Brain Flashcards
what does rostral mean?
toward the forehead
what does caudal mean?
toward the spinal cord
what is gray matter?
the seat of neuron cell bodies, dendrites, and synapses
what is white matter?
bundles of axons
what are the tracts of cerebral white matter?
projection tracts, commissural tracts, and association tracts
what are projection tracts?
Extend vertically between higher and lower brain and spinal cord
centers
what are commissural tracts?
Cross from one cerebral hemisphere to the other allowing
communication between two sides of cerebrum
what are association tracts?
Connect different regions within the same cerebral hemisphere
what is the falx cerebri?
separates the two cerebral hemispheres
what is the falx cerebelli?
separates the two cerebellar hemispheres?
what is the tantorium cerebelli?
separates the cerebrum from the cerebellum
what is meningitis?
inflammation of the meninges, bacteria or viral
where fo you do a spinal tap?
subarachnoid space between two lumbar vertebrae
what are the 4 ventricles?
2 lateral, third, and 4th
what is the choroid plexus?
spongy mass of blood capillaries on the floor
of each ventricle
what is the ependyma?
neuroglia that lines the ventricles and covers
choroid plexus
– produces cerebrospinal fluid
where does CSF production begin?
the filtration of blood plasma through
the capillaries of the brain
what is the CSF flow order?
CSF continually flows through and around the CNS
– driven by its own pressure, beating of ependymal cilia, and pulsations of the brain
produced by each heartbeat
* CSF secreted in lateral ventricles flows through intervertebral foramina into
third ventricle
* then down the cerebral aqueduct into the fourth ventricle
* third and fourth ventricles add more CSF along the way
* small amount of CSF fills the central canal of the spinal cord
– all escapes through three pores
* median aperture and two lateral apertures
* leads into subarachnoid space of brain and spinal cord surface
* CSF is reabsorbed by arachnoid villi
what are the functions of CSF?
buoyancy
– allows brain to attain considerable size without being impaired
by its own weight
– if it rested heavily on floor of cranium, the pressure would kill
the nervous tissue
* protection
– protects the brain from striking the cranium when the head is
jolted
– shaken child syndrome and concussions do occur from severe
jolting
* chemical stability
– flow of CSF rinses away metabolic wastes from nervous tissue
and homeostatically regulates its chemical environment
why is blood supply to the brain important?
neurons have a high demand for ATP, and therefore, oxygen and
glucose, so a constant supply of blood is critical to the nervous
system
what is a stroke?
interruption of blood supply causing death of brain tissue
what are the frontal lobe functions?
abstract thought, explicit memory, mood, motivation, foresight and planning, decision making, emotional control, social judgement, voluntary motor control, speech production
what are the insula functions?
taste, pain, visceral sensation, consciousness, emotion and empathy, cardiovascular homeostasis
what are the parietal lobe functions?
taste, somatic sensation, sensory integration, visual processing, spatial perception, language processing, numerical awareness
what are the occipital lobe functions?
visual awareness, visual processing
what are the temporal lobe functions?
hearing, smell, emotion, learning, language comprehension, memory consolidation, verbal memory, visual and auditory memory, language
where is Broca’s motor speech area?
the left frontal lobe
where is Wernicke’s are?
left temporal lobe
what is Broca aphasia?
slow speech, difficulty choosing words
what is Wernicke aphasia?
senseless jargon
what are the components of the brainstem?
midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata
what are the sensory nerves?
1, 2, 8
what are the motor nerves?
3, 4, 6, 11, 12
what are the mixed nerves?
5, 7, 9, 10
list the cranial nerves in order?
olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal
what 4 pairs of cranial nerves begin or end in the medulla
9, 10, 11, 12
what does the medulla oblongata do?
cardiac center, vasomotor center, respiratory center, reflex center
what cranial nerves does the pons have?
5, 6, 7, 8
what roles does the pons have?
sensory roles, motor roles, sleep. respiration, posture
what cranial nerves does the midbrain have?
3 and 4
what peduncles does the pons have?
cerebellar
what peduncles does the midbrain have?
cerebral
what is the reticular formation?
loosely
organized web of gray matter
that runs vertically through all
levels of the brainstem
what does the hypothalamus control?
– Production of hormones (GnRH, TRH, GHRH, CRH)
– Emotions and behavior
– Eating and drinking
– Body temperature
– Circadian rhythms and consciousness
what makes up the diencephalon
thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus
what does the thalamus do?
major relay center for information entering and leaving the brain, as well as for
information moving within the brain
* Communication between cerebellum and cerebrum
* Has a role in maintaining consciousness.
what are basal nuclei/basal ganglia?
Masses of gray matter (nuclei) located deep within the cerebral
hemispheres
what does the epithalamus do?
secretes melatonin (controls biological
clock) and relay from the limbic system to the midbrain
what are the components of the limbic system?
– cingulate gyrus – arches over the
top of the corpus callosum in the
frontal and parietal lobes
– hippocampus – in the medial
temporal lobe - memory
– amygdala – immediately rostral to
the hippocampus - emotion
what sex has a bigger limbic system & corpus callosum
female
