Brain and spinal cord Flashcards
What is the purpose of the primary somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe?
Involved in processing somatic sensations in different parts of the body.
Neurons are mapped depending on where they come from.
What are the two layers of the dura mater?
Inner layer and outer layer.
In between the two layers of the dura mater are the _____
Venous Sinuses
Superior sagittal sinus.
Features of dura mater
Made of DCFT
Dural folds and reflections (made by the inner layer)
Venous sinuses located in between layers
3 key features of dural folds
- Formed from inner dural layer
- Separate major divisions of the brain
- Provide stability of the brain within the cranium
Falx cerebri
Divides the cerebral hemispheres in half in the sagittal plane
Falx cerebelli
Divides the two hemispheres of the cerebellum
Tentorium cerebelli
Separates the cerebrum from the cerebellum
3 Key features of the venous sinuses
- Located where the two layers of the dura mater separate
- They contain veins which collect venous blood from the brain
- They also collect old CSF after it has cycled through the ventricles
Layer between the Pia mater and the inner dura mater
Arachnoid mater
What is the Pia mater?
The inner most layer of the meninges, which adheres directly on top of the brain tissue.
Transparent and delicate.
Blood vessels sit on top of the Pia mater.
The meninges cover _____
The brain and spinal cord
Ventricles are
a number of connected spaces in the brain, filled with CSF.
CSF is produced by
The choroid plexus, and is then circulated by ependymal cells
Main function of CSF
Supply nutrients, remove wastes, and cushion the brain and spinal cord
Circulation of CSF
Starts at lateral ventricles, moves through the ventricular system, and into the subarachnoid space, covering the brain and spinal cord. It then exits via the arachnoid granulations into the venous sinuses, and into the venous blood.
4 lobes of the brain
Frontal lobe - motor cortex, personality, behaviour, language, mood
Parietal lobe - Controls somatosensory
Temporal lobe - Hearing, Memory
Occipital lobe - Vision
What part of the brain controls vision
Occipital lobe
What part of the brain controls personality, behaviour, language, and mood
Frontal lobe
What part of the brain controls hearing and memory
Temporal lobe
What part of the brain controls somatosensory?
Parietal lobe
What part of the brain controls somatosensory?
Parietal lobe
Purpose of Brainstem
Connects brain the spinal cord
What parts make up the brainstem
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla
Sulci are
Valleys/grooves
Gyri are
Ridges/hills
Fissures are
Deep Valleys
Central sulcus
Divides the pre central gyrus of the frontal lobe, to the post central gyrus of the parietal lobe
Lateral sulcus
Divides the temporal lobe and frontal lobe
Transverse fissure
Divides cerebellum and cerebrum
Parieto-occipital sulcus
divides parietal lobe and occipital lobe
Brain is made of
White matter and Grey Matter
What are the three types of white matter tracts
- Commisural Tract - axons cross side to side in both directions
- Projection tracts - Axons extending between cortex and other CNS to area outside cerebrum
- Association tracts - Axons on the same side within the cerebral cortex for communication between brain areas
Purpose of the primary motor cortex
Involved in voluntary movement - execution
Somatotypically organised - neurons are mapped depending on where they go in the body.
How does the corticospinal pathway work?
1st (upper) neuron
Cell body in primary motor cortex
Axon extends at medulla and extends down the spinal cord
Synapses with 2nd neuron in ventral horn of spinal cord
2nd (lower) neuron
Cell body in ventral horn of spinal cord
Axon extends from the spinal cord out the body, and synapses with skeletal muscle
