Chapter 1 Flashcards
what are the two separate systems of the nervous system?
central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system
what are the 3 regions that the brain is divided into?
- hindbrain (survival function and movement)
- midbrain (motor control, sensory processing and gating, arousal, pain, and sleep)
- basal ganglia (reinforcement learning and action selection)
- forebrain (motivation, emotion, complex thought)
what are the structures in the hindbrain?
medulla, pons, and cerebellum
what does the medulla do?
it’s located at the top of the spinal cord and controls survival functions (breathing and heart rate)
what do the pons do?
it’s located above the medulla and regulates sleep, arousal, and coordinates right and left side of the body
what does the cerebellum do?
it’s located at the back of the brainstem and it’s for coordinated movement and balance
what are the structures of the midbrain?
colliculi, substantia nigra, reticular formation, and periaqueductal gray
what does the colliculi do?
it processes visual information (superior colliculi) and auditory information (inferior colliculi)
what does the substantial nigra do?
initiation of voluntary motor activity
- region is critical for production of dopamine (Parkinson’s disease caused by death of substantia nigra cells)
what does the reticular formation do?
it is involved with sleep and arousal
what does the periaqueductal gray do?
pain perception
what is the basal ganglia?
it’s a collection of subcortical structures lying between midbrain and forebrain
- interconnected with cerebral cortex, thalamus, and brainstem
- involved with reinforcement learning, action selection, and voluntary movement
what are the structures in basal ganglia?
striatum (caudate and putamen)- receives input
globus pallidus- sends output
nucleus accumbens- reward and reinforcement signals
what are the structures of the forebrain?
cerebral cortex and limbic system (consists of subcortical structures)
what are the parts of the limbic system?
thalamus, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdala
what does the thalamus do?
it’s a gateway to the brain for incoming sensory information before it reaches cortex
- does not process smell
what does the hypothalamus do?
involved in regulating bodily functions (keeps body “in balance”
- influences basic motivated behaviors
what does the hippocampus do?
formation of memories and spatial navigation
what does the amygdala do?
processes emotional information and learns to associate things with emotional responses
what are the different parts of the cortex?
left hemisphere (logical thought and language) and right hemisphere (spatial relationships, recognizing faces, understanding emotional aspects of language, and abstract thinking)
what is the difference between gyri and sulci?
gyri are the ridged or raised portions while sulci are the furrows
what is the corpus callosum?
structure connecting the two hemispheres and consists of millions of axons
what are the two main boundaries between lobes of the cortex?
- Sylvian fissure- boundary of temporal lobe
- central sulcus- divides the frontal lobe from parietal lobe
what does the frontal lobe do?
planning, movement, and complex processes
- also contains primary motor cortex and prefrontal cortex
what does the parietal lobe do?
sense of touch and picturing layout of spaces
- contains primary somatosensory cortex
what does the temporal lobe do?
processing auditory information and perceiving objects & faces
- contains primary auditory cortex and fusiform gyrus
what does occipital lobe do?
processing visual information
- contains primary visual cortex
what is the prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe?
determines the complexity of the brain
- multiple psychiatric conditions associated with abnormalities in PFC
what is the primary motor cortex?
responsible for generating movements
- located on precentral gyrus
- controls contralateral sides of the body
what is the primary somatosensory cortex?
responsible for sense of touch/ other somatosensory information
- located on postcentral gyrus
- also contralateral
What is spatial neglect syndrome?
it is neglect of the left side of space b/c of damage to right posterior parietal cortex
what are the three protective layers of the nervous system?
overall called meninges
1. dura mater (tough outermost layer)
2. arachnid membrane (lies b/w two; filled with CSF)
3. pia mater (delicate innermost layer)
what is CSF and its function?
CSF makes up ventricular system and subarachnoid space
- protect brain from injury
- transport nutrient and waste
- picks up waste matter
what is the glymphatic system and main functions?
it’s created from astrocytes (more active when we’re asleep)
- drainage of waste from brain
- distribution of nutrients, immune system components, and signaling substances
what is the vascular system of the brain?
- deliver nutrients and other substances to brain cells & remove waste products
(use 20% of body’s energy at rest)
what is the blood-brain barrier?
it protects the brain from infection & toxins
- astrocytes make capillaries highly resistant to large molecules (e.g. drugs)
what are the two different kinds of strokes?
hemorrhagic stroke (ruptured blood vessel) and ischemic stroke (blocked blood vessel)
what are the warning signs of a stroke?
sudden numbness or weakness, altered vision, dizziness, severe headache, confusion or difficulty speaking
what are the nerves of the PNS?
axons of the PNS run together in bundles (fibers) and multiple fibers form the nerve
what are the 4 major nerves of the PNS?
- motor nerves (transmit info from CNS to muscles and glands)
- sensory nerves (convey information from body to CNS)
- cranial nerves (innervate head, neck, and visceral organs directly from brain)
- spinal nerves (connect to spinal cord)
what are the 4 primary functions of the PNS?
- control autonomic body functions
- control digestion
- relay sensory info from body to CNS
- control motor movements
what does the somatic nervous system do?
relays sensory info from body to CNS and controls motor movements
what are reflexes and how they occur?
Reflexes are quick motor responses in response to sensory info
- sensory neurons sends a signal to spinal cord (bypasses the brain) and spinal cord generates a response that is subconscious
what does the autonomic nervous system do?
controls the body’s organs and automatic responses
- regulated by the hypothalamus by controlling the glands and internal organs
- controls involuntary functions
what does the sympathetic nervous system do?
it prepares the body for action by engaging in the “fight or flight” response
- uses norepinephrine
what does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
returns the body to a resting state
- uses acetylcholine
what are the four functional zones of neurons?
- input (dendrites receive information form other cells)
- integration (the cell body/soma integrates the info it receives)
- conduction (a single axon/nerve fiber conducts output info away from cell body as electrical impulse)
- output (axon terminals communicate to other cells)
what are the different types of neurons?
- multipolar neurons w/ one axon and many dendrites (most common)
- bipolar neurons w/ one axon and one dendrite
- unipolar neuron w/ one single extension branch in two directions (input zone and output zone)
what are the three components of the synapses?
- presynaptic membrane
- postsynaptic membrane
- synaptic cleft (the gap that separates the membranes)
what are the components of communication at the synapse?
the synaptic vesicles contain neurotransmitters that can bind to the neurotransmitter receptors
what is neural plasticity at the synapse?
neural plasticity is the process that brain uses to learn from experience and gain meaning
- continual remodeling of neuronal connections or synapses (synapses come and go, dendrites change shape, and dendritic spines wax and wane)
what are the two different transportation functions of the axon?
- rapid transmission of electrical signals along outer membrane
- slower transportation of substances within axon (to and from axon terminal)
- bidirectional movement of materials within axon
what are the components of the axon?
- myelin (fatty insulation layer that allows for fast transmission of electrical signal)
- axon hillock (cone shaped arm of cell body that gives rise to axon- converts input into electrical signals)
- axon collaterals (branch of axon that also ends in terminals)
- axon terminals (end of axon collateral release neurotransmitters and form synapse with dendrite of postsynaptic neuron)
what are the two main types of glial cells?
- astrocytes (star-shaped cells that stretch around & between neurons, secrete chemicals, and help form outer membrane around brain)
- microglia (remove debris from injured or dead cells)
what are the two cells that produce myelin?
oligodendrocytes (CNS) and Schwann cells (PNS)
