Nervous System Flashcards
Function of the cerebral cortex
Wrinkly outermost layer of the brain. Responsible for thinking and processing sensory information from the the body. There are four lobes each responsible for processing different types of information. Made of tightly packed neutrons.
Cerebellum
Positioned at the back of the skull, the cerebellum co-ordinates and regulates muscle activity for example gross and fine motor skills such as waking and writing. It is also involved in the control of the muscles to maintain balance
Frontal lobes
Carries out higher level mental process such as thinking and decision making and planning
Corpus callosum
A bridge of nerve tissue that connects the two halves of the brain and enables communication between the two
Hypothalamus
Is responsible for the maintenance of body temperature. It also regulates appetite and thirst, letting us know when we need to eat or have fluids
Medulla
Automatically carries out and regulates life-sustaining functions such as breathing, swallowing and heart rate
Meninges
Three layers of membranes surrounding the brain and the spinal cord. They provide a barrier from the rest of the body and act as protection from infection
Neuron
Specialised nerve cells that transmit electrical impulses from one part of the body to another
Axon
The long thread-like part of a nerve cell, along which impulses are conducted away from the cell body to other cells. There is only one neuron
Dendron (dendrite)
They are short, branched structures on the neuron that receive electrical impulses and carry them towards the cell body. There can be as many as 1000 per neuron
Myelin sheath
A fatty white substance that surrounds the axon. It forms a protective, insulating layer and enables electrical impulses to transmit quickly and efficiently along the nerve cells
