Brain 2 Flashcards
Diencephalon
Portion of the brain that contains the hypothalamus, thalamus, and epithalamus
Hypothalamus (5)
1) Forms the floor of the third ventricle
2) Responsible for homeostasis of the body environment
3) Contains centers for regulating basic body functions, such as hunger, sleep, thirst, body temp, water balance and blood pressure
4) Controls pituitary gland
5) Link between the nervous and endocrine systems (through neurosecretory cells)
Pituitary gland
Regulates the body hormones of the endocrine system
Thalamus (4)
1) In the roof of the third ventricle
2) Central relay station for sensory impulses traveling upward from other parts of the body and the brain to the cerebrum
3) Receives information, filters out unimportant information, and directs it to appropriate region of the cerebrum
4) Doesn’t receive smell
Epithalamus
1) Forms the roof of the third ventricle
2) Mostly composed of the PINEAL GLAND, which secretes melatonin, which controls the wake-sleep cycle
Cerebellum (6)
1) Located inferiorly and posteriorly to the brain
2) Two hemispheres with deep fissures and three lobes each
3) Often called the “mini brain”
4) OUTER gray matter and INNER white matter, opposite of spinal cord
5) Coordinates body movements by relaying information to the cerebral motor cortex
6) Also involved in maintaining balance, controlling certain eye movements, maintaining normal muscle tone and maintaining posture
Muscle tone (2)
1) The degree at which muscles remain partially contracted while at rest
2) Governed by the cerebellum to keep bones and joints in place
Anterior lobes and posterior lobes of cerebellum
Receive information from the body trunk and influence the motor activities of the trunk, shoulder and pectoral girdle muscles
Vermis (cerebellum) (2)
1) Intermediate portion
2) Coordinates limb movements
Cerebellar peduncles (cerebellum)
Connect cerebellum to other parts of brain
Limbic system
1) Just beneath cerebral cortex and contains neural pathways that connect portions of the frontal lobes, temporal lobes, thalamus and hypothalamus
2) Involves portions of conscious and unconscious brain
Cingulate gyrus (limbic system) (2)
1) Located deep to the cerebrum
2) Connects different lobes of the cerebrum
Hippocampus (limbic system) (2)
1) Involved in retrieval and storage of memories
2) Memories not stored in hippocampus itself. Hippocampus acts as a direction center
Amygdala (limbic system)
Smaller portion of limbic system that is involved in emotions such as rage and anger
Fornix (limbic system)
Bundle of nerve fibers that serves as a connection to the hippocamus
Mamillary bodies (limbic system)
Contain fibers that project into the thalamus and assist with the memory of smell
Limbic system and emotions (2)
1) Include rage, pain, pleasure, sorry and rewards/consequences
2) Known as our “feeling brain”
Short term memory (limbic system)
Example - recall 7-digit phone number
Long-term memory (limbic system)
Ability to recall events of the day
Why are emotionally charged events so vivid in our memories?
Because the limbic system communicates with all sensory areas and accounts for ability of a sensory stimulus to awaken a complex memory
Basal ganglia (also called basal nuclei) (limbic system) (2)
1) Masses of gray matter that lie deep within each hemisphere of the cerebrum
2) Responsible for working with the cerebellum to regulate planning motor movements and motor learning
3) Slows and controls precise movements through inhibition of cerebral cortex
Components of basal ganglia (3)
1) Putamen
2) Caudate nucleus
3) Globus pallidus
Parkinson’s disease
1) Disease of the basal ganglia
2) Apraxia, difficulty with motor planning, is symptom of the disease
3) Apraxia causes rigid movements and difficulty executing a motor plan
Ataxia (disorder of Cerebellum)
Lack of voluntary muscle motor coordination
Memory
1) Not stored in one area of the brain
2) Hippocampus acts as memory center and assists in storage and retrieval of memories from the cortex
