the spinal cord
Arachnoid Mater
Thinner and more delicate membrane separated from the dura by the subdural space
Pia Mater
is the most delicate and highly vascular membrane
Cerebrum
Is the outer most visible layer.
Frontal Lobe
Largest of the four lobes and higher cognitive functioning. Contains Motor cortex, premotor cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and prefrontal cortex
Motor Cortex
initiation of motor movements and isolated muscle groups such as hands, fingers, lips, and tongue
Premotor Cortex
Initiation and execution of limb movements. Mirror neurons are located here and have been associated with imitation and empathy.
Prefrontal Cortex
Associated with higher levels of cognitive functioning and executive functioning. ex. reasoning, planning, and judgement.
Broca’s area
dedicated to fluent production of oral and written speech, as well as grammar and comprehension of syntax.
Temporal Lobe
responsible for receiving and interpreting sound information from the ears.
Primary Auditory Cortex
which processes sounds and helps us understand language
Decussation
the crossing over of nerve fibers or tracts from one side of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) to the other
Wernicke’s Area
dedicated to the comprehension of language
Parietal Lobes
process sensory information and integrates information with other sense to create spatial understanding of the world.
Occipital Lobe
Visual processing
Hippocampus
Critical for memory formation, such as the transfer of memories into long-term stores.
Story of H.M
Amygdala
processing emotions. Essential component of “fight or flight.”
Thalamus
Performs critical relay functions between the cortex and the brain stem. important attention and perceptual functions
Basal Ganglia
Comprising a network of complex loops in motor output, emotions, cognition, and eye movements.
Movement disorders such as parkinson’s or hungington’s result in from abnormalities in this area
Brain Stem
involved in control and regulations of autonomic functions and maintaining the bodies homeostasis. Ex. breathing, heart rate, temperature, regulation, and blood pressure.
Reticular Activation System
plays a role in alertness, consciousness, and pain.
Cerebellum
Regulation of movement, including automatic and rhythmic movement, coordination of the limbs, and postural control
Vulnerable in multiple sclerosis
Norepinephrine
Functions as a hormone and a neurotransmitter. Regulates mood, memory, alertness, hormones, and ability to feel pleasure
Elevated levels can cause anxiety and low levels can cause depression.
Catecholamine
Can be both excitatory and inhibitory. Plays a role in emotions, movement, and endocrine functioning, as well as attention, sociability, motivation, desire, pleasure, and reward driven learning.
Overactivity linked to schizophrenia and underactivty is liked to ADHD
Serotonin
Associated with regulation of mood, anger, aggression, anxiety, appetite, learning, sleep, sexual functioning, level of consciousness, and pain.
Low levels are associated with depression, OCD, and anxiety
Acetylcholine
involved with movement.
Degeneration of Ach is linked to huntington’s
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA)
Emotion, balance, and sleep patterns. Low levels are associated with reduction in anxiety.
Glutamte
Important for learning and memory
Excessive amounts causes excitotoxicity (cell death due to excessive stimulation and excitations). Happens during a TBI or a stroke
Agonist
chemical binds to a receptor site and mimics the activity of the neurotransmitter
Partial Agonist
Binds to the receptor and mimics the activity but not at 100%
Inverse Agonist
Binds to the receptor but has the opposite effect and causes a reduction in the overall efficiency
Antagonists
Block or reverses the effects of agonists or inverse agonists
Therapeutic Window
the range of drug dose that can result in desired clinical efficacy without resulting in unsafe side effects
Anxiolytics
medication that can be used to treat anxiety and are classified as benzodiazepines.
alprazolam (xanax), xlonazepam (klonapin), Diazapam (Valium), and Lorazapam (Ativan).
Benzodiazepines should be withdrawn
taper slowly to prevent withdrawal symptoms
Antidepressants
medications that include MOAIs, TCAs, SSRIs, NDRIs, and SNRIs
CT
uses x-rays to look at slices of the brain, providing information on teh density of the brain tissue.
hyperdense
brighter areas
hypodense
darker areas
isodense
intermediate density
MRI
provide high contrast, high resolution imaging with good anatomical detail.
Neuroangiography
visualizes lesions of blood vessels through the use of radiographs and injection of contrast material into the vasculature
Wada Test
helpful in localizing language functioning and aiding in pre-surgical planning, particularly with patients with epilepsy.
EEG
measures brain activity
PET
injected radioactive material to measure regional cerebral blood flow via glucose metabolism or oxygen consumption
FMRI
Can detect functionally induced changes from blood oxygenation
Aphasia
acquired disorder of language. Can affect expressive speech, repetitive speech, reading, or writing.
Wernicke’s Aphasia
deficits in the inability to understand language. Speech is usually fluent, but the content of the speech is often nonsensical.
Broca’s Aphasia
is a non fluent, which the person speaks slow, halting manner, with poor grammar and limited prosody.
Alexia
Acquired inability to read
Agraphia
Acquired disorder of writing
Apraxia
Acquired disorder of skilled, purposeful movement that is not due to a primary motor or sensory impairment such as paresis or paralysis.
Dementia
A decline of two or more areas of cognitive functioning resulting in significant impairments in activities of daily living
Alzheimer’s
A decline in memory and at least one other cognitive domain and a progressive, steady decline in cognition, and no evidence of mixed etiology
