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+ CAPS 301: Neuro > Consciousness > Flashcards

Consciousness Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 3 components required for normal consciousness?

A

level of consciousness
state of consciousness
content of consciousness

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2
Q

What do the anatomical structures of consciousness components have together?

A

reciprocal connections and prolific communication

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3
Q

What is level of consciousness?

What is the anatomical component of level of consciousness?

A

a continuum – asleep/minimal arousal to awake/aroused

anatomical component: diffuse brainstem structures

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4
Q

What is state of consciousness?

What is the anatomical component of state of consciousness?

A

responsiveness to stimuli (verbal, pain, etc.)

anatomical component: multiple regions of thalamus

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5
Q

What is content of consciousness?

What is the anatomical component of content of consciousness?

A

perception, emotion, meaning, memories

anatomical component: widespread regions of cerebral cortex

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6
Q

Level of Consciousness: Reticular Formation

What is the function of reticular formation in consciousness?

A

required for establishing level of consciousness (asleep to awake)

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7
Q

Level of Consciousness: Reticular Formation

What is the reticular formation

A

numerous nuclei within brainstem that form a diffuse network of interconnected neurons with ascending and descending projections

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8
Q

Level of Consciousness: Reticular Formation

What type of input does reticular formation receive?

A

receives and modifies afferent input from all sensory modalities

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9
Q

What is the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS)?

A

subsystem of reticular formation – ascending pathways to cortex

set of connected nuclei in the brain responsible for regulating wakefulness and sleep-wake transitions

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10
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What does ARAS reticular formation do?

A

processes afferent sensory info from spinoreticular tract afferents from spinal cord to…

thalamus
aminergic and cholinergic nuclei
medial zone of reticular formation
hypothalamus

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11
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What is afferent sensory info sent to thalamus?

A

to influence cortical input

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12
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What is afferent sensory info sent to aminergic and cholinergic nuclei?

A

to influence level of consciousness

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13
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What is afferent sensory info sent to medial zone of reticular formation?

A

to influence output to spinal cord through medial zone

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14
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What is afferent sensory info sent to hypothalamus?

A

to influence autonomic output

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15
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What are the neurotransmitters?

A

norepinephrine, dopamine serotonin, histamine, acetylcholine

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16
Q

Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS)

What does the neurotransmitter system do?

A

modify neuronal processing in widespread CNS areas

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17
Q

What does norepinephrine (NE) do?

A

allows focus on specific task or sensory input, helps suppress less salient inputs

affects arousal, attention, sleep/wake state

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18
Q

What is norepinephrine (NE) produced by?

A

locus ceruleus

19
Q

Where is the locus ceruleus?

A

located within pons, projecting to thalamus and forebrain

20
Q

What happens if there’s a lesion in the locus ceruleus?

A

lesion in locus ceruleus = low level of NE = low level of arousal

21
Q

What does dopamine do?

A

responsible for behavioural arousal and waking, promoting locomotor and exploratory behaviours toward positively rewarding stimuli

affects motivation, reward

22
Q

What are dopaminergic neurons?

A

collections of neurons in CNS that synthesize the neurotransmitter dopamine

23
Q

Where are dopaminergic neurons?

A

in ventral tegmental area (VTA), projecting to prefrontal cortex and limbic structures

24
Q

What happens if there’s a lesion in the ventral tegmental area (VTA)?

A

lesion in VTA = less attentive, and indecisive

25
Q

What does serotonin do?

A

regulates quiet wakeful state in consciousness

affects aggression, mood, sleep/wake state

  • mood – sense of well-being
  • sleep – lack of serotonin = insomnia
  • anxiety/aggression controlled
26
Q

Where are serotonin-releasing neurons?

A

in Raphe nuclei, projecting to thalamus, cortex, and other NT systems in brainstem

27
Q

What does histamine do?

A

stimulates wakefulness

28
Q

What does antihistamine do?

A

induce drowsiness

29
Q

Where are histamine-releasing neurons?

A

from midbrain, projecting to thalamus and cortex

30
Q

What does acetylcholine do?

A

increase thalamocortical activation and arousal

31
Q

Where is acetylcholine?

A

from neurons in pons, projecting to thalamus and cortex

32
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

determines how responsive you are to your environment

33
Q

What type of nuclei does the thalamus have?

A

anatomically and functionally distinct nuclei:

  • relay nuclei
  • association nuclei

‘other nuclei’ – play critical roles in alertness and attention

  • intralaminar nuclei
  • thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN)
34
Q

What is the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN)?

A

thin mesh of neurons immediately outside of thalamus

is an interconnected network of GABAergic neurons

35
Q

What are GABAergic neurons?

A

produce gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in CNS

36
Q

What does the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) have dense reciprocal connections with?

A
  • ARAS
  • other thalamic nuclei
  • cerebral cortical structures
37
Q

What does the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) do?

A

‘gatekeeper of consciousness’

coordinates synchronous firing (40 Hz) between cortex and thalamus necessary for consciousness

38
Q

Content of Consciousness: Cortex

What is the cortex required for?

A

to establish significance and meaning of consciousness experience

39
Q

Content of Consciousness: Cortex

What connections does the cortex have with other structures? What structures are they?

A

synchronous and reciprocal connections with thalamus and other cortical areas

40
Q

Content of Consciousness: Cortex

What are the important areas of the cortex?

A

prefrontal and parietal cortical areas

41
Q

What is the prefrontal cortex?

A

important association area

42
Q

What is the function of the prefrontal cortex?

A

considered to have executive function over consciousness

43
Q

Why is the prefrontal cortex much more complex than other association areas?

A

it is involved in our ability to associate self with society and society’s expectations:

  • to plan future actions
  • to predict
  • to be attentive
  • to concentration on task
  • to discriminate between trivial and important
  • to behave appropriately
  • these executive mental functions are disrupted in frontal lobe disease

+ CAPS 301: Neuro (7 decks)

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