Neurons and the Brain

Question 1

Central Nervous System (CNS) (Zentralnervensystem)

Answer 1

The CNS is the central information processing system formed by the brain and the spinal cord. It collects and distributes data throughout the body.

Question 2

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) (Peripheres Nervensystem)

Answer 2

The peripheral nervous system transmits signals between sensory organs, muscles and internal organs and the CNS.

Question 3

Cerebrum (Großhirn)

Answer 3

largest and uppermost portion of the brain and accounts for sensory integration, voluntary motion and higher-level cognitive functions. It is split into two hemispheres that are connected by the corpus callosum (Balken).

Question 4

Corpus callosum (Balken)

Answer 4

Connects two hemispheres of cerebrum (inner part)

Question 5

Cerebral cortex (Großhirnrinde) aka gray matter (graue Substanz)

Answer 5

Is the folded outer layer of the cerebrum that
is mainly comprised of cell bodies.

Question 6

white matter (weiße Substanz)

Answer 6

The inner part of the cerebrum, it is a core of nerve fibers that connect the cortical regions

Question 7

The surface of the cerebral cortex is
subdivided based on three anatomical
features

Answer 7

Gyri (sg. Gyrus) (Windungen)
Gyri are the crests (Kämme) formed by the
convoluted surface of the cerebral cortex.
Sulci (sg. Sulcus) (Furchen)
A sulcus is the fissure (Spalt) between two
neighboring sulci.
Lobes (Lappen)
On each hemisphere, two major sulci
divide the cerebral surface into a frontal,
parietal, temporal and occipital lobe

Question 8

Diencephalon (Zwischenhirn), four sub-structures

Answer 8

• Epithalamus: production of the hormone
  melatonin (biological clock)
• Thalamus: relay and distribution of sensory and
  motor signals to the different regions of the
  cerebral cortex
• Hypothalamus: Control of autonomic functions
  (temperature regulation, appetite), behavior, and
  hormone production
• Subthalamus

Question 9

Midbrain (Mesencephalon) (Mittelhirn)

Answer 9

The midbrain is involved in the control of eye movements (including visual reflexes for e.g. object tracking), auditory processing, and visual processing

Question 10

Pons

Answer 10

The pons is comprised of nerve fibers that connect the medulla oblongata and the cerebral cortex with the cerebellum. It further transmits sensory and motor signals between the brain and the facial region.

Question 11

Medulla Oblongata (Verlängertes Mark)

Answer 11

The medulla oblongata connects the brain with the spinal cord

Question 12

Autonomic Nervous System (Vegetatives
Nervensystem)

Answer 12

The autonomic nervous system is responsible for homeostasis (self-regulation) and operates largely unconsciously.

Question 13

Subsystems of Autonomic Nervous System

Answer 13

Sympathetic nervous system (Sympathikus):
connection of the internal organs to the brain; preparation of the organism for stress (e.g. increase of heart rate and blood flow to the muscles, sweating due to heat

Question 14

Parasympathetic nervous system (Parasympathikus)

Answer 14

mainly cranial nerves (Hirnnerven) and lumbar (Lenden-) spinal nerves (Rückenmarksnerven); sets the body to resting state and increases digestive functions

Question 15

Brain Networks as a network

Answer 15

The brain is a highly complex network of interconnected cells and modules

Connectivity is both static (anatomical connectivity) and dynamic (functional connectivity, dependent on the current cognitive task)

Brain networks can be described as graphs and analyzed with graph theory

Question 16

The endocrine system (Hormonsystem)

Answer 16

Regulatory systems that works in parallel to the nervous system by secreting hormones

Question 17

Myths about the Human Brain

Answer 17

Only ten percent of the brain are used
Every part of the brain is used but not all parts are used at once (which would result in epilepsy).

The brain does not produce new neurons in adults
In certain brain areas, new neurons are produced throughout life.

The size of the brain is related to intelligence
The brains of elephants and whales are much larger than those of humans

Question 18

The Encephalization Quotient

Answer 18

Measures brain size relative to body size across species

Question 19

PCA – A “Mapping” to the Nervous System in the Cycle of cognitive processing

Answer 19

Perception - Sensory Organs
Cognition - Brain
Action - Spinal Cord and Muscles

Question 20

Frontal lobe (Frontallappen)

Answer 20

short-term memory, action planning, movement control

Question 21

Parietal lobe (Scheitellappen)

Answer 21

somatic sensation, body image

Question 22

Occipital lobe (Hinterhauptlappen)

Answer 22

vision

Question 23

Temporal lobe (Schläfenlappen)

Answer 23

hearing, learning, memory, emotion

Question 24

Neocortex

Answer 24

Center of higher cognitive functions and intelligence

Question 25

Neocortex six layers

Answer 25

Layer I: Molecular Layer (Molekularschicht)
Dendrites of cells located in deeper layers and axons that travel through this layer in other areas of the cortex

Layer II: External Granular Cell Layer (äußere Körnerzellenschicht) Small pyramidal-shaped cells. Projections to other cells within the same and to other cortical areas.

Layer III: External Pyramidal Cell Layer (äußere Pyramidenschicht)
Similar to Layer II. However, neurons located deeper in the layer are “typically larger than those located more superficially.”

Layer IV: Internal Granule Cell Layer (innere Körnerzellenschicht) Large number of small spherical neurons.

Layer IV is the “main
recipient of sensory input from the thalamus” and sometimes divided into three sub-layers.

Layer V: Internal Pyramidal Cell Layer (innere Pyramidenschicht)Pyramidal cells that are large than those in

Layer III. Neurons in
this area project to other cortical areas and subcortical structures and form the major output pathways of the cortex.

Layer VI: Multiform Layer (multiforme Schicht) Layer with heterogeneous neurons which blends into the white
matter.

Question 26

Basal Ganglia (Basalganglien)

Answer 26

The basal ganglia are a group of nuclei (Kerne) (clusters of neurons) located beneath the cerebral cortex. The function of the basal ganglia is mainly related to the motor system where they are engaged in the planning, selection, execution and learning of actions.

Question 27

Hippocampus

Answer 27

The hippocampus is a brain region with a sea horse-like shape. It is involved in the formation of episodic long term memories.

Question 28

Amygdala

Answer 28

The amygdala is a group of nuclei related to the analysis of the emotional or motivational significance of stimuli.

Question 29

Distinctive Features of the Human Brain

Answer 29

Neuron morphology: the pyramidal neurons in the human cortex have the most elaborate and spine-rich dendritic trees

Electrical properties of neurons: the pyramidal neurons in the human cortex
have a very low membrane capacity, which significantly enhances signal transmission

Sequence processing: compared to other species, humans have superior capabilities of learning sequences of stimuli