Neuroanatomy

Question 1

Sensory neurons

Answer 1

Carry messages from sensory organs (eyes, ears, skin, etc.) to CNS

Question 2

CNS + PNS

Answer 2

CNS –> Central Nervous System
PNS –> Peripheral Nervous System

Question 3

Motor Neurons

Answer 3

Carry messages from motor cortex to voluntary muscle fibers

Question 4

In the brain:
- Dorsal
- Ventral
- Rostral
- Caudal
- Medial

Answer 4

• Superior - up
• Inferior - down
• Anterior - front
• Posterior - back
• Midline

Question 5

In spinal cord/brain stem:
- Dorsal
- Ventral

Answer 5

• Back
• Front

Question 6

Parts of brainstem

Answer 6

Medulla, Pons, Reticular formation

Question 7

Medulla

Answer 7

Heartrate, blood pressure, respiration

Question 8

Pons

Answer 8

Sleeping & dreaming, breathing, arousal

Question 9

Reticular formation

Answer 9

Consiousness, gating of incoming sensory information

Question 10

Cerebellum

Answer 10

Important for fine motor coordination, learning and memory

Regulates movements requiring precise timing

Question 11

Midbrain

Answer 11

Considered part of the brain stem

Contains important brain regions (nuclei) for motor planning and execution

Question 12

Thalamus

Answer 12

Classically kown as the “switchboard” of the CNS

Relays incoming signals from sensory neurons to correspondingareas of the brain (mostly in cerebrum)

Question 13

Hypothalamus

Answer 13

Role in motivation and emotion

Controls the secretion of hormones into the bloodstream via the pituitary gland

Question 14

Pituitary gland

Answer 14

Brain’s portal to the neuroendocrine system

Releases hormones that regulate other glands

Hormones regulate sexual behavior, metabolism, stress response, pleasure, pain

Question 15

Hippocampus

Answer 15

Part of the limbic system

Critical for:
- Memory encoding and retrieval
- Spatial orientation
- Contextual mapping

Question 16

Amygdala

Answer 16

Part of the limbic system

Motivational and emotional response to environmental stressors

Agression and fear

Question 17

Corpus callosum

Answer 17

A region containing “white matter” fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

Dissection/agenesis leads to “split brain syndrome”

Question 18

Gyrus and Sulcus

Answer 18

The gyri are the ridges and sulci are the grooves that appear on the wrinkled surface of the brain

Question 19

Four lobes

Answer 19

• Frontal lobe
• Parietal lobe
• Occipital lobe
• Temporal lobe

Question 20

Association areas

Answer 20

Areas that, when stimulated, do not cause sensory or motor reactions

Question 21

General idea association areas

Answer 21

Process assocations (relationships) between one (unimodal) or multiple (multimodal) sensory and/or motor representations

Question 22

Grey matter

Answer 22

Contains the somata (cell bodies) of neurons

Question 23

White matter

Answer 23

Contains the axonal projections of neurons

Question 24

Soma

Answer 24

The neuronal cell body, containing its nucleas and essential organelles

Question 25

Dendrites

Answer 25

Specialized receiving units that collect messages from neighboring neurons and send them to the cell body

Question 26

Axon

Answer 26

Conducts electrical impulses from the soma to distal target regions such as other neurons or muscle cells

Question 27

Myelin sheath

Answer 27

A layer of fatty tissue that surrounds and insulates the axon, improving its transmission efficiency

Question 28

Axon terminals

Answer 28

End points of the axon, where electrical impulses typically release chemical signals

Question 29

Sensory areas Cerebral cortex

Answer 29

• Somatic sensory cortex –> body sensations
• Pimary auditory cortex –> surrounded by higer-order auditory cortex (hearing)
• Primary visual cortex –> surrounded by higer-order visual cortex (sight)

Question 30

Motor areas cerebral cortex

Answer 30

Primary motor cortex –> voluntary movement