Neurology Flashcards
What makes up the CNS
Central Nervous System
- Brain and spinal cord
What makes up the PNS
Peripheral Nervous System
-Lies outside the CNS
-Includes 12 cranial nerves, spinal nerves and root
Describe the sympathetic nervous system response
-Speeds up
-Fight or flight response and helps mobilise the body during activity
Describe the parasympathetic nervous system response
- Slows down
- Conserves energy and does housekeeping things whilst were at rest
Describe the Autonomic nervous system response
- Involuntary
- Does all the things that we need to be alive
Describe the brain
- Average weight of the human brain is 1.3kg
- Contains about 100 billion nerve cells connected to others
- Each groove in the brain separating the lobes is called gyrus.
- Hemispheric fissure divides the left and right brain
Describe the function of the frontal lobe
- Problem solving
- Emotional traits
- Reasoning (judgment)
- Speaking
- Voluntary motor activity
Describe the function of the Parietal Lobe
- Right from left
- Reading
- Sensation
- Body orientation
Describe the function of the temporal lobe
- Understanding language
- Behaviour
- Memory
- Hearing
Describe the function of the Occipital lobe
- Vision
- Colour
- Perception
Describe the function of the Cerebellum
- Balance
- Coordination and control of voluntary movement
- Fine muscular
Describe the function of the brainstem
- Breathing
- Body Temperature
- Digestion
- Alertness
Explian the structure and function spine
- Strong flexible column of ring- like bones
- Originates at the base of the pelvis
- Holds your body and head upright
- Protects the spinal cord
Explain the structure and function of the spinal cord
- Conducts motor information
- Down the spinal cord
- Sensory information travels up the spinal chord
- Centre for coordinating reflexes
Describe the Basal Ganglia
- Involved in the initiation, execution and regulation of gross intentional movements
- Provides the background postural tone that allows fine movements e.g. of the hand
- Inhibition of stretch reflexes to allow smooth movement
Describe the structure of Basal Ganglia
- Consists of 5 interconnecting nuclei
-Substantia nigra
-Subthalamic nucleus
-Globus pallidus
-Putamen
-Caudate nucleus
What does the Brain Stem consist of
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Medulla
What are the functions of the Brain Stem
-Alertness
-Arousal
-Breathing
-Blood Pressure
-Digestion
-Heart Rate and other Autonomic Functions
Describe the structure of the Pons
Contains
- Nuclei of cranial nerves including (V) Trigeminal nerve and (VIl) Facial nerve which are involved in swallowing and also (VIll) Vestbulocochlear nerve involved in balance
- Nuclei pontis - small masses of grey matter.
- Longitudinal fires - corticopontine & corticospinal tracts
Describe the structure of the Medulla Oblongata
Contains
- Olivary nucleus
- Decussation of sensory and motor tracts
- Visceral motor nuclei controlling autonomic activities / homeostasis
What are the parts of the spinal cord
Segmented
-Cervical
-Thoracic
-Lumbar
-Sacral
What is the spinal tract separated into
- Corticospinal
- Vestibulospinal Trait
- Dorsal column
- Spiniocerebellar
Define the spinal tracts
Groups of axons found in the white matter columns of the spinal cord that carry specific information
What do the ascending tracts do
- Carry sensory information up the spinal cord to areas of the brain
What do the descending tracts do
- Carry motor information from the brain down to specific levels of the spinal cord
What are the main ascending spinal tracts
Anterior and lateral spinothalamic tract
Fasciculus Gracilis and Fasciclus Cuneatus
Spino Cerebellar tract
Describe the ascending tract Anterior and lateral spinothalamic tract
- Carry conscious pain, temperature, crude touch and pressure
- Carry info to the thalamus, then terminates to cerebral cortex
Describe the ascending Fasciculus Gracilis and Fasciclus Cuneatus
- Carry discriminative touch
- Goes to medulla where synapses cross
- Thalamus then to cerebral cortex for perception
Describe the ascending Spino Cerebellar tract
- Carries unconscious proprioception (muscle sense)
- Fibres cross, don’t cross and innervate on same side of cerebellum
What are the main descending spinal tracts
Anterial and lateral corticospinal
Extrapyramidal tracts (subcortical)
Describe the descending Anterial and lateral corticospinal
- corticospinal originate in cerebral cortex
- Lateral crosses in medulla in area called pyramids
- Anterior doesnt cross
-called ‘upper motor neurones’
Describe the descending Extrapyramidal tracts
- balance and muscle tone
What are Dermatomes
- areas of skin on your body that rely on specific nerve connections on your spine
What are Myotomes
- the group of muscles that a single spinal nerve innervates (supplies with nerves)
What are the 4 types of neurones
- Bipolar
- Unipolar
- Multipolar
- Pyramidal
What impacts nerve conduction
- Myelin = Gilia cells wrap around nerve axon
= Facilitate electrical current flow - Nerve Diameter = Larger diameter is associated with increased conduction velocity
- Neurotransmitters = Diffuse across synapse and binds with postsynaptic membrane
Describe the structure of an axon
- Dendrites
- Nucleus
- Mitochondria
- Cell body
How do neurones communicate with eachother
- Synaptic junctions
- Saltatory conduction
- All or nothing response
- Chemical synapses
Define reflexes
Involuntary movement response to a stimulus
What is stretch reflex
muscles contract in response to stretch
What do the muscle spindles do
- Responds to stretch
- sensory neurone synapses and motor neurones in spinal cord
- innervates the muscle which muscle spindle is embedded
