Nervous System (Part 2) - Central Nervous System Flashcards
What are the 3 basic divisions of the vertebrate brain?
- hind brain
- midbrain
- forebrain
What is the hindbrain in fish?
largest portion
What is the midbrain in fish?
processes visual information
What is the forebrain in fish?
processes olfactory information
Why is the hindbrain the largest portion in fish?
swimming
What is the function of the cerebellum?
manage fine movement, balance and aids in coordinating movement and learning new motor tasks
What is the function of the cerebrum?
memory, decision making
What has changed as vertebrates evolved?
relative sizes of different brain regions
What section of the brain has become the dominant feature in vertebrate?
forebrain
What do more folds in the brain equal?
more surface area which means more neurons
What important part of the brain is located in the forebrain?
cerebrum
What are meninges?
3 layers of connective tissue which cushion the brain and spinal cord
What are the layers of the meninges in order of outermost to inner?
- dura mater
- arachnoid mater
- pia mater
What is the function of cerebral spinal fluid?
protect brain and spinal cord
- transport ions
- immune function and protection
What is the forebrain composed of?
- diencephalon
- telencephalon
What is the Diencephalon composed of?
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
What is the function of the thalamus?
integration and relay center
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
basic drives & emotions; controls pituitary gland
What is the telencephalon composed of?
cerebrum (in mammals)
What is the function of the telencephalon?
largely associative activity (learning, understanding language)
What is the function of the pituitary gland?
regulate hormonal activities
What has increased brain size in mammals lead to?
enlargement of the cerebrum
What is the cerebrum composed of?
- right and left cerebral hemispheres
- corpus callosum
What is the corpus callosum?
a tract that connects the right and left cerebral hemispheres
What does each cerebral hemisphere receive?
sensory input from the opposite side
What are the hemispheres of the cerebrum divided into?
- frontal
- parietal
- temporal
- occipital lobes
What is the frontal lobe made of?
olfactory lobe and motor cortex
What is the function of the frontal lobe?
smell, implementation of movement
What is the function of the parietal lobe?
speech, reading, somatosensory and proprioception
What is the function of the temporal lobe?
processing and interpreting sound, memory via the hippocampus
What is the function of the occipital lobe?
vision and visual processing
What do different parts of the motor cortex do?
control different muscle groups
What is the function of the limbic system?
emotions
- fear and motivation
- memory formation
What are the regions of the limbic system?
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- hippocampus
- amygdala
- cingulate gyrus
What is the function of the amygdala?
fearfulness and rage
What is the function of the cingulate gyrus?
other emotions and pain
What is the function of the brainstem?
regulates many autonomic functions, communicates with cerebrum with cerebellum and spinal cord
What are the parts of the brainstem?
- thalamus
- medulla oblongata
- pons
What is the spinal cord?
a coble of neurons extending from brain down through the backbone
What is the spinal cord encloses and protected by?
vertebral column and meninges
Is grey matter on the interior or exterior of spinal cord?
interior
Is grey matter on the interior or exterior of the brain?
exterior
What is the spinal cord’s function?
body’s “information highway”
- relays messages between the body and the brain
- also reflexes
What kind of reflex is knee-jerk refelx?
monosynaptic
What kind of reflex is knee-jerk refelx?
monosynaptic
What is bisynaptic?
most reflexes in vertebrates involve a single interneuron
How does the spinal cord do reflexes?
immediate response
-sensory -> spinal -> effector (no brain)
Where are sensory neurons located?
- dorsal root of spinal nerve
- cell bodies grouped outside the spinal cord in dorsal root ganglia
Where are motor neurons located?
leave from the ventral surface and form ventral root of spinal nerve
Where are cell bodies (motor neurons?) located?
in the spinal cord
