II. Neuroanatomy & Neuroplasticity (EBIG 2 & #) 9%

Question 1

What comprises the CNS?

Answer 1

brain and spinal cord

Question 2

What are the meninges?

Answer 2

3 protective layers that cover the brain

dura mater

arachnoid mater

pia mater

Question 3

What comprises the brainstem?

Answer 3

midbrain, pons, and medulla

Question 4

describe the brainstem

Answer 4

relays information into and out of the brain

It is the central point for all incoming and outgoing information and basic life function

The brainstem is made up of the medulla, pons, and midbrain, it also contains any of the centers for the senses of hearing, touch, taste, and balance though it doesn’t affect sight and smell

RAS is contained within the brainstem

Question 5

What does the reticular activating system control?

Answer 5

arousal

alertness

concentration

basic biological rhythms

Question 6

what comprises the diencephalon?

Answer 6

thalamus and hypothalamus

Question 7

Describe the diencephalon

Answer 7

A master relay center for forwarding information, sensations and movement. It is considered part of the limbic system

Question 8

A person who has an injury to their thalamus may experience what kind of symptoms?

Answer 8

can have severe attention concentration problems, difficulty with memory storage and retrieval, weakened mental stamina, decreased sensory information, difficulty reacting to stress, difficulty with excessive or weak emotional responses, and disorders in eating, drinking, sleeping, and sexual functioning

Question 9

What is the hypothalamus the control center for?

Answer 9

control center for hunger, thirst, sexual response, endocrine levels, and temperature regulation.

It’s all involved in “fight or flight” reactions, anger, fatigue, memory, and calmness

Question 10

describe the limbic system limbic system?

Answer 10

Situated above, around, and interconnected with the diencephalon. middle section of the brain, sits on top of the brain stem and is involved in emotions.

Question 11

described the hippocampus

Answer 11

A paired organ with one on each side of the brain, sits within the temporal lobe.

Most commonly associated with memory functioning.

particularly susceptible to loss of oxygen.

Injury to the hippocampus creates difficulty with short term memory, consolidating STM into LTM and organizing/retrieving stored memories.

Question 12

describe the amygdala

Answer 12

more closely tied with emotional memories and reactions, includes aggressive responses and the fight-or-flight response

Question 13

Describe the cerebellum

Answer 13

coordinates, modulates, and stores all body movement

Govern’s a person’s every movement, monitors impulses from the motor and sensory centers to help control the direction, rate, force, and steadiness of a person’s movements

Coordinates muscle tone, posture, and eye-hand movement/coordination

Question 14

What makes up the cerebral cortex?

Answer 14

2 hemispheres

4 lobes

Question 15

what doe the right hemisphere process?

Answer 15

holistic

visual spatial

intuitive

controls left side of body

music, art, shapes

Question 16

what doe the left hemisphere process?

Answer 16

linear

verbal-analytic

logical

controls R side of body

speaking, reading, writing

Question 17

what structures are in the frontal lobe?

Answer 17

frontal poles

prefrontal cortex

primary motor cortex

Question 18

what does the frontal lobe control?

Answer 18

planning

organization

problem solving

judgment

impulse control

decision making

working memory

Question 19

What does the temporal lobe control

Answer 19

expressive and receptive language (broca’s and wernicke’s)

Question 20

what does the occipital lobe control

Answer 20

primary visual cortex

Question 21

what structures are int eh parietal lobe?

Answer 21

primary sensory cortex

somatosensory cortex

Question 22

what are the three spinal column divisions?

Answer 22

cervical

thoracic

lumbar

Question 23

What make up the vertebral body

Answer 23

nerve root

meninges

spinal cord

disk

vertebra

Question 24

what type of signals does the spinal cord receive?

Answer 24

afferent sensory (which ascend upward)

efferent (motor)

Question 25

what are different spinal cord syndromes?

Answer 25

central cord syndrome

brown-sequard syndrome

anterior cord syndrome

posterior cord syndrome

Question 26

what are the different types of imaging?

Answer 26

CT

MRI

DTI

fMRI

Question 27

Describe the blood-brain barrier

Answer 27

protective system ensuring that, at the vascular level, harmful substances cannot pass through the membrane to harm the brain

Question 28

what are the effects of neuroplasticity?

Answer 28

Neuroplasticity is the ability of the nervous system to change itself, to form new connections and create new neurons in order to compensate for injury or adapt to changes in the environment.

“neurons that fire together wire together”

following stroke, structural plasticity and cortical map reorganization occur around the injury and in areas remote, yet connected, to the injury

Question 29

What are the principles of neuroprotection?

Answer 29

Studies of neuroprotection have generally shown that reducing cell loss following injury leads to better functional recovery.

Question 30

what is synaptogenesis?

Answer 30

the format of synapses between neurons

the greater the number of synapses within a grouping of neurons, the greater the speed and efficiency with which those neurons communicate

Question 31

what are potential neuroprotective agents?

Answer 31

limit neuronal death following injury and/or enhance recovery

Question 32

what did they find re: magnesium, progesterone, and nicotinamide?

Answer 32

none were fully successful in functioning as a neuroprotectant

however, many studies have found positive effects on cellular markers, but have failed to find improvements in recovery and vice versa–more research needed

Question 33

what is experience-dependent learning?

Answer 33

Behavior (ie: experience) —> synaptic change —> motor map reorganization

As our experiences change, so too does the brains morphology (structure). This represents learning at the neurobiological level and is the basic mechanism for learning

Question 34

what is the biological cascade following TBI?

Answer 34

primary injury–direct damage to the brain

secondary injury–causes additional brain damage (excitotixicity, edema, apoptosis)