Chapter 2: Neuroanatomy

Question 1

rostral vs caudal vs dorsal vs ventral

Answer 1

rostral: towards the head of the body, anterior
caudal: towards the tail of the body, posterior
dorsal: towards the back of the body, superior
ventral: towards the front of the body, inferior

Question 2

sagittal vs coronal vs horizontal planes

Answer 2

sagittal/midsagittal: splits body into left and right half
coronal/frontal: splits body into front and back half
horizontal/transverse: splits body into upper and lower half

Question 3

what are the three layers of the meninges?

Answer 3

dura mater, arachnoid membrane, pia mater

Question 4

what are the two ways that blood reaches the brain?

Answer 4

either through the carotid arteries on either side of the neck or through the vertebral arteries on the base of the skull

Question 5

what is the myelencephalon responsible for?

Answer 5

medulla regulates breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and the reticular formation regulates consciousness, arousal, movement, and pain

Question 6

what is the metencephalon responsible for?

Answer 6

pons regulates balance and motion sickness and the cerebellum regulates voluntary movement, muscle tone, balance, speech, motion sickness, executive functions, and emotional processing

Question 7

what are the four structures of the midbrain and what are they responsible for?

Answer 7

periaqueductal gray: experience of pain
red nucleus: motor output pathway
substantia nigra: motor output pathway, parkinson’s disease
superior and inferior colliculi: visual and auditory stimuli

Question 8

what are the two structures of the forebrain and what are they responsible for?

Answer 8

hypothalamus: thirst, hunger, sexual behavior, aggression
thalamus: sensory information, arousal, learning and memory

Question 9

what are the 5 different nuclei of the basal ganglia and what does it do?

Answer 9

globus pallidus, caudate, putamen, subthalamic nucleus, nucleus accumens are the multiple nuclei in the forebrain and they are involved in motor control, huntington’s disease, ADHD and OCD, reward behavior/addiction

Question 10

what are the 4 nuclei of the limbic system and what does it do?

Answer 10

hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate cortex, septal area, and these nuclei in the forebrain regulate learning and emotion

Question 11

what is the function of the frontal lobe?

Answer 11

contains the primary motor cortex which facilitates cognitive processes like planning, attention, and judgement, dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex and orbital frontal cortex are connected to the limbic system and basal ganglia

Question 12

what is broca’s area and what does damage to that area cause?

Answer 12

broca’s area is necessary for speech production so broca’s aphasia leaves you unable to produce speech even though you can understand it

Question 13

what is wernicke’s area and what does damage to that area cause?

Answer 13

wernicke’s area is necessary for speech comprehension so wernicke’s aphasia leaves you only able to form word salad but not make any meaningful speech

Question 14

what systems make up the PNS?

Answer 14

the 12 cranial nerves which serve the head and neck, the 31 pairs of afferent and efferent nerves that serve as the sensory and motor pathways to the torso, arms and legs, and the autonomic nervous system which manages the vital functions of the body without conscious effort or awareness

Question 15

what are the 12 cranial nerves?

Answer 15

CN I: olfactory nerve
CN II: optic nerve
CN III: oculomotor nerve
CN IV: trochlear nerve
CN V: trigeminal nerve
CN VI: abducens nerve
CN VII: facial nerve
CN VIII: vestibulocochlear nerve
CN IX: glossopharyngeal nerve
CN X: vagus nerve
CN XI: spinal accessory nerve
CN XII: hypoglossal nerve

Question 16

what are the three parts of the autonomic nervous system and what does it do?

Answer 16

ANS sends information to tissues other than skeletal muscles and is made up of the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight), parasympathetic nervous system (rest, repair, energy storage), and the enteric nervous system (communicates with endocrine system to stimulate digestion)