CNS Flashcards
what are the 2 parts of the CNS
brain and spinal cord
Protective factors:
skull, vertebrae, meninges, and CSF (drains into the lymphatic or vascular system, is a filtration by product of blood, filters out metabolites, drugs and substances)
what are the 3 types of non neural support cells called glia:
- microglia - macrophages
- astrocytes - nutrition
- oligodendrocytes - from myelin sheath (protect axons)
* Gray matter - neurons (body of a nerve cells)
* White matter - axons
* Brain to spinal cord are the main pathway for the peripheral nervous system
3 parts of the PNS:
- Somatic nervous systen
* Afferent (toward) and efferent (away) - Autonomic nervous system = overall goal is to keep body in homeostasis
* Sympathetic and parasympathetic - Enteric nervous system = specifically related to the digestive tract , butterflies in stomach
ionotropic vs metabotropic
Ionotropic (very fast and cause an excitatory or inhibitory effect) metabotropic (slower effect)
Cells of the brain
NNSAD
- Neurons = transmit and process info
- Neuroglia = perform housekeeping
- Synapses = chemical and electrical
- Dendrites = receive signals
- Axons = send signals
Neurotransmitters
- Stored in vesicles and diffuse across the synaptic cleft to bind to receptor molecules in the dendrite
There’s inotropic, metabotropic and GABA
brain stem and frontal lobe
- Brain stem = vital things we don’t think about like breathing
- Frontal lobe = executive functioning, controls personality, emotions, motivation,planning, concentration and strategy
parietal and temporal lobe
- Parietal lobes = sense of place in space, helps assess pain and temp
- Temporal lobes = part of our memories, visual and auditory input
occipital lobe and olfactory bulb
- Occipital lobe = entry of info occurs, more for our recognition
- Olfactory bulb = sense of smell, creation of new neurons from stem cells
limbic system
comprised 3 main
* Amygdala = controls motivation and behaviour
- Hippocampus = essential to learning and hypogenesis
- Hypothalamus = produces oxytocin and is also associated to expression of maternal instinct, social stress, feeding behaviours, hunger, sex, drive, sleep, uses hormones to regulate everything
- Basal ganglia
= decision making, habit formation and pleasure
Cerebral cortex
= our ability to have abstraction (higher thinking process)
* Left hemisphere = reasoning ability, info processing
* Right hemisphere = spatial and integrated tasks, insight, imagination, and how info is grouped as a whole
Plasticity
- Means connections between neurons can form, strengthen, weaken or disappear (the ability of the brain to change over time)
Key components for emotions
- Limbic system = responses to stress and formation of memories
- Emotion and sensory perception (smelling, hearing, seeing, feeling, and tasting)
- Vital for survival, growth, development, and the experience of bodily pleasure
Blood brain barrier
- Seperates the brain and surrounding tissues
- Contains: neurons, astrocytes, microglia from the circulating blood
- Regulates the transport of nutrients
- Signals molecules into the brain
- Maintains proper biochemical conditions
- Blocks circulating bacteria and pathogens
- Defends against infection
- Genes are activated and protein recruits white blood cells
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and stress
- Communication system between the hypothalamus and pituitary gland
- Various types of stress activate HPA in the CNS and the PNS and the sympathetic nervous system in the PNS
- Abnormal functioning of the HPA axis resulting in different types of IDD, in mental illness and challenging behaviours as well as physical illness such as cardiovascular dx
- Appropriate responsiveness of the stress system to stressors is necessary for a sense of well being, adequate performance of tasks and positive social interactions.
Psychoneuroimmunology
- Studies the ways in which a persons mental state influences development or expression of a disorder, dx, or injury
- Studies the relationships between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems
- Communication between the brain, the stress response, and the immune system is maintained by molecules called cytokines and neurohormones (carry messages from cells to the brain and immune system and back to the brain)
