exploring the brain Flashcards
what does the brain. do
- input
- computation
- output
- works out what’s going by taking inputs from outside world
- work out appropriate response
what does the CNS do
CNS does complicated computations
what does the PNS do
PNS does the sensing from the outside world and generating an output eg making muscles move
what does peripheral nervous system
- autonomic nervous system deals with internal enviro
- somatic nervous system deals with external enviro eg threats
- sensory neurons provide input
- motor neurons provide output
the spinal cord
- symmetrical around the midline [two halves]
- made of grey matter [cell bodies]
- and white matter [cell processes]
- ## white matter is long range connects and is made of cell processes
somatic nervous system
nerves in each dorsal root ganglion innervated specific strip of skin → eg C3 is allocated to a specific strip of skin
differnt subsections of the nervous system
nervous system into: central nervous system and peripheral nervous system
PNS into: somatic and autonomic nervous system
ANS into: sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric nervous system
what does the ANS do
- sensory neurosn in ANS detect heart rate, if your stomach hurts etc
- The ANS is doing something similar but for inside your body. → So rather than like muscles that make you move around or detecting stuff coming, information coming from the skin,it’s going to be finding out more information about what’s going on inside and the workings of the inside workings of the body.
what does the somatic nervous system do
the somatic nervous system is taking information in from different parts of the body in a structured way, and sending out motor information to control those control muscles of different parts of the body.
summary of PNS
- Inputs and outputs of the nervous system
- Somatic – external environment
- Autonomic – internal environment
- Parasympathetic
- Sympathetic
- (Enteric-gut)
brain regions overview
Overall: inputs from senses - outputs to muscles or organs
- in each region → inputs from upstream and downstream regions
what a brain region does depends on the nature of the inputs, and outputs and how the infomation is integrated in that brain area
what are the three areas in the brainstem
- medulla
- Pons
- Midbrain
what is Decussation
the crossing over of nerve fibers from one side of the central nervous system to the other, essentially meaning that each hemisphere of the brain controls the opposite side of the body; this crossing typically occurs in the brainstem or spinal cord, forming an “X” shape and allowing for contralateral control of movement and sensation
what is neuromodulation
refers to a therapeutic technique that aims to alter brain activity by directly stimulating specific areas of the nervous system using electrical or magnetic impulses, often employed to treat mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, by influencing the neural circuits involved in these disorders;
what is forebrain
- made of the cerebral cortex
- and structures beneath the cortex there are ‘subcortical’
what is the thalamus
- info from the spinal cord or brainstem usually synapses first in the thalamus - an info hub
- info is then sent on to the cerebal cortex and other brain area
- descending info often then loops bacl through the thalamus and back through the thamalus and back to other brain areas as it is processed
what is the cerebral cortex
a huge highly folded structure that envelops the whole forebrain
- most expanded part of brain
- cerebral cortex has lots of white matter → white matter is long range connections
cerebral cortex cellular architecture
- 6 layers of cells
- integrative functions are layers 1-3
- input into CC goes into layer 4
- output to other parts is in layers 5,6
what does the cerebral cortex do
- info generally flows from the sensory areas of the cerebral cortex
- through intergrative regions that processes info and are involved in cognition and higher order processes
- to the motor regions that generate signals to move muscles to generate beviours
- through info loops through other important regions too
what does the basal ganglia
- info about planning actions loops through the basal ganglai before reaching the premotor and motor cortical areas
- sets up a series of actions by looping info through basal ganglia
whaty does the hippocampus do
- stores and actives memories
- the hippocampus intgrates info from across the cortex to store and activate
what is the corpus callosum
- is a big white matter tract that conects the 2 cerebral hemispherss
what does the hypothalamus do
- is important for regulating lots of homeostatic processes like feeding and drinking.
- it can regulate hormone release [and thereby behaviour] via its connections with the pituitary gland
what is the cerebellum and what does it do
- looks like mini version of the forebrain
- is involved in learning motor skills such as riding a bike
- brings sensory and motor info together to guide learning
