Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What is the dorsal view?
Viewing an object from above
What is the ventral view?
Viewing an object from below
What is the lateral view?
Viewing an object from the side
What is the medial view?
Viewing an object through a middle cross section
What does ipsilateral mean?
same side
What does contralateral mean?
opposite side
What are the parts of the CNS common to all mammals?
Cerebrum (cortex), cerebellum, brain stem
What are the main divisions of the forebrain?
Telencephalon & diencephalon
What are the ventricles in the forebrain?
Lateral ventricles (two on top), third ventricle (in the middle)
What are the gray matter structures of the forebrain?
Cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal telencephalon
Precentral gyrus
What are the white matter structures of the forebrain?
Corpus callosum, cortical white matter, internal capsule
What is the defining feature of the human brain vs the rodent brain?
The gyri and sulci in human, bigger olfactory bulbs in mouse
What is the difference between an ipsilateral and contralateral side?
Ipsilateral is same side, contralateral is opposite
Is stroke damage shown on the ipsilateral or contralateral side?
Contralateral
What is diastasis?
The changing of positions of areas in the brain to make up for deficits
Roughly how many cells are found in the brain?
85 million
What is the intelligence and advancement of humans explained?
It is due to the number of connections within the brain
What fissure is the most visually obvious?
The Sagittal fissure
What is the biggest white matter structure in the telencephalon?
The corpus callosum
What is the role of the white matter internal capsule?
It relays information from the cortex to the thalamus and down the spinal cord
What is a gyrus and sulcus?
A gyrus is a rise, and a sulcus is a fold
What are the important gyri and sulci?
The lateral fissure, central sulcus
The superior temporal gyrus, precentral and postcentral gyri
What brain structure is the precentral gyrus close to compared to the postcentral?
The frontal cortex
What are the two types of stroke?
Ischemic - clot
Hemorrhagic - bleed from aneurysm
What are the cortex lobes?
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, insula (deep)
Name the areas of the frontal cortex in a counter clockwise direction starting at the precentral gyrus
Primary motor cortex, Premotor cortex, Frontal eye field, Prefrontal cortex, Broca’s area
What side of the brain is Broca’s area on and what does it control?
It is on the left side and controls speech muscles
What is the role of the parietal cortex?
Somatosensory cortex and proprioception in space
Name the areas of the parietal lobe functional areas going clockwise starting at the postcentral gyrus
The primary somatosensory cortex, somatosensory associated cortex, posterior association area
What is the role of the somatosensory associated cortex?
The processing and analyzing and memory of sensations
What is the role of the posterior association area?
It is where different sensory systems meet, and also is involved in proprioception
Where are the primary and associated visual cortices found?
Primary visual is the most posterior, and associated is slightly more frontal
What is the role of the temporal lobe?
Olfaction and auditory sensing.
What are the areas of the temporal lobe from superior to inferior?
Wernicke’s area, primary auditory cortex, auditory association area, olfactory and association cortex
What is the insular cortex responsible for?
Taste, visceral sensation, autonomic control, equilibrium
What has happened to primary sensory areas over time?
They take up less brain space and associated areas take up more
In a medial sagittal slice of the brain, what is the big white matter structure in the middle, and what is directly superior to it?
The corpus callosum is in the middle and the cingulate gyrus is above it
Name and describe the information pathway of the hippocampus
The trisynaptic pathway involves information coming in the entorhinal cortex, axons from the DG synapsing (mossy fibers) onto pyramidal CA3 neurons, which synapse(Schaffer collaterals) onto CA1 pyramidal neurons
What is the limbic system circuit responsible for memories?
Pepez circuit
What is at the top of the fornix cycle and what is in the cycle?
The neocortex has an information pathway to the cingulate cortex, which in involved in a cycle with the hippocampus, hypothalamus (through the fornix), and the Anterior nuclei of the thalamus
What is in the diencephalon?
The thalamus and hypothalamus
What two parts of the thalamus will we be expected to know visually?
The Medial geniculate body and the lateral geniculate body
Is the tectum or tegmentum more dorsal?
The tectum
Is the pons or medulla more superior?
The pons
What are the important function of the two major tectum subdivisions?
Superior colliculus - Orienting/eye movements
Inferior colliculus - auditory response
What are the roles of the tegmentum?
Motor, attention, ANS
What are important parts of the tegmentum?
cerebral aqueduct, substantia nigra, periaqueductal grey, red nucleus, reticular formation
What is the role of the pons?
Cortex to medulla connection
What is the role of the medulla
autonomic functions
What is the specialized tissue in the ventricles that secretes CSF?
The choroid plexus
What are the two important nerves in the CNS?
The olfactory and optic nerves (sensory only)
How many cranial nerves are there?
12
What subsection of the nervous system are the 10 cranial nerves we don’t need to know from?
The PNS
