Nervous System

Question 1

spinal cord

Answer 1

• surrounded in CSF
• transmits signals to brain for integration
• simple integrative function: tendon + muscle reflexes
• primitive functions like walking, sexual organ function, and urination

Question 2

medulla

Answer 2

• regulates vital autonomic functions: blood flow, blood pressure, swallowing, vomiting, respiratory rate
• relays sensory info to the cerebellum + thalamus
• involved in simple reflexes like sneezing + coughing

Question 3

pons

Answer 3

• receives info from vestibular system (monitors acceleration + position relative to gravity)
• balance + antigravity posture
• connects brain stem to cerebellum
• relays info to the cerebellum + thalamus
• connects spinal cord + medulla to upper regions of brain

Question 4

cerebellum

Answer 4

• integrating centre
• receives input from vestibular system
• coordinates complex movements, balance and posture, spatial equilibrium, muscle tone

Question 5

midbrain

Answer 5

• integrating centre for visual + auditory stimuli
• visual + auditory reflexes
• contains most of Reticular Activating System (RAS) - involved in wakefulness, consciousness, and arousal
• eye movements
• coordinates info on muscle tone + posture

Question 6

hindbrain

Answer 6

• aka rhombencephalon

* consists of medulla, pons, and cerebellum

Question 7

forebrain

Answer 7

• aka prosencephalon

* consists of diencephalon + telencephalon

Question 8

brainstem

Answer 8

• consists of medulla, pons, and midbrain
• important processing centres
• relays info to/from cerebrum + cerebellum

Question 9

diencephalon

Answer 9

• consists of thalamus + hypothalamus

Question 10

thalamus

Answer 10

• major role in hormone production + release
• relay centre for somatic (conscious) sensation (except olfactory sensory input)
• relays info between spinal cord + cerebral cortex

Question 11

hypothalamus

Answer 11

• controls homeostatic (autonomic) functions (i.e. temperature regulation, fluid balance, appetite) through neural + hormonal regulation
• controls primitive emotions like anger, rage, sex drive
• controls the pituitary gland - major link b/w nervous + endocrine systems

Question 12

telencephalon

Answer 12

• two separate cerebral hemispheres
• left hemisphere: motor functions of right side + speech
• right hemisphere: motor functions of left side + visuospatial reasoning + music

Question 13

corpus callosum

Answer 13

• thick bundle of axons connecting the cerebral hemispheres

Question 14

cerebrum

Answer 14

• largest region of brain
• large paired cerebral hemispheres
• consists of cerebral cortex (outer layer of gray matter) + inner core of white matter connecting cortex to diencephalon
• conscious thought processes + intellectual functions + processing somatic sensory + motor info

Question 15

cerebral cortex

Answer 15

• divided into 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital

Question 16

frontal lobes

Answer 16

• initiation of voluntary movement
• complex reasoning + problem solving
• speech production (Broca’s area)

Question 17

parietal lobes

Answer 17

• general sensation (touch, temp., vibration, pressure) + gustation (taste)

Question 18

temporal lobes

Answer 18

• process auditory + olfactory sensation

* involved in short-term memory, language comprehension (Wernicke’s area), emotion

Question 19

occipital lobes

Answer 19

• process visual sensation

Question 20

basal nuclei

Answer 20

• composed of gray matter
• located deep in cerebral hemispheres
• voluntary motor control
• regulate body movement + muscle tone
• coordination of learned motor habits (procedural learning)
• general pattern of rhythmic movements (i.e. controlling cycle of leg/arm movements when walking)
• subconscious adjustments of conscious movements

Question 21

limbic system

Answer 21

• consists of amygdala, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus
• controls emotional states
• memory storage + retrieval
• links conscious + unconscious parts of the brain
• works with cerebrum, diencephalon, midbrain