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PS1005 > Neuroanatomy > Flashcards

Neuroanatomy Flashcards

1
Q

What does ventral mean?

A

Towards the stomach

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2
Q

What does posterior mean?

A

Further back in position of or nearer the rear or hind end

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3
Q

What does anterior mean?

A

Near the front of the body ( near to the head)

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4
Q

What does dorsal mean?

A

Towards the back

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5
Q

What does the coronal plane mean?

A

It divides the brain into an anterior and posterior portion. It is created by slicing the brain parallel to the long axis of the body, and thus perpendicular to the floor in a person that is upright.

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6
Q

What does the sagittal plane mean?

A

It divides the right and left side of the brain into parts.

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7
Q

What does the horizontal plane mean?

A

It divides the brain into a superior and inferior portion.
Cuts through the eye.

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8
Q

What does the central nervous system consist of?

A

The brain + spinal cord

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9
Q

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

A

It connects the brain/spinal cord to the rest of the body.
Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system

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10
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do and consist of?

A

It consists of axons conveying messages from sense organs to CNS and from CNS to muscles, voluntary behaviour and reflexes.

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11
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system do and consist of?

A

It controls the heart, intestines and other organs, for example heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion etc. It regulates involuntary (automatic) behaviours.

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12
Q

What is sympathetic nervous system?

A

It’s role is in responding to dangerous or stressful situations. In these situations, your sympathetic nervous system activates to speed up your heart rate, deliver more blood to areas of your body that need more oxygen or other responses to help your get out of danger.
‘Fight or flight’

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13
Q

What is parasympathetic system?

A

Vegetative, non-emergency responses
‘Rest and digest’
It is a network of nerves that relaxes your body after periods of stress or danger. It also helps run life-sustaining processes, like digestion, during times when you feel safe and relaxed.
Long preganglionic axons extending from brain & spinal cord. Short postganglionic fibers attach to organs. Postganglionic axons release ACh (modified amino acid).

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14
Q

How does the sympathetic system make the body react?

A

Dilates pupils
Inhibits salivation
Relaxes airways
Accelerates heartbeat
Stimulates secretion by sweat glands
Inhibits digestion
Constricts blood vessels in skin
Stimulates secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine
Relaxes bladder
Stimulates ejaculation

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15
Q

How does the parasympathetic system make the body react?

A

Constricts pupils
Stimulates salivation
Constricts airways
Slows heartbeat
Stimulates glucose production and release
Stimulates digestion
Stimulates gallbladder to release bile
Dilates blood vessels in intestines
Dilates blood vessels in skin
Contracts bladder
Stimulates penile erection and clitoral engorgement

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16
Q

What does the spinal cord do?

A

It communicates with sense organs and muscles below head. Entering dorsal (posterior) roots to sensory info (afferent/admit)
Exiting ventral (anterior) roots to motor info (efferent/exit)

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17
Q

What is the bell-magendie law?

A

The principle referring to the separation of sensory and motor neurons of the spinal cord, where the dorsal (posterior) spinal roots are sensory and the ventral (anterior) spinal roots are motor, thereby implicating that impulses are relayed in one direction.

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18
Q

What is the grey and white matter in the spinal cord?

A

Grey matter is the cell bodies/dendrites.
White matter is mostly myelinated axons carrying information from grey matter to brain or other area of spinal cord.

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19
Q

What does the hindbrain consist of?

A

Myelencephalon
Metencephalon

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20
Q

What does the midbrain consist of?

A

Mesencephalon

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21
Q

What does the forebrain consist of?

A

Diencephalon
Telencephalon

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22
Q

What does the medulla do?

A

(Hindbrain)
Medulla Oblongata (middle/rectangular)
It is an extension of spinal cord and it controls vital reflexes such as breathing, heartbeat, vomiting and coughing. It is a key conduit for nerve signals to and from your body.

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23
Q

What is the Ondine’s curse?

A

An often fatal respiratory disorder that occurs during sleep. Typically the disorder is congenital, but in some cases can be developed later in life, especially when the patient has also had a severe injury to the brain or brain stem.

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24
Q

What are pons and what do they do?

A

Relays and regulates the signals that give you the sensation of pain from anywhere in your body below your neck.
Superior to medulla, anterior to cerebellum.
It works with other brain structures.
Many nerves cross over from one side of brain to other (bridge).
A key connection point to your cerebellum, another key part of your brain that handles balance and movement.

25
Q

What is the reticular formation and what does it do?

A

It is a network of interconnected nuclei. Through core of medulla, pons and midbrain, tracts to cortex and spinal cord.
Some of the functions include: control of consciousness, attention, sleep and waking, arousal, pain, cardiovascular and somatic motor control.

26
Q

What is the cerebellum and what does it do?

A

Latin for ‘little brain’, is a structure of the hindbrain, located behind the pons and brainstem.
Some of the functions include: control of movement and coordination, damage impairs standing, walking and coordinated movements (precision, timing), involvement in many more complex functions (language, attention).

27
Q

What are the main functions of the hindbrain?

A

Control of sleep and arousal
Movement and coordination
Controls vital reflexes, for example, breathing, heart rate, vomiting, sneezing and coughing.

28
Q

What is the tectum and what does it consist of?

A

“Roof”
Superior colliculi (mound) = visual system, involved in visual reflexes/reactions to moving stimuli.
Inferior colliculi = auditory system, receives info about sound from auditory pathways.

29
Q

What is the tegmentum and what does it consist of?

A

“Floor”
Red nucleus & substantia nigra = movement control
Parkinson’s: loss of DA neurons in substantial nigra.

30
Q

What is the substantia nigra?

A

A brain structure that is part of your basal ganglia. While it’s very small, this structure is essential in how your brain controls your body’s movements. It also plays a part in the chemical signaling in your brain, which affects learning, mood, judgment, decision-making and other processes.

31
Q

What are the main functions of the midbrain?

A

Involved in movement control
Conveys motor info from cerebral cortex and cerebellum to spinal cord.
Controls sleep, arousal, attention
Receives visual information

32
Q

What does the brain stem consist of and what does it do?

A

Hind, mid and central forebrain (diencephalon) = brainstem.
Top of spinal cord to forebrain centre
Passage for motor and sensory nerve connections
Basic functions

33
Q

What is the forebrain and what does it consist of?

A

Most anterior
2 hemispheres, connected via corpus callosum and anterior/posterior commissure (white matter)
Outer “cerebral cortex” and subcortical regions.
Receives sensory information, controls motor movement from opposite (contralateral) body side.

34
Q

What does the subcortical (diencephalon) consist of?

A

Thalamus
Hypothalamus

35
Q

What does the thalamus do?

A

Relay station from sensory organs = All sensory information (expect olfactory) passes through. Different nuclei receive different types of sensory information and relay it to appropriate primary cortex.
Main source of input to cortex = Prolonging and magnifying certain kinds of input at expense of others (i.e focuses attention on particular stimuli).

36
Q

What does the hypothalamus do?

A

It is a small area near base of thalamus
It conveys messages to pituitary gland and alters hormone release, for example eating, drinking and sexual behaviour.
Controlling behaviours related to survival: four Fs: fighting, feeding, fleeing, mating.
Autonomic regulation and homeostasis, for example temperature regulation.

37
Q

What is the basal ganglia?

A

A group of subcortical nuclei responsible primarily for motor control, as well as other roles such as motor learning, executive functions and behaviours, and emotions.
Subcortical structures lateral to thalamus = putamen, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus.

38
Q

What does the telencephalon do?

A

Planning of motor movement.
Memory and emotional expression, attention, language planning, other cognitive functions.

39
Q

What is the limbic system?

A

The part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young, and fight or flight responses.
Interlinked structures: Olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, cingulate gyrus.

40
Q

What are the major structures in the forebrain- telencephalon (“end brain”)?

A

Cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, limbic system

41
Q

What are the major structures in the forebrain- diencephalon (“between brain”)?

A

Thalamus, hypothalamus

42
Q

What major structures are in the midbrain- mesencephalon (“middle brain”)?

A

Tectum, tegmentum, superior colliculus, inferior colliculus, substantia nigra, red nucleus, reticular formation

43
Q

What major structures are in the hindbrain- rhombencephalon, myel and metencephalon?

A

Medulla and pons, cerebellum, reticular formation

44
Q

How is the cerebral cortex organised?

A

6 distinct laminae (layers)
Parallel to cortex surface
Cells divided into columns (perpendicular- 90 degrees- to laminae)
Cells within a column have similar properties to one another.

45
Q

What is the grey and white matter in relation to how the cerebral cortex is organised?

A

Grey matter is cell bodies and the outer layer. White matter is the axons extending inwards.

46
Q

What does gyri (gyrus) mean?

A

Ridges/mountains

47
Q

What does sulci (sulcus) mean?

A

Valleys

48
Q

What is the occipital lobe?

A

Posterior end of cortex. Visual processing.
Damage can result in cortical blindness.
It is associated with visuospatial processing, distance and depth perception, color determination, object and face recognition, and memory formation.

49
Q

What is the parietal lobe?

A

It is vital for sensory perception and integration, including the management of taste, hearing, sight, touch, and smell.
Between occipital lobe & central sulcus
Contains postcentral gyrus (primary somatosensory cortex).

50
Q

What is the primary somatosensory cortex for?

A

Primary for touch sensations
Similarly organised to motor cortex
muscle-stretch receptors and joint receptors
Anterior to parietal lobe, adjacent to central sulcus.

51
Q

What is the temporal lobe?

A

It is located on lateral portion of hemispheres near temples.
Target for auditory info
Processing spoken language
The temporal lobes also play an important role in processing affect/emotions, language, and certain aspects of visual perception.

52
Q

What is the frontal lobe?

A

Important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions.
Contains prefrontal cortex and pre central gyrus (primary motor cortex).

53
Q

What is the prefrontal cortex?

A

Integration of sensory information
Higher cognitive functions, for example, abstract thinking, planning, working memory, and social behaviour.
Regulation/control of impulsive behaviours.

54
Q

What is the primary motor cortex?

A

Fine voluntary body movements.
Different parts connected to muscles in different body parts.
Size of area proportional to complexity of movement.
Largely contralateral connections.

55
Q

How do nutrients get into the brain without toxins?

A

Blood-brain barrier
Ventricular system

56
Q

What is the blood-brain barrier and how does it work?

A

The blood vessels that vascularize the central nervous system (CNS) possess unique properties, termed the blood–brain barrier, which allow these vessels to tightly regulate the movement of ions, molecules, and cells between the blood and the brain.
Provides oxygen and disposes of CO2 from cellular respiration.

57
Q

What is the ventricular system and how does it work?

A

The cerebral ventricular system is made up of 4 ventricles that include 2 lateral ventricles (1 in each cerebral hemisphere), the third ventricle in the diencephalon, and the fourth ventricle in the hindbrain. It continues through the spinal cord.
1. CSF formed inside ventricles
2. Released into subarachnoid space
3. Provides “cushioning” for brain (swims) during head movements
4. Reservoir of hormones and nutrition for brain and spinal cord

58
Q

What are the three meninges (membranes)?

A
  1. Dua mater
  2. Arachnoid membrane
  3. Pia mater

PS1005 (3 decks)

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