Cells of the Nervous System Flashcards
What are the four functional regions of the cerebral hemispheres?
frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital
Whis the function of the frontal lobe?
emotions, feelings etc
What are the functions of the parietal lobe?
motor and sensory processing
What are the functions of the temporal lobe?
sound and hearing
What are the functions of the occipital lobe?
visual processing
What are the three main parts of the brain stem in descending order?
midbrain, pons, medulla
What is special about the midbrain in terms of cranial nerves?
it is the target/ source of all cranial nerves and numerous functions
What does the cerebellum control?
motor coordination, balance and posture
What is the cerebellum?
hindbrain structure attached to the brainstem
What is the spinal cord?
nerve cells (protected by the vertebrae) which are projected out to areas of the peripheral nervous system. (It is a conduit for neural transmission and co-ordinates some reflex actions)
Where does the spinal cord extend from?
medulla
Name and describe types of neuron
- unipolar (1 axonal projection from cell body) 2. Psuedo-unipolar (one projection that divides into two) 3. Bipolar (2 projections from the cell body) 4. multipolar (numerous projections from cell body (100s to 1000s)
What are the three types of multipolar neuron?
pyramidal (pyramid shaped cell body), purkinje cells (GABA neurons found in cerebellum), golgi cells (GABA neurons found in the cerebellum
What are 3 features of neurons?
excitable cells of CNS, heterogeneous morphology, non-dividing cells
What is the Soma and what does it contain?
(cell body; perikaryon), contains nucleus and ribosomes, neurofilaments for structure and transport.
What is the axon and what are some features?
long process (nerve fibre) originates from soma at axon hillock, can branch into collaterals, usually covered in myelin
what are the dendrites and what are their features?
highly branched cell body not covered in myelin, receive signals from other cells
what is the most abundant cell type of the CNS?
astrocytes
astrocyte 3 functions
- structural cells (of blood-brain barrier, and holding neurons together)
- cell repair (produce neurotropic factors for growth and maintenance of neuronal cells)
- homeostasis (neurotransmitter removal and reuptake)
oligodendrocyte function
produce myelin