brain Flashcards
brain and spinal cord
CNS
nerves outside of CNS
PNS
sensory input, integration, motor output
functions of CNS and PNS
largest part, responsible for thinking, memory, voluntary movement
cerebrum
decision making, voluntary movement, speech (brocas area)
frontal lobe
sensory processing (touch, temperature, pain)
parietal lobe
hearing, language comprehension (wernickes area), memory
temporal lobe
vision processing, object recognition, light/color movement, combining vision with other sense
occipital lobe
coordination, balance, motor control, “little brain”
cerebellum
located in center of brain, 3 parts, balance, posture, movement, motor control
diencephalon
sensory relay station (processes and transmits sensory information (except smell) to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex for interpretation)
thalamus
homeostasis, hormones, hunger, temperature regulation
hypothalamus
pineal gland (via melatonin production), sleep-wake cycle,
epithalamus
connects brain to spinal cord
brain stem
reflexes (visual and auditory)
midbrain
relay signals, helps with breathing
pons
heart rate, breathing, reflexes (coughing, sneezing)
medulla oblongata
carries messages between brain and body
spinal cord
cervical, lumbar, thoracic, sacral, coccygeal
regions of spinal cord
somatic and autonomic nervous system
PNS
voluntary control of muscle
somatic nervous system
involuntary control (organs, glands)
autonomic nervous system
“fight or flight”, increases heart rate, dilates pupils
sympathetic division
“rest and digest”, slows heart rate, stimulates digestion
parasympathetic division
receive signals/input
dendrites
contains nucleus and organelles
cell body
sends signals away
axon
insulates axon for faster signal transmission
myelin sheath
gap between neurons
synapse
detects stimulus
receptor
carries impulse to CNS
sensory neuron
sends command to muscle/gland
motor neuron
responds, muscle contraction
effector
responds, muscle contraction
effector
• Higher-order thinking: Problem-solving, decision-making, reasoning
• Personality & behavior: Impulse control, emotions, and social behavior
• Voluntary movement: Controls skeletal muscles (Primary Motor Cortex)
• Speech production: Broca’s Area (left hemisphere) – speech formation
• Executive functions: Planning, organizing, self-regulation
frontal lobe
Somatosensory processing: Touch, pain, temperature, pressure (Primary Somatosensory Cortex)
• Spatial awareness: Understanding body position in space
• Mathematical and language skills
• Proprioception: Coordination of body movements
parietal lobe
• Hearing & auditory processing: Primary Auditory Cortex
• Language comprehension: Wernicke’s Area (left hemisphere) – understanding speech
• Memory formation: Hippocampus (deep in the temporal lobe)
• Emotions: Processes emotions through connections with the limbic system
• Recognition of faces and objects
temporal lobe
• Visual processing: Primary Visual Cortex (interprets images from the eyes)
• Color, depth, motion perception
• Object recognition
occipital lobe
• Connects left and right hemispheres
• Allows both sides of the brain to share information
corpus callosum
Controls voluntary muscle movements
Primary Motor Cortex
Plans and coordinates movement
Premotor Cortex
• Decision-making, problem-solving, impulse control
• thinking/ individuality
Prefrontal Cortex
Speech production, vocal output, motor speech
Broca’s Area (Left Hemisphere)
Processes touch, pain, temperature, TOUCH
Primary Somatosensory Cortex (Postcentral Gyrus)
Interprets sensory information/ TOUCH
sensory Association area
smell
olfactory cortex
hearing
Auditory area
Language comprehension, meaning/understanding, sensory speech, as it comes out
Wernicke’s Area (Left Hemisphere)
converting short term memeory to more permanent memory, important for learning/recalling spatial relationships
Hippocampus
Processes emotions like fear and aggression
Amygdala
see
Visual Cortex
storage of cerebrospinal fluid
ventricles
• Protective connective tissue membranes • protects blood vessels circulates CSF
• surround and partition portions of the brain.
meninges
• Least permeable capillaries of the body, prevents entry of harmful materials from the bloodstream.
• Nervous tissue is protected from the general circulation by the blood-brain barrier.
• Strictly regulates what substances can enter the interstitial fluid of the brain.
• Prevents exposure of neurons in the brain to drugs, waste products in the blood, and variations in levels of normal substances (ions, hormones) that could adversely affect brain function.
• Tight junctions prevent materials from diffusing across the capillary wall.
• Astrocytes act as “gatekeepers” that permit materials to pass to the neurons after leaving the capillaries.
• Is reduced or missing in three distinct locations in the CNS: the choroid plexus, hypothalamus, and pineal gland.
• Useless as a barrier against some substances
• Fats and fat soluble molecules, Respiratory gasses, Alcohol, Nicotine, Anesthesia
Blood Brain Barrier
area where optic nerves never cross hemispheres
optic chiasm
• Allows us to shift between thoughts smoothly
• Interprets pain/anger
• Motivational behavior to output - learning
Cingulate Gyrus
releases hormones, regulating growth, metabolism/ reproduction
pituitary gland
vision, hearing, motor control
mid brain
relays signals between brain and spinal cord
pons
regulates breathing, heart rate, reflexes
medulla oblongata
regulates sleep/ melatonin production
pineal gland
connects left/ right hemisphere
corpus callosum
higher thinking/ actions
cerebrum
sensory information, thinking, voluntary movement
cerebral cortex
protects brain and spinal cord
meninges
protects brain and spinal cord
meninges
recognition memory, adds smell to memory
mammillary body
pain, regulates aggression
cingulate gyrus
carries signals from the hippocampus to the hypothalamus
fornix
• small but vital structure located below the thalamus
• regulates essential bodily functions like hunger, thirst, temperature control, sleep, and hormone release by communicating with the pituitary glan
Hypothalamus
• part of the limbic system
• is primarily responsible for memory formation, learning, and spatial navigation. It helps process and store new information.
hippocampus
secretes nine hormones, regulates homeostasis
pituitary gland
long fiber that carries the nerve impulse away from cell body
axon
an enlarge region where an axon attaches to the cell body
axon hillock
neurotransmitters are manufactured in cell body but released then stimulate other neurons
synaptic terminal
The junction between the synaptic terminal and another cell. The other cell is called a postsynaptic cell.
synapse
Clusters of neuron cell bodies
ganglia
outer layer in the cerebral cortex composed mostly of neuron cell bodies
gray matter
inner layer, fiber tracts deep to the gray matter, myelinated neurons, modulates distribution of action potentials
white matter
