Control L1 Intro to brain Flashcards
What are 4 core functions of nervous system?
- Monitors internal and external stimuli
- Responds to stimuli
- Regulating activity of organs and our level of awareness of them
- Higher level functions e.g. personality, memory and emotion, learning and consciousness
What is the most basic functional unit of the nervous system?
neurones
How do neurones convey information?
electrical signals
What is the function of afferent neurones?
carry info from receptors to CNS
What is the function of efferent neurones?
carry info from CNS to peripheral effectors
What is the function of interneurons?
link afferent and efferent neurones to the CNS
What direction do electrical impulses travel through the neuron?
Away from cell body, through axon towards synapse and then to next cell’s dendrites on their cell body.
What is the difference between a squid’s axon and a rabbit’s nerve?
A squid only has one axon per nerve with no myelin sheath where as nerves in a rabbit are made up of multiple acorns each with a myelin sheath.
What fatty insulator surrounds most of the axons I’m the body?
myelin sheath
Give an example of a structure which has small axons wrapped in myelin sheaths?
Vertebrae
What is a bipolar neuron?
has two axons - one from dendrites to the cell body and the other from the cell body to the synapse
Where are bipolar neurones found?
Ear for hearing and other sensory functions
What are multipolar neurones?
Motor neurones (usually) where dendrites attached to cell body and has one axon away from cell body towards the synapse
What are pseudo-unipolar neurones?
Has two axons, peripheral and central allowing electrical signal to skip past the cell body.
What makes up the central Nerva system?
brain and spinal cord
What are peripheral nerves split into?
Somatic and autonomic
What is the function of somatic nerves?
Control external actions of skin and muscles
What can autonomic nerves be split into?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic
What is the function of autonomic nerves?
Controls internal environment e.g. activities of organs and glands - unconscious functions
What is the difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves?
Sympathetic are arousing nerves and parasympathetic are calming nerves.
What area of the brain is classed as dorsal? (in terms of a clock)
From 10 to 5 (clockwise)
What area of the brain is the ventral brain? (In terms of a clock)
From 5 to 10 (clockwise)
What is the caudal brain?
The posterior brain
What is the rostral brain?
The anterior brain
What part of the brain is known as the forebrain?
The cerebrum
What are the two parts of the cerebrum?
The outer brain aka the telencephalon
The inner brain aka the diencephalon
What makes up the brain stem?
The midbrain, pons, medulla and oblongata
What are the 6/7 main subdivisions of the CNS?
- The cerebral hemispheres
- The diencephalon
- The midbrain
- The spinal cord
- The medulla
6/6&7 (depending on text book) pons and cerebellum
What part of the brain does the spinal cord connect to?
The medulla
What is the function of the corpus callosum?
The connect the two halves of the brain allowing them to communicate with eachother
What is the Space between pons and cerebellum called?
The fourth ventricle
What is the most visible external feature of the human brain?
The cerebrum
What separates the two hemispheres of the brain?
The longitudinal fissure
What is the name for the elevated ridges on the brain?
Gyri (gyrus singular)
What is the name of the grooves on the brain?
Sulci (sulcus singular)
What matter makes up the cerebrum structures?
Depp grey and white matter
What makes up the corpus callosum?
Lots of white matter (myelinated) axons
Why is the cerebral cortex heavily folded?
To increase surface area
What makes up grey matter?
Nerve cell bodies
What makes up white matter?
Nerve axons
What matter is the basal ganglia (and associated structures)?
Grey matter
Where is the basal ganglia?
deep in the cerebral hemisphere
What is the surface of the cerebral hemispheres known as?
The cerebral cortex
What is a smooth brain called?
Lissencephaly
What divides the cerebral hemispheres into lobes?
Sulci
What are 3 sulci which separate the lobes of the cerebrum?
Central sulcus, the lateral sulcus, the parietal-occipital sulcus
What are the 4 lobes of cerebrum?
Frontal
Parietal
Occipital
Temporal
What lobes does the central sulcus separate?
Frontal and parietal
What lobes does the lateral sulcus separate?
The frontal and parietal lobes from the temporal lobe
What lobes does the parieto occipital sulcus separate?
The occipital lobe from the parietal lobe
What gyrus are rostral to the central sulcus?
Precentral gyrus
What is the function of the precentral gyrus?
Acts as the motor cortex
What gyri are caudal to the central sulcus?
Postcentral gyrus
What is the function of the postcentral gyrus?
Acts as the somatosensory cortex
What two structures are deep grey matters of the cerebral hemispheres?
Basal ganglia and lymbic structures
What makes up the diencephalon?
The thalamus and the hypothalamus
What is the function of the thalamus?
Relay info between the brain stem, spinal cord and cerebral cortex
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
Control the autonomic nervous system
What view allows you to see the hypothalamus and some cranial nerves?
The inferior/ventral surface
