Brain Flashcards
What is the cerebral cortex responsible for?
Responsible for higher functions / memory, thinking, learning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, consciousness and functions related to your senses.
longitudinal fissure
separates left and right
Corpus callosum
made of white matter major pathway for two hemispheres
Cerebral Cortex
Largest part of brain / front and top of the brain
4 major lobes
Occipital, Temporal, Frontal, Parietal
Frontal
Executes motor functions, personality, cognitive and learning, voluntary eye movements
Parietal
Receives and processes info from skin and propriocepters (joints, muscles) in somatosensory corticles. Helps understand language - Wernickes area
Occipital
Visual Processing begins, neurons use past experiences to interpret visual stimuli.
Temporal
cortical area for auditory processing and has regions crucial for memory formation related to sound (sound memory).
temporal lobe also
Conscious awareness of odors (olfaction)
Insula
¨fifth brain” located deep in the brain / It assists with conscious understanding of balance/vestibulation, interpretation of taste sensations.
Damage to insula
Damage or atrophy (loss of nervous tissue) to the insula has also been linked to addiction and a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, hallucinations, poor judgment, impulsivity/disinhibition, and lack of empathy
Diancephalon
Thalamus, epithalamus, hypothalamus
Thalamus
collection of nuclei that relay information between the cerebral cortex and the periphery, spinal cord, or brain stem.
Epithalamus
Contains pineal gland ; secretes melatonin
Hypothalamus
collection of nuclei that are largely involved in regulating homeostasis:
* Regulates autonomic nervous system functions
* Regulates the endocrine system via hormones sent to the anterior pituitary and action potentials sent to the posterior pituitary
* Involved in memory and emotion as part of the limbic system
* Synthesizes hormones, including ADH (antidiuretic hormone), oxytocin, releasing hormones, inhibiting hormones
* Regulates thirst and water balance via osmoreceptors that detect water levels in blood
* Regulates hunger
* Assists in regulation of Circadian rhythms (sleep-wake cycles)
Brainstem
midbrain, pons, medulla oblongota
midbrain
Small region between hypothalamus and pons
midbrain also
coordinates sensory representations of the visual, auditory, and somatosensory perceptual information. The pons plays a key role in regulating the depth and rate of breathing.
pons
Play key role in regulating rate and depth of breathing
medulla oblongota
regulates several crucial functions, including the heart rate (pulse), blood pressure, and respiratory rate; contains reflexive centers, such as those that control vomiting, coughing, sneezing, and swallowing.
major ascending and descending pathways between Spinal Cord and Brain
pass through the brain stem.
Cerebellum
the “little brain” and accounts for approximately 10% of the brain’s mass.
what is cerebellum in charge of
largely responsible for coordinating vestibulation (sense of balance) by comparing information from the cerebrum with sensory feedback from the PNS via the spinal cord, including visual information, hearing information, and proprioceptive information.
out put of cerebellum is into what
The output of the cerebellum is into the midbrain, which then sends a descending input to the spinal cord to correct motor information going to skeletal muscles.
Cerebrospinal Fluid
circulates throughout and around the CNS.
In the brain CSF is produced through
by filtration of blood through the choroid plexus, which is found in some of the ventricles.
why does CSF circulate
to remove metabolic wastes from the interstitial fluids of nervous tissues and return them to the blood stream.
CSF also
It also serves to cushion the brain and spinal cord from physical trauma.
CSF also
Along with the periosteal layer of the dura mater, CSF helps to buoy the weight of the brain, so that it does not become compressed under its own weight within the cranium.
Meninges
outer surface of the brain is covered by a series of membranes composed of connective tissue, which protects the brain
how many major meninges layers?
3
what are the meninges layers?
dura mater (having a periosteal layer and a meningeal layer),
the arachnoid mater and the pia mater.
Dura Mater
anchored to the inner surface of the cranium and to the very end of the vertebral cavity. The name comes from the Latin for “tough mother” to represent its physically protective role.
what layers of dura mater
2 layers ; periosteal and meningeal
periosteal layer
which knits its collagen fibers into those of the periosteum to anchor the brain and buoy its weight
meninges layer
sits adjacent with arachnoid mater
in some places, these two layers
of dura form sinuses, large, highly permeable vein-like structures.
the sinuses help to
recycle CSF
Arachnoid
middle layer of meninges ; named for the spider-web–like extensions
arachnoid also
defines a sac-like enclosure around the CNS.
arachnoid also
he arachnoid emerges into the dural sinuses as the arachnoid granulations, where the CSF is filtered back into the blood for drainage from the nervous system.
subarachnoid space filled with
circulating CSF ; provides a liquid cushion to the brain and spinal cord.
pia mater
innermost layer ; a thin fibrous membrane that extends into every convolution of gyri and sulci in the cerebral cortex (contours of the brain) and other grooves and indentations.
pia mater
continuous layer of cells provides a fluid-impermeable membrane.
“tender mother”
pia mater
“tough mother”
dura mater
