Brain and Nervous System Flashcards
Peripheral, Central Nervous System, Brain Anatomy
Identify and describe the functions of the peripheral system (PNS):
Sends information from the eyes, ears and other sense organs to the central nervous system.
PNS carries messages from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles, glands and more.
Unlike CNS it is NOT protected by bone.
2 Subsystems - Somatic nervous system, autonomic nervous system - both performing motor and sensory functions
dentify and describe the functions of the Central Nervous system (CNS):
Brain and Spinal cord
Receiving, processing and responding to sensory information
Thoughts, movements, emotions, breathing, heart rate, some hormones, body temperature
Protected in bone
Sometimes thought to have included the optic nerve, olfactory nerves and olfactory epithelium because int is connected without intermediate nerve fibres.
Brain Anatomy - Hindbrain:
A. Lies just inside the skull
B. Continuation of the spinal cord, signals from the spine reach the hindbrain first.
C. Blood pressure, Heart rate, breathing and other vital autonomic functioning are controlled by nuclei in the hindbrain
D. Reflexes and feedback is important to the functioning of the hindbrain
E. Medulla Oblongata an area within hindbrain that controls blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and more vital functions
NOTE: TOGETHER THE MIDBRAIN AND PARTS OF THE HINDBRAIN OTHER THAN CEREBELLUM ARE CALLED THE BRAIN STEM
Brain Anatomy - Reticular Formation:
A. Threads throughout hindbrain into the midbrain
B. Collection of cells with no arranged well-defined nucleus.
C. Important in altering activity of the rest of the brain
D. Involved in arousal and attention
E. If fibres are disconnected from the rest of the brain you would enter a permanent coma.
F. Some fibres carry pain signals from the spinal cord to Reticular formation causing hindbrain to increase heart rate and blood pressure
Brain Anatomy - Locus Coeruleus:
A. Small nucleus in reticular formation invalid in directing attention towards important stimuli in the environment.
B. Abnormalities have been linked to depression, ADHD, Sleep disorders and PTSD.
C. Linked with controlling neuroinflammation which contributed to disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis.
Brain Anatomy - Cerebellum:
A. Part of the Hindbrain
B. Functions include planning and controlling finely coordinated movements and storing memories about movement, May also be involved in impulse control, emotion and language.
C. Involved in both physical and cognitive agility.
Brain Anatomy - Midbrain:
A. Small structure between the hindbrain and forebrain that relays information from eyes, ears and skin, controls certain types of autonomic behaviours.
B. Nucleus include substantia nigra (Part of midbrain) connects to striatum (Structure in the forebrain) needed for smooth movements to begin.
NOTE: TOGETHER THE MIDBRAIN AND PARTS OF THE HINDBRAIN OTHER THAN CEREBELLUM ARE CALLED THE BRAIN STEM
Brain Anatomy - Forebrain:
A. Most highly developed part of the brain.
B. Responsible for complex aspects of behaviour and mental life.
Out of proportion folds back and completely covers the other parts of the brain.
C. Includes structures such as:
- Hypothalamus: connects to and from the autonomic nervous system, involved in regulating hunger, thirst and sex drive.
- Corpus Callosum: Bundle of nerve fibres connecting left and right hemispheres of the brain.
- Cerebral Cortex: Outer ‘bark’ covering the forebrain, responsible for processing complex information.
- Striatum: (With substantial nigra) coordinates initiation of smooth movement.
Structures in forebrain:
6.1) Thalamus: forebrain structure relaying signals from most sense organs to higher levels in the brain, plays important role in processing and making sense out of information.
6.2) Hypothalamus: Structure in forebrain the regulate sex drive, hunger and thirst
6.2a) Suprachiasmatic Nuclei - Nuclei in hypothalamus that generate biological rhythms.
6.3) Amygdala: A structure in forebrain that is critically involved in fear and reward learning (A part of the limbic system) Plays important role in regulating emotions and memories.
6.4) Hippocampus: Structure in forebrain associated with formation of new memories. Studies suggest memory ability is correlated with the size of hippocampus.
6.5) Limbic System: A set of brain structures that play important role in regulation memories and emotion.
Hemispheres - Left:
Motor-
Hemispheres - Right:
Sensory
Cerebral Hemispheres
cerebral hemispheres - the left and right halves of the rounded, outermost part of the brain
cerebral cortex - the outer surface of the brain
4 Lobes of Cerebral Cortex:
ANATOMICAL AREAS
1 - Frontal lobe
2 - Temporal lobe
3 - Parietal lobe
4 - Occipital lobes
Functional Areas of Cerebral Cortex: NOTE : Temporal resolution refers to discrete resolution of measurement with respect to time.
Spatial resolution refers to distance between independent measurements, or the physical dimension that represents a pixel of the image.
Association cortex
Motor cortex
Somato-sensory cortex*
Association cortex
Broca’s area
Auditory cortex*
Wernicke’s area
Visual cortex*
Brain imaging - (EEG) Electroencephalography)
NOTE : Temporal resolution refers to discrete resolution of measurement with respect to time.
Spatial resolution refers to distance between independent measurements, or the physical dimension that represents a pixel of the image.
multiple electrodes pasted on the outside of the head, produces lines that chart the electrical fields of neuron activity - Detects rapid changes in electrical activity analysing stages of cognitive processing. Poor spatial resolution
