Neuroanatomy Flashcards
Prosencephalon
Forebrain: telencephalon + diencephalon
Telencephalon includes what structures of the brain?
- Amygdala
- Basal ganglia
- Cerebrum
- Hippocampus
Dicencephalon includes what structures of the brain?
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Subthalamus
- Epithalamus
Mesenchephalon
Midbrain: tectum + Tegmentum
Tectum includes what structures of the CNS?
Superior and Inferior colliculi
Tegmentum includes what structures of the CNS?
- Cerebral aqueduct
- Periaqueductal gray
- Reticular formation
- Substantia nigra
- Red nucleus
Rhombencephalon
Hindbrain: Metencephalon + Myelencephalon
Metencephalon includes what structures of the CNS?
Cerebellum
Pons
Myelencephalon include what structures of the brain?
Medulla Oblongata
What does the brainstem consist of ?
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Medulla Oblongata
What are 3 characteristics of the Spinal Cord?
- All levels
- Afferent and efferent tracts
- Inner core of gray matter and superficial white mater
What is gray matter?
1 consists of UNMYELINATED neurons
- Contains capillaries, glial Cells, cell bodies, and dendrites
What is white matter?
- Consists of MYELINATED axons
2. Contains never fibers W/O dendrites
Name the lobes of the brain.
- Frontal
- Parietal
- Temporal
- Occipital
How many spinal nerves exit the vertebral column through the intervertebral foramina?
31 pairs of spinal nerves
- 8 cervical
- 12 thoracic
- 5 lumbar
- 5 sacral
- 1 coccygeal
In the PNS, bundles of nerve fibers + axons are supported by _________ fibers and conductor information to the ________.
- Connective fibers
2. CNS
T or F: PNS nerves although encased in fibrous sheaths, are relatively unprotected.
True
How many roots do spinal nerves have?
- (Anterior and a posterior root)
What does the anterior root carry?
Anterior roots carry MOTOR information AWAY from the CNS (efferent fibers)
What does a posterior root carry?
Carries information regarding SENSATION to the CNS (afferent fibers)
What are ganglia?
Clusters or swellings of cells that give rise to the peripheral and central nerve fibers
What are ganglia divided into?
Sensory ganglia and autonomic ganglia
What are the two subcategories of the ANS?
- Sympathetic Nervous system
2. Parasympathetic Nervous System
What does the sympathetic division do?
Prepares the body for emergency response; generally stimulating response
What is another name for the sympathetic nervous system and what neurotransmitter is released?
Flight or Fight
Neuroepinephrine
What is the responsibility of the parasympathetic nervous system?
Conserving and restoring energy; generally inhibitory response
What is another name for the parasympathetic nervous system and what neurotransmitter is released?
Rest + digest; Acetylcholine
T or F: The ANS automatically contains portions of the CNS + PNS
True
What is the ANS concerned with?
Concerned with innervation for involuntary processes, glands, internal organs, and smooth muscle
The emphasis of the ANS is?
Homeostasis and a person’s response to stress
What does the Somatic Nervous system (SNS) involve?
Peripheral + motor nerve fibers
What doe peripheral nerve fibers send?
Sensory information to the CNS
Motor nerve fibers send information where?
Skeletal muscles
Somatic motor neurons travel directly to _______ with out intervening ________.
Skeletal muscles + Synapses
T or F: Only some nerve fibers are myelinated in the SNS?
F: ALL nerve fibers are myelinated
What does the SNS control?
Controls voluntary movements and provides the ability to sense touch, smell, sight, taste , and sound
What are all five sense influenced by?
Somatic Nervous system
What does the limbic system consist of?
- Corpus callosum
- Olfactory tract
- Mammillary bodies
- Fornix
- Thalamic nuclei
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus
- Parahippocampal gyrus
- Cingulate gyrus
- Hypothalamic nuclei
What is does the limbic system control?
- Involved in the control + expression of mood and emotion
- Processing and storage of recent memory
- Olfaction
- Control of appetite
5 emotional response to food
What can lesions to the limbic system result in?
Result in a variety of behaviors including:
- Aggression
- Extreme fearfulness
- Alternated sexual behavior
- Changes in motivation
What are a few examples of ANS disorders?
- Constipation
- Erectile dysfunction
- Horner’s Syndrome
- vasovagal syncope
- Orthostatic hypotension
- Postural tachycardia syndrome
What does the ANS influence?
- All internal organs
- Blood vessels
- Pupils and muscles of the eye
- Sweat
- Salivary + digestive glands
What does ANS control?
- BP
- Heart + breathing rates
- Body temperature
- Digestion
- Metabolism
- Electrolyte Balance
- Production of salvia
- Sweat/tears
- Urination/defecation
- Sexual response
- Other bodily processes
What is the largest division of the human brain?
Prosencephalon (forebrain)
What are the left and right hemispheres joined by?
White matter known as the corpus callosum
What is the purpose of the corpus callosum?
Relays information form one side of the brain to the other side.
What is the outer surface of the cerebrum called?
Gray matter
What is the interior of the cerebrum called?
White matter.
What fissure separates the two cerebral hemispheres?
Inter-hemispheric fissure (medial longitudinal)
The anterior portion of which fissure separates the temporal and frontal lobes?
Sylvian fissure (lateral)
What portion of the Sylvian fissure separates the temporal and parietal lobes?
Posterior portion
Which sulcus separates the frontal and parietal lobes laterally?
Central sulcus (sulcus of Rolando)
What sulcus separates the parietal and occipital lobes medially?
Pareto-occipital sulcus
What sulcus separates the occipital lobe into superior and inferior halves?
Calcarine sulcus
What does the LEFT brain specialize/dominant?
- Language/Understand language
- Sequence + performance movements
- Produce written + spoken language
- Analytical
- Controlled
- Logical
- Rational
- Mathematical calculations
- Express positive emotions (love + happiness)
- Process verbally coded information in an organized, logical, and sequential manner
What does the RIGHT brain specialize/dominate?
- Nonverbal processing
- Process Information in a holistic manner
- Artistic abilities
- general concept comprehension
- Hand-eye coordination
- Spatial relationships
- Kinesthetic awareness
- Understand music
- Understand nonverbal communication
- Mathematical reasoning
- Express negative emotions
12 body image awareness
Where is the hippocampus located?
Embedded within the lower temporal lobe
What is the hippocampus responsible for?
Process of forming and storing new memories of one’s personal history and other declarative memory
What is the hippocampus also important for?
Learning language
Why is the hippocampus known as the “memory indexer?”
Sends memories to appropriate areas of the cerebral hemispheres for long-term stargaze and retrieves memories when needed
Where is the basal ganglia located?
Gray matter masses located deep within the white matter of the cerebrum
What is the basal ganglia made up of?
- Caudate
- putamen
- globus pallidus
- Substantia nigra
- subthalmic nuclei
What are the basal ganglia responsible for?
- Voluntary movement
- Regulation of autonomic movement
- Posture
- muscle tone
- Control of motor responses
Basal ganglia dysfunction has been associated with what diseases?
- PD
- HD
- Tourette’s syndrome
- ADD (attention-deficit disorder)
- OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)
- Many addictions
Where is the amygdala located?
The small, almond-shaped nucleus is located within the temporal lobes of each hemisphere of the brain.
Lies adjacent to the hippocampus; just beneath the surface of the front medial portion of the temporal lobe
Positioning leads to a bulge on the surface called the uncus
What is the main function of the amygdala?
Emotional and social processing.
Involved with fear + pleasure responses, arousal, processing of memory + the formation of emotional memories
What area of the brain do the major motor and sensory tracts synapse?
Diencephalon (located beneath the cerebral hemispheres)
The diencephalon acts as an interactive site b/t what systems?
CNS
endocrine system
Complements the Limbic system
What purpose does the thalamus serve?
Major relay/processing station for the majority of information that goes to the cerebral cortex
What does the thalamus do?
It coordinates sensory perception + movment with other parts of the brain + spinal cord that also have a role in sensation and movment
Where does the thalamus receive information from?
From the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and all sensory pathways except for olfactory tract.
Then relays the information to the appropriate association cortex
What can damage to the thalamus result in?
Thalamic pain syndrome
What is thalamic pain syndrome?
There is spontaneous pain on the contralateral side of the body to the thalamic lesion
What is the purpose of the hypothalamus?
Receives and integrates infomration from the ANS and assists in regulating hormones
What does the hypothalamus control?
Controls functions such as hunger, thirst, sexual behind, and sleeping
What does the hypothalamus regulate?
- Body temperature
- The adrenal glands
- Pituitary gland
Where is the hypothalamus located?
Below the thalamus at teh base of the diencephalon
What can lesions to this area produce?
Based on the extent of the lesion can affect obesity, sexual disinterest, poor temperature control and diabetes insipidus
Where is the subthalamus located?
Located b/t the thalamus + hypothalamus
What is the subthalamus important for?
regulates movements produced by the skeletal muscles. It has association with the basal ganglia and Substantia nigra
What is the epithalamus represented by?
The pineal Gand
What does the Epithalamus do?
The pineal gland secretes melatonin and is involved in circadian rhythms, the internal clock, selected regulation of motor pathways and emotions
Associated with the limbic system and basal ganglia
Where is the mesencephalon (midbrain) located?
1 of 3 components of the brainstem
Located at the base of the brain above the spinal cord
What connects the forebrain to the hindbrain and funds as a really area for information passing from cerebrum, cerebellum and spinal cord?
Midbrain (mesencephalon)
The midbrain (mesenchephalon) is also a reflex center for what?
Reflex center for visual, auditory, and tactile responses
Where is the cerebellum (mesenchephalon) located?
At the posterior of the brain below the occipital lobes and is separated from the cerebrum by the tentorium
What is the cerebellum responsible for?
For the fine tuning of the movement and assists with maintaining posture and balance by controlling muscle tone and positioning of the extremities in space
T or F: the cerebellum controls the ability to perform rapid alternation movements
True
The cerebellum consists of two hemispheres of gray matter and is divided into three lobes; name the lobes.
- Posterior
- Anterior
- Flocculonodular lobes, wit the fourth ventricles lying Anterior to the lobes
What will damage to one side of the cerebellum produce?
Ipsilateral impairment to the body.
What might cerebellar lesions result in?
- Ataxia
- Nystagmus
- Tremor
- Hypermetria
- Poor coordination
- Deficits in postural reflexes/balance
- Equilibrium deficits depending on the area of cerebellar lesions
Where is the pons located?
Below the midbrain and superior to the medulla Oblongata
What is the role of the pons?
Assists with regulation of respiration rate and is associated with Orientation of the head in relation to visual and auditory stimuli
What cranial nerves originate from the Pons?
V-VII
Where is the medulla Oblongata located?
Cone-shaped entity connects to the pons superiorly and the spinal cord inferiorly
Composed of white matter on surface; gray matter inferiorly
What is the roll of the medulla Oblongata?
influences autonomic Nervous activity and the regulation of respiration and heart rate
Reflex centers for vomiting, coughing, and sneezing found here
Damage to the motor tracts crossing within the medulla cause _________ impairment
Contralateral
What is the medulla also responsible for?
Relaying somatic sensory information from internal organs and for the control of arousal and sleep
What cranial nerves originate from the medulla Oblongata?
IX, X, XI and XII
Where is the brainstem located?
In front of the cerebellum with connection to the spinal cord.
What three structures does the brainstem consist of?
- Pons
- Midbrain
- Medulla Oblongata
What is the role of the brainstem?
Works as a relay station sending messages b/t various parts of the body and the cerebral cortex.
T or F: Many of the primitive functions that are essential for survival (regulation of HR and RR) are located within the brainstem
True
What system is found within the brainstem?
Reticular Activating system
What does severe damage to brainstem often result in?
“Brain death” secondary to key functions that are controlled within this care
*several cranial nerves originate on brainstem
