Nueroanatomy Flashcards
Sagittal Plane
Brain view, shark fin head on
Encephalization Quotient
Size of animals brain relative to their body
Coronal(transverse/frontal)
Across the brain, opposite to horizontal
Horizontal
Horizontal
Gray Matter
Cell bodies of neurons
White Matter
their axons
Inside the CNS
Nucleus: bundle of cell bodies
Tract: bundle of axons
Outside the CNS
Ganglion: bundle of cell bodies
Nerve: bundle of axons
What are the two major blood suppliers to the brain?
Vertebral (back)
Internal Carotid (front)
Interruptions to blood supply
thrombosis or embolism: clot
hemorrhage: bleeding
aneurysms: vascular dilations
tumors, head injury, anoxia
Outer skull layer, thick
Dura Mater
Middle layer
Arachnoid
-overlays arachnoid space (CSF)
-blood vessels run through arachnoid layer
Inner layer
Pia mater
-overlies every detail of the outer brain
Smaller central grooves in cerebral cortex
Sulci
Larger lateral grooves in cerebral cortex
Fissures
What are the four lobes of the brain?
frontal- planning
temporal- auditory
parietal- spatial abilities + somatosensation
occipital- vision
What parts is the brain stem comprised of, and what is its purpose?
Medulla, pons, and midbrain
Homeostasis and survival functions
what is the purpose of the cerebellum?
Coordinates movement, balance, posture, and motor learning
Hippocampus?
Learning and memory
Thalamus?
Relay station of senses (except olfaction)
What are the two parts of the Peripheral Nervous System, and what is the PNS?
The PNS is nerves and ganglia outside of the CNS
Somatic (voluntary)
-controls muscle action
-receives information from sensory organs
Autonomic (involuntary)
-Smooth and cardiac muscle, and glands
-parasympathetic: conserves energy
-sympathetic: expends energy
What are the two parts of the autonomic nervous system, and what are they associated with?
Sympathetic division
-energy expenditure
-fight or flight
-stimulates blood flow to muscles
-secretion of epinephrine
-piloerection(hairs stand on end)
Parasympathetic division
-energy conservation
-salivation, gastric mobility, digestive enzymes, blood flow to G.I.
Two kinds of cell specilization?
Glial cells
neurons
What are glial cells
CNS support cells
-Physical support
-Nutrient flow
-Nerve “housekeeping”
-Serves as the brain’s immune system
-Enhance conduction of nerve signals
What are the components of a neuron?
Soma- body
Neurites- any process that extends from cell body: axon(conducting fiber) and dendrites(receivers)
Node of ranvier: periodic gap in myelin sheath
nucleus
Terminal buttons
What is action potential?
stereotyped change in membrane potential: many positive ions flow through voltage-gated channels
Where/How does AP occur?
Down axons
Has fixed velocity and amplitude
depolarizes each successive patch of membrane
Process that speeds up velocity for AP
Saltatory conduction
What happens when an AP arrives at the end of an axon?
Reaches synapse(physical gap between pre and post-synaptic membranes)
Triggers release of neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft: converts electrical signal into chemical signal
Exocytosis
Vesicles fuse with membrane, leading to communication between neurons where neurotransmitters in vesicles cross the “gap”
What happens to receiving cell?
Change in membrane potential occurs
Thickening and small indentations
What are the two types of Postsynaptic potentials? (PSP)
Excitatory(EPSP): depolarization of Mp
Inhibitory(IPSP): hyperpolarization of Mp
Learning at the neural level
Synapses used frequently over time get stronger
Use precipitates chemical changes in the pre and post-synaptic neuron that facilitates communication
More NT released, more receptors
THE NEURON CHANGES AS A FUNCTION OF EXPERIENCE
Multiple Sclerosis
Damage to myelin sheath that covers axons
Parkinson disease
Damage to dopamine secreting neurons in basal ganglia(midbrain) that control movement
