Intro

Question 1

What is the central nervous system made up of?

Answer 1

Brain and spinal chord.

Question 2

What is the peripheral nervous system made up of?

Answer 2

Somatic and Autonomic PNS. Somatic - controls motor and sensory function eg skin and skeletal funciton. Autonomic - regulates function of viscera: internal organs, smooth muslce, pupils etc

Question 3

What are the 12 cranial nerves

Answer 3

Olfactory
Optic
Oculomotor
Trochlear
Trigeminal
Abducens
Facial
Vestibulocochlear
Glossopharyngeal
Vagus
Hypoglossal
Accessory

Question 4

What are the 4 lobes of the brain? What do they control?

Answer 4

Parietal - sensory info
Frontal - personality
Temporal - auditory (speech reognition)
Occipital - Vision

Question 5

What is the brainstem made of?

Answer 5

Midbrain
Pons
Medulla

Question 6

What does the cerebellum control?

Answer 6

Fine motor skills

Question 7

Where does the CNS end and the PNS start?

Answer 7

CNS end at spinal chord, dorsal and ventral roots that emerge are part of PNS

Question 8

What does the brainstem do?

Answer 8

Regulates vital functions eg conciousness and breathing, it is the most primitive part of the brain and densely packed with fibres. Damage is usually fatal

Question 9

What does the peripheral NS contain?

Answer 9

Afferent and efferent axons bindled into fascicles surrounded by perineurium. The whole nerve is in a tough epineurium capsule

Question 10

What are individual axons wrapped in?

Answer 10

Myelin, endoneurium is a layer of connective tissue around myelin. Some are unmyelinated eg pain receptors

Question 11

How does regeneration differ in PNS and CNS

Answer 11

Axons in peripheral nerves can regenerate from an injury but CNS can’t regenerate over long enough distances to be useful due to inhibitory molecules in PNS

Question 12

How is axon recovery in CNS compromised?

Answer 12

Inhibitory molecules in CNS but not in the PNS (eg differences in myelin)
Absence of guidance cues that stimulate axon growth during development
Some loss of intrinsic axon growth capabilities by the neurones

Question 13

What are the meninges

Answer 13

Three layers of protective tissue that surround the neuraxis meninges of brain and spinal cord and are continuous and linked by magnum foramen

Question 14

What do neurones do?

Answer 14

Transmit and receive action potentials or stimulate target tissue

Question 15

Which roots of the spinal chord are part of PNS

Answer 15

Dorsal and ventral

Question 16

What pathways are important in sensory perception?

Answer 16

Dorsal column - medial lemniscus pathway

Spinothalamic pathway

Question 17

What is the medial lemniscus pathway important for?

Answer 17

Fine touch, vibration, two point discrimination

Question 18

What is the spinothalamic pathway important for?

Answer 18

Convey pain and temperature sensation

Question 19

Whats the term when something from your left hand functions on the left side of your brain (same side)? What about other side?

Answer 19

Ipsilateral

Other side : contralateral

Question 20

What pathways are important for motor function?

Answer 20

Lateral corticospinal tract and vestibulospinal tract

Question 21

What does the lateral corticospinal tract do?

Answer 21

Ipsilateral movement so injury on this side leads to issues on same side

Question 22

What does the vestibulospinal tract do?

Answer 22

Know if you’re standing up or lying down - keeps balance

Question 23

What does the spinal chord contain?

Answer 23

-ascending and descending tracts

Question 24

What’s in grey matter

Answer 24

Neuronal cell bodies

Question 25

What’s in white matter

Answer 25

Ascending and descending axon tracts to and from the brain

Question 26

What’s special about reflex arcs?

Answer 26

They don’t need communication with sensorimotor cortex of the brain. Only sensory and motor

Question 27

How does conscious registering work in the brain?

Answer 27

Sensory input activated further sensory neurons in grey matter of spinal cord that transmit action potentials upwards to the sensorimotor cortex of the brain (ascending tracts). This cortex extends axons downwards to synapse with spinal motor neurons and transmit action potentials for voluntary movement (descending tracts)