Neurons, PNS and CNS Flashcards
What does the peripheral nervous system consist of
Somatic and Autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system nerves
- Transmit messages for motor movement from the CNS to the body
- Convey sensory information to the CNS.
What does the autonomic nervous system
sends and receives messages that regulate automatic behaviours e.g. breathing
what does the autonomic nervous system split into
the sympathetic and parasympathetic
What is the CNS
consists of the brain and spinal cord
what are the three sections of the brain
forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain
what does the hindbrain consist of
medulla, pons and cerebellum
what does the medulla do
- -1. Regulates our cardiovascular and respiratory systems (heartbeat, blood circulation and breathing rate).
- Responsible for reflexes such as swallowing, coughing & sneezing, vomiting).
- Maintaining body balance by controlling head and limbs position with respect to gravity.
- Responsible for reflexes such as swallowing, coughing & sneezing, vomiting).
what does the pons do
- Integrates information from movements of and sensations from facial muscles, tongue, eye and ear.
2. Involved in regulating brain attentiveness levels and in initiating sleep and dreaming.
- Integrates information from movements of and sensations from facial muscles, tongue, eye and ear.
what does the cerebellum do
- Fine control and coordination of balance and movements using the information from muscles, joints and tendons. (it’s a big job, hence its size; it contains over 30 billion neurons.
what is the forebrain
- most anterior and prominent part of the brain - contains two cerebral hemispheres
- Consists of visible outer cortex and underneath those, subcortical regions
- Each hemisphere receives sensory information and controls motor movement from the opposite (contralateral) side of the body.
describe the cerebral cortex
- contains up to six thin layers that are parallel to the surface of the cortex.
Cells of the cortex are also divided into columns that lie perpendicular to the laminae
what lobes is the cortex divided into
occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal.
what is the thalamus
contains a large number of relay centres conveying nearly all the sensory information to the cortex (e.g. from the eyes - LGN)
what is the hypothalamus
relatively small but important: 1) controls the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. 2) organises the basic behaviour for survival: fighting, feeding, fleeing
what is the limbic system
- This is an important set of interconnecting structures, surrounding the thalamus and lying just under the cortex.
- It includes structures such as the amygdala and the hippocampus and has neural links to the hypothalamus and the cortex.
It is involved in emotional and motivational activities as well as in some aspects of learning and memory
- It includes structures such as the amygdala and the hippocampus and has neural links to the hypothalamus and the cortex.
