Lecture 6 - nervous system and brain anatomy Flashcards
6 parts of the nervous system?
- central nervous system (CNS)
- peripheral nervous system
- somatic system
- autonomic system
- sympathetic system
- parasympathetic system
Peripheral nervous system (PNS) job?
Connects the central nervous system with the rest of the body through nerves
Includes:
- sympathetic
- parasympathetic
Sympathetic system?
prepares for emergency, physical activity
fight or flight response
Parasympathetic system?
balances use of energy
counteracts sympathetic system
When sympathetic system is activated, we stop salivating. Why?
We don’t need to digest food when we’re in fight or flight / emergency mode
When the sympathetic system is activated, our lungs relax. Why?
They relax so we can take bigger breaths, breathe more easily, get more air
Cerebral cortex:
Outer layer of the cerebral hemispheres
Gives wrinkled appearance
More wrinkly = more surface space = more complex functions
cerebrum vs cerebellum?
Cerebrum: really big front part, all 4 lobes
Cerebellum: piece in the back, basic survival functions
What are the 4 lobes? Where are they?
- frontal lobe (forehead to halfway back ish)
- occipital lobe (back, near the neck)
- temporal lobe (ears/temples)
- parietal lobe (on top)
Occipital lobe? Where? Cortex?
- Most posterior/back part of the brain
- Visual cortex
–>Visual sensation –> perception
Parietal lobe? Where? Cortex?
- top of the head
- somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory cortex? Importance? Damage/problems?
- Important for touch and spatial awareness (where you are in a space/relative to other things)
- Involved in attention
- Damage –> hemineglect
Hemineglect? Damage to what?
- damage to the somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe
- you lose parts of your spatial awareness, usually on one specific side of the body
- movement is fine, just awareness of parts of the body
- might forget to put on one leg of their pants
- can also affect imagination –> struggle to draw a clock from memory
Temporal lobe? Where? Cortex?
- ears/temples
- auditory cortex
- sensation of sound –> perception
- also important for recognizing faces
- damage:
–> prosopagnosia (can’t recognize faces)
Frontal lobe? Cortex?
- forehead/front of brain
- primary motor cortex
–> back part of the frontal lobe - prefrontal cortex
–> gives you ‘humanity’
–> memory, emotions
–> developing/acting on plans
–> understanding cultural norms, empathy
Subcortical structures?
- Hindbrain
- Midbrain
- Forebrain
Hindbrain? Parts? Importance?
- synonym for brain stem
- connection between spinal cord and brain
- basic functions for survival and communication with nervous system
- parts:
–> cerebellum
–> medulla
–> pons
–> reticular formation
Cerebellum?
Fine motor skills, equilibrium, balance, language, memory, learning
Cognitive and motor functions
Medulla
Keeps us alive:
- heart beat
- blood pressure
- breathing
- digestive system
very little cognitive function
Pons
Bridge from sensations to motor actions
Important for sleep
Reticular formation
Alertness, consciousness
Damage can cause comas
Midbrain?
Originally started in first stages of development. Gets hidden/trapped under the rest
2 parts:
- tectum
- tegmentum
–> huge number of dopamine pathways
–> connection to parkinsons
–> one of the pathways central to drug addiction
Forebrain? Parts?
- hypothalamus –> homeostasis
- limbic system –> emotional behavior
–> amygdala
–> hippocampus
Hypothalamus function?
- releases hormones
- hunger, thirst, sex behavior, stress, temperature, pH levels, blood pressure, mood
- connects pituitary to adrenal cortex
- many mental disorders
–> PTSD = hypoactivity
–> Depression = hyperactivity
Amygdala?
- fear response
- memory of fear, awareness and response to threat
- damage can make someone immune to fear
Hippocampus?
- form memory
- connected to hypothalamus
- chronic high cortisol levels are damaging, associated with memory loss
What happens if the medulla is greatly lesioned?
The person would likely die. The medulla accounts for many functions necessary for survival, such as breathing, heart beat, blood pressure, digestion, etc.
What part of the brain was lesioned in the study case H.M.? What happened to him
because of it?
In an attempt to control his seizures, H. M. underwent brain surgery to remove his hippocampus and amygdala. As a result of his surgery, H. M’s seizures decreased, but he could no longer form new memories or remember the prior 11 years of his life. Hippocampus is very important for memory
Function of the hippocampus?
Majorly important for memory, especially long term memory
