CNS Flashcards
Contra lateral hemisphere
Contra lateral means each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body
How does contralateralization work
Decussation of pyramids
What is the left hemisphere used for
- language
- math
- logic
What is the right side of the hemisphere used for
- visual/spatial skills
- emotion
- art
- music
What does the primary motor cortex do
Conscious control of the skeletal muscle movements
Pre motor cortex
Plans movements
Controls voluntary movements which depend on sensory feedback
Broca’s area
Usually in left hemisphere
Directs muscles involved in speech production
Primary sensory area
Receives sensory info from skin and proprioceptors in muscle
Interneurons only
Wernickes area
- language comprehension
- ability to speak coherently
Prefrontal cortex
- intellect
- personality
- planning voluntary activity weighing consequences of future actions
Where are memories stored
- visual memories- occipital cortex
- musical memories-auditory cortex
Stages of memory formation
- short term (seconds, minutes)
- long term (min, hours, days, years)
- increases number of axons and dendrites
- increases size of axon terminal
- no change in neuron number
How to convert short term to long term
- repetition
- association
- stored in hippocampus
Association fibers
Connect different parts of the same hemisphere
Commisural fibers
Connect hemispheres to each other
Projection fibers
Connect cerebral cortex to Lower brain or spinal cord
Where are basal nuclei found and what do they do
Found deep in cerebellum
Influences motor movements from cerebral cortex
Diseases based off of basal nuclei
- Parkinson’s (reduction of basal nuclei NT)
- Huntingtons (destruction of basal nuclei)
What makes up the diencephalon
- thalamus
- epithalamus
- hypothalamus
What does thalamus do
- receives all sensory info (except smell)
- decides what is worthy of being passed on to cerebral cortex
What does hypothalamus do
- controls heart rate, blood pressure, GI motility
- temp regulation
- regulates food intake
- emotions
What does epithalamus do
Secretes melatonin from pineal gland
What makes up the brain stem
- midbrain
- pons
- medulla oblongota
What does the superior and inferior colliculi do?
- superior:visual motor reflex
- inferior:auditory motor reflex
What does the pons do
-maintains normal rhythm of breathing
What does the medulla oblongota do?
- regulates heart contraction
- regulates blood pressure
- controls rate of breathin
What does the cerebellum do
- subconscious coordination of movement
- receives input from motor cortex, basal nuclei, proprioceptors, primary visual cortex, vestibular apparatus
What is found in the dorsal root
Sensory neurons coming I
What is found in the ganglion
Cell bodies
What is found in the ventral root
-motor neurons out
What is found in the spinal nerves
-sensory and motor neurons
What is found in the dorsal horn
Interneurons
Synapse with sensory neurons in dorsal root
What is found in the lateral horn
Cell bodies of ANS
What is found in the ventral horn
Interneurons and cell bodies of somatic motor nerves
Sulci
Grooves in brain that increases SA and number of potential neural connections
Ascending tracts
Transmit sensory impulses up to higher centers
Descending tracts
-transmit motor impulses down to lower levels
What do the pyramidal tracts control and where do they originate
- they control conscious/voluntary skeletal muscle contraction
- originate in cerebral motor cortex
What do extrapyramidal tracts control?
- originate in basal nuclei and brain stem
- control subconscious/involuntary skeletal muscle contraction
What do the spinothalamic tracts do and where do they originate
- detect temperature, pain and touch receptors
- synapse in thalamus
What do spinocerebellar tracts do and where do they originate
- subconscious muscle or tendon stretch
- originate in proprioceptors
- synapse in cerebellum
What can go through blood brain barrier
- Glucose
- O2
- CO2
- lipids
- drugs
- anesthetics
What can’t go through blood brain barrier
- metabolic waste
- blood cells
- K+
- certain toxins
- most drugs
