CNS Flashcards
What are the two parts of the CNS?
brain and spinal cord
evolution of a CNS with an elaboration of the anterior end of the CNS along with an increase in the number of neurons in the head
cephalization
a thickening of the surface ectoderm along the dorsal midline of the embryo that eventually becomes the CNS
neural plate
the invagination of the neural plate
neural groove
the superior edges of the neural folds come together to turn the neural groove into this
neural tube
What does the neural tube do shortly after it forms?
detaches from the ectoderm and sinks to a deeper position
small groups of neural fold cells migrate between the surface ectoderm and the neural tube to form this
neural crest
What will the cells of the neural crest eventually become?
ganglia
Give the simple and the complex name for the three primary brain vesicles
- prosencephalon - forebrain
- mesencephalon - midbrain
- rhombencephalon - hindbrain
meaning of encephalo
brain
swellings of the anterior end of the neural tube
primary brain vesicles
what the primary brain vesicles divide to become
secondary brain vesicles
What does the forebrain divide into?
telencephalon - endbrain
diencephalon - interbrain
What does the hindbrain divide into?
metencephalon - afterbrain
mesencephalon - spinal brain
What does the telencephalon become
cerebral hemispheres
What 4 things does the diencephalon form?
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- epithalamus
- retina
What does the metencephalon divide to form?
- pons
2. cerebellum
What does the myelencephalon form?
medulla oblongata
What three structures are considered the brain stem?
- midbrain
- pons
- medulla oblongata
What does the mesencephalon become?
midbrain
What does the cavity of the neural tube enlarge to form?
brain ventricles
Why does the brain need to flex and fold?
not enough room in the skull
What are the two major flexures?
midbrain flexure
cervical flexure
What are the foldings of the cerebral surface called? What is their purpose?
convolutions - increase SA for more neurons
What is the outer layer of gray matter on both the cerebrum and cerebellum?
cortex -
What happens to the gray and white matter as you proceed down the spinal cord?
switch places - spinal cord has gray interior and white exterior
What fills the brain ventricles?
CSF - cerebrospinal fluid
What lines the brain ventricles and circulates the CSF?
ependymal cells (neuroglia)
What are the paired C shaped cavities that fill the cerebral hemispheres?
lateral ventricles
What thin membrane separates the anterior horns of the lateral ventricles?
septum pellucidum
What connects the lateral ventricles to the third ventricle?
interventricular foramina
Where is the third ventricle?
diencephalon
What connects the third and fourth ventricles?
cerebral aqueduct
Where is the cerebral aqueduct?
midbrain
Where is the fourth ventricle?
dorsal to the pons and superior medulla
What cavity runs through the spinal cord and connects to the fourth ventricle?
central canal
What are the openings in the fourth ventricle that connect to the subarachnoid space around the brain?
2 lateral apertures and a median aperture
What portion of the brain accounts for 83% of the total brain mass?
cerebral hemispheres
What are the ridges on the cerebral surface?
gyri/gyrus
What are the shallow grooves on the cerebral surface?
sulci/sulcus
What are the deep grooves on the brain surface?
fissures
What fissure separates the cerebral hemispheres?
longitudinal fissure
What fissure separates the cerebral hemispheres from the cerebellum?
transverse cerebral fissure
What are the 5 major lobes of the brain?
frontal temporal parietal occipital insula
What sulcus separates the frontal and parietal lobes?
central sulcus
What gyrus is in front of the central sulcus? What is its function?
precentral gyrus - primary motor cortex
What gyrus is behind the central sulcus? What is its function?
postcentral gyrus - primary somatosensory cortex
What sulcus separates the parietal and occipital lobes?
parieto-occipital sulcus
What sulcus separates the parietal and frontal lobes?
lateral sulcus
What lobe is an “island” of cortex hidden beneath the temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes?
insula
What are the pieces of gray matter buried inside the white matter of the brain? (2 terms)
basal nuclei (or historically basal ganglia)
the depressions in the skull where the brain fits - name the three, and say what part of the brain is in each.
cranial fossa
- anterior - frontal lobes
- middle - temporal
- posterior - brain stem and cerebellum
What is gray matter? How thick is it? What do the convolutions do for it?
neuron cell bodies dendrites, glia, and blood vessels - 2-4mm - surface area is tripled by convolutions
What is white matter? What is its function?
myelinated axons bundled into tracts - that communicate between different parts of the brain
What type of imaging technique allows us to see maximal metabolic activity of the brain?
PET scan
What type of imaging technique shows blood flow in the brain?
functional MRI
In general, which hemisphere controls the sensory and motor functions of which side of the body?
opposite - contralateral
What is the term for the understanding that the two hemispheres are specialized for certain functions?
lateralization
Do the functional areas of the brain work independently of one another? Explain.
NO! Most conscious behavior involves the entire cortex
What are the large neurons in the primary motor cortex? What are their descending tracts called? (2 terms)
pyramidal cells - form pyramidal tracts also called corticospinal tracts
the representation of the entire body as a “little man” on the primary motor cortex
- the same thing on the primary somatosensory cortex
motor homunculi
somatosensory homunculi
mapping of the body in CNS structures
somatotopy