Lecture 7 - Functional Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What are the 3 axes to describe anatomy?
- Ventral/dorsal
- Anterior/Posterior (or Rostral/Caudal)
- Lateral/Medial
What is the rostral side of the brain?
Front of head
What is the caudal side of the brain?
Back of head
Describe the directional terms in bipeds.
The directional terms are relative to the midline which bends 60 degrees at the forebrain
What is the dorsal part of the brain? Other name?
Toward sky = superior
What are the 3 major planes used in cutting/imaging of the brain?
- Coronal (rostral/caudal)
- Horizontal (dorsal/ventral)
- Sagittal (medial/lateral)
What is the ventral part of the brain? Other name?
Toward floor = inferior
What are the 2 primary functions of the NS?
- Bring sensory input to the body through afferent neurons for integration
- Controlling motor output by activating effector organs through efferent neurons
What are the 4 types of effector organs that the NS activates?
- Skeletal muscles
- Smooth muscles
- Cardiac muscles
- Glands
What are the 3 main components of the PNS?
- 31 pairs of spinal nerves
- 12 pairs of cranial nerves*
- Ganglia
*one of them, the optic tract, is actually part of the CNS
Describe the afferent pathway of the NS.
Internal/External environment => sensory receptors => sensory ganglia and nerves => cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon, cerebellum, brainstem, and spinal cord
What are the 2 parts of the PNS and what does each include?
- Somatic = skeletal muscles and skin
2. Visceral/Autonomic = smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, glands, hair raising muscles
When does the folding of the ectoderm happen? What is this called? What does it form? What does each become?
First month of gestation = neurulation
Forms:
- Neural tube = CNS
- Neural crest cells = PNS
Describe the closing of the neural tube. Is it complete?
Begins in the middle of the rostral-caudal axis and progresses in both the anterior and posterior directions
Complete in normal development
What 2 structures are formed through the closure of the neural tube? What does each become?
- Anterior neuropore = brain
2. Posterior neuropore = spinal cord
What is anencephaly? What is it due to? Survival rate?
Severe reduction in brain development due to failed closure of anterior neuropore
The babies die a few hours or days after birth
What are some diseases due to an improper closing of the neural tube?
- Anencephaly
2. Spina Bifida
What is spina bifida due to? What are the 3 types in order of increasing severity?
Failed closure of caudal neuropore
3 types:
- Occulta
- Meningocele
- Myelomeningocele (can cause infection)
How can neural tube abnormalities be prevented?
Folic acid
Where is folic acid found?
- Spinach
- Liver
- Yeast
- Eggs
- Beans
- All OTC vitamins
How does brain development start? Describe the different parts and what their fate is.
Differentiation of the anterior/rostral neural tube in the anterior neuropore forming 3 primary vesicles (from rostral to caudal):
- Prosencephalon = forebrain
- Mesencephalon = midbrain
- Rhombencephalon = hindbrain
What is the rhombencephalon connected to?
The spinal cord
What stage follows the 3 primary vesicle stage of brain development? Describe it.
5 secondary vesicle stage (from rostral to caudal):
- Telencephalon (from prosencephalon)
- Diencephalon (from prosencephalon)
- Mesencephalon
- Metencephalon (from rhombencephalon)
- Myelencephalon (from rhombencephalon)
What 2 flexures happen at the 3 vesicle stage of brain development? Where is each located?
- Cephalic flexure between mesencephalon and rhombencephalon
- Cervical flexure between rhombencephalon and spinal cord
What flexure happens at the 5 vesicle stage of brain development?
Pontine flexure between metencephalon and myelecephalon
What do the eyes develop from in brain development?
The optic vesicles of the diencephalon
What controls brain development? What experience proves this?
- The dorsal blastopore lip governs the differentiation of neural tissue by secreting organizing factors
- EXPERIMENT: If we replace the ventral epididermis of an fish embryo with a dorsal blastopore lip from a donor embryo we obtain a fish with 2 neural axis - Inhibitors of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP): noggin, follistatin, and chordin all block the ability of ectodermal cells to acquire an epidermal fate, thus promoting neural character
Fate of the telencephalon?
Cerebrum
2 parts of the cerebrum?
- Cerebral cortex
2. Basal ganglia
Fates of the diencephalon?
- Thalamus
- Hypo
- Pit
- Retina + optic tract
Fates of the mesencephalon?
- Tectum
2. Tegmentum
Fates of the metencephalon?
- Pons
2. Cerebellum
Fate of the myelencephalon?
Medulla
What are the 3 parts of the brainstem? What vesicles of the 5 vesicle stage does each correspond to?
- Midbrain from mesencephalon
- Pons from metencephalon
- Medulla from myelencephalon
What does the tectum form?
Roof of midbrain
What does the tegmentum form?
Floor of midbrain
What are the pons and cerebellum used for?
Motor coordination