Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What is in grey matter?
Neurons, fibres, synapses
What is in whiter matter?
Myelin and axons (no neuronal cell bodies), some glial cells
White matter
Carries information/ impulses.
Association fibres - impulses within a hemisphere
Fasciule
Commissural fibres - cross between the 2 hemispheres (eg. corpus callosum)
Projection fibres - info from spinal cord and midbrain and brainstem carry info up to forebrain and down
Major Divisions of the forebrain
Diencephalon and the telencephalon
Main lobes of brain
frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe + pons medulla and cerebellum
Insula
Insula (means island) sits in lateral fissure. Functions include disgust, emotion, emotion, perception, motor control, self-awareness, cognitive functioning and interpersonal experience
Main role of Parietal lobes
Somatosensory
Dominant (usually left) = perception, language, maths
Non-dominant (usually right) = visuospatial function
Main role of Occipital Lobe
Vision (contains stripe of myelin is striate cortex / stria of Gennari)
Layers of neocortex
6 layers
Input from other cortical areas, projects to other cortical areas, input from thalamus, projects to brainstem and spinal cord, projects to thalamus)
Density of these layers change
The brain’s asymmetry
Regions are different between left and right (eg language is usually major in left part of brain)
Coverings of the brain
Skin, bone, dura mater (periosteum), arachnoid mater (spider-web and contains cerebral spinal fluid), trabeculae, pia mater (closely attached to brain surface).
Dura mater
Falx cerebri - separates left and right lobes
Tentorium cerebelli - tent shape above cerebellum
Tentorial inscisure
Sinus - venous structures, blood to go back to heart
What is the brainstem made up of?
Midbrain, pons and medulla
What does the brainstem do?
Carries ascending sensory and descending motor tracts
Vital functions - breathing, consciousness, heart rate, sleep…
What does the cerebellum do
Balance and co-ordination, gait, posture, motor learning fine skills…
What does the thalamus do?
Sensory relay station
What does the hypothalamus do?
Homeostasis (temp. food intake, water content etc.), endocrine control, body cycles…
What doe the hippocampus and fornix do?
In temporal lobe, learning and memory, spatial navigation
What do the lateral ventricles do?
Produces and recycles cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
What does the caudate nucleus do?
Planning and execution of movement, memory, cognition, emotion…
What does the putamen do?
Regulation of movement, cognition and reward
What does the amygdala do?
Emotional learning and behaviour, especially fear (also anxiety and aggression)
Red nucleus
Involved with motor co-ordination, especially upper arm and shoulder
Pale pink colour due to iron
Substantia nigra
Black band, dopamine production, movement control, cognitive executive function and emotional limbic activity.
Flocculus
Help stabilise gaze during head rotation
What information goes to the middle cerebellar peduncle?
Primary motor cortex (makes corticospinal tract)
What information goes to the inferior cerebellar pedunce?
Vestibular impulses from labyrinths (some goes via vestibular nucleus)
What information goes to the superior cerebellar peduncle?
Sensory input from the spinocerebellar tract for balance and position sense
Dentate nucleus
Regulates fine-control of voluntary movements, cognition, language, and sensory functions.
Rhomboid fossa
diamond shaped floor of the 4th ventricle on the brainstem
Gracile tubercles
Medial dorsal columns carrying touch, vibration, two-point discrimination and proprioception from the lower limb
Cuneate tubercles
Lateral dorsal columns carrying touch, vibration, two-point discrimination and proprioception from the upper limb
Facial colliculus
Rounded swelling due to the fibres of the facial nerve in pons curving around the nucleus of the abducens nerve
Medullary striae
Ponto-cerebellar fibres passing form the pons to the cerebellum, dividing the ventricle into a rostral pontine half and a caudal medullary half
Locus coeruleus
Bluish-grey pigmented noradrenalic cells under the ependyma at rostral half of the sulcus limitans
Obex
Inferior apex of the rhomboid fossa
Area postrema
tongue-shaped area by the obex, associate with nausea control, lies out of blood-brain barrier.
Paracentral lobule
a U-shaped gyrus surrounding central sulcus, lower limb of primary motor and somatic sensory areas of the cortex
Cingulate gyrus
Regulates emotions and pain, involved with predicting and avoiding negative consequences.
Medial geniculate nucleus
Relays info between auditory cortex and inferior colliculus.
Medial geniculate nucleus
Relays info between auditory cortex and inferior colliculus.
