Overview of the Human Nervous System, Organization of the Brain and Types of Neurotransmitters

Question 1

What are the three main groups of cells in the nervous system?

Answer 1

sensory, motor, and interneurons

Question 2

Interneurons are often involved in what?

Answer 2

reflexes

Question 3

True or False.

The spinal and cranial nerves are part of the peripheral nervous system.

Answer 3

true

Question 4

What neurotransmitter is the chief chemical for activating the parasympathetic nervous system?

Answer 4

acetylcholine

Question 5

What is the connective tissue called that covers the brain?

Answer 5

meninges

Question 6

What are the three layers of meninges, from outer to inner.

Answer 6

dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater

Question 7

What are some of the functions of the meninges?

Answer 7

protect the brain, anchor the brain, resorb CSF

Question 8

What are the three divisions of the brain (common names only)?

Answer 8

hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain

Question 9

What is the official name of the hindbrain?

Answer 9

rhombencephalon

Question 10

What parts of the brain make up the hindbrain?

Answer 10

medulla oblongata, pons, and cerebellum

Question 11

What is the official name of the medulla oblongata?

Answer 11

myelencephalon

Question 12

What is the function of the medulla oblongata?

Answer 12

regulate vital functions such as heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure

Question 13

What is the official name of the collective region of the pons and the cerebellum?

Answer 13

metencephalon

Question 14

What is the function of the cerebellum?

Answer 14

maintain posture and coordinate bodily movements

Question 15

What is the function of the pons?

Answer 15

relay sensory and motor information between the cortex and medulla

Question 16

What is the official name of the midbrain?

Answer 16

mesencephalon

Question 17

What is the main function of the midbrain?

Answer 17

coordination center of incoming sensory and motor information

Question 18

What are colliculi?

Answer 18

types of nuclei

Question 19

What does the inferior colliculi do?

Answer 19

receives sensory information from the auditory system

Question 20

What does superior colliculi?

Answer 20

receives sensory information from the visual system

Question 21

What is a neuropsychologist interested in finding out about the brain?

Answer 21

what parts of the brain do what function

Question 22

What is a cortical map?

Answer 22

a map that has figured out what each part of the cortex does

Question 23

What is an EEG?

Answer 23

an electroencephalogram, measures electrical activity in the brain and how brain cells communicate with each other

Question 24

What part of the human brain is the largest and most developed?

Answer 24

the forebrain

Question 25

What are the two developmental parts (official names) of the prosencephalon?

Answer 25

diencephalon and the telencephalon

Question 26

What is the function of the thalamus? What mesencephalon structures is it by?

Answer 26

it is a signal relay center that sends out signals to the cerebral cortex; it is located near midbrain colliculi.

Question 27

What is the difference between gray and white matter in the brain? Is the thalamus mostly made of gray or white matter?

Answer 27

gray matter is made of neuron cell bodies, while white matter is the myelinated sheaths; thalamus would be mostly be made of nuclei, so thus it is gray matter

Question 28

What are the three parts of the hypothalamus?

Answer 28

lateral hypothalamus, ventromedial hypothalamus, and the anterior hypothalamus

Question 29

What does the lateral hypothalamus do?

Answer 29

stimulates thirst and hunger

Question 30

What the ventromedial hypothalamus do?

Answer 30

stimulates satiety

Question 31

What does the anterior hypothalamus?

Answer 31

stimulates sexual arousal and awakeness

Question 32

What does the pituitary gland do?

Answer 32

release hypothalamic hormones

Question 33

What does the pineal gland do?

Answer 33

release melatonin

Question 34

What does melatonin do?

Answer 34

regulates circadian rhythms

Question 35

The diencephalon gives rise to what brain stuctures?

Answer 35

thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal gland

Question 36

The telencephalon gives rise to what brain structures?

Answer 36

basal ganglia, limbic system, and cerebral cortex

Question 37

What is the function of the basal ganglia?

Answer 37

coordinate muscle movement as they receive information from cerebral cortex

Question 38

What motor system do the basal ganglia use?

Answer 38

the extrapyramidal motor system

Question 39

What is a main difference that research has revealed regarding the cerebellum and basal ganglia?

Answer 39

cerebellum coordinates movements while being very dependent on visual cues (reason it is hard to balance when eyes are closed)

Question 40

What is the function of limbic system?

Answer 40

control emotion and memory

Question 41

What are the parts of the limbic system?

Answer 41

septal nuclei, amygdala, and hippocampus

Question 42

A patient who struggles with addiction likely has a dependency on stimulating what part of the limbic system too often?

Answer 42

septal nuclei

Question 43

What is the name of the projection that the hippocampus uses to interact with other portions of the limbic system?

Answer 43

fornix

Question 44

What does the amydala do?

Answer 44

promote defensive and agressive behaviors

Question 45

Describe what anterograde amnesia is in terms of memory loss.

Answer 45

"antero= going forward, a person can't remember things that occurred after an injury

Question 46

Describe what retrograde amnesia is in terms of memory loss.

Answer 46

a person loses memory of things that occurred before an injury, like childhood memories

Question 47

What are the four lobes of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 47

frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal

Question 48

What are the three main parts of the frontal lobe?

Answer 48

prefrontal cortex, primary motor cortex, and Broca's area

Question 49

What is the name of the indent the separates the front and parietal lobes?

Answer 49

central sulcus

Question 50

The central sulcus separates what two lobes?

Answer 50

the frontal and parietal

Question 51

What is the main part of the parietal lobe?

Answer 51

somatosensory cortex on post central gyrus

Question 52

What is the main part of the occipital lobe?

Answer 52

visual cortex

Question 53

What are the main parts of the temporal lobes?

Answer 53

auditory cortex and Wenicke's area

Question 54

True or False. It is a myth that there is a dominant hemisphere of the brain.

Answer 54

false

Question 55

What side of the brain is often considered to be the dominant hemisphere?

Answer 55

left

Question 56

What functions does the dominant hemisphere carry out?

Answer 56

analytical thinking, language production and comprehension, math skills, writing/reading

Question 57

What function does the nondominant hemisphere carry out?

Answer 57

intuition, creativity, facial recognition, music cognition, spatial processing, tone of voice recognition,

Question 58

What are some of the main neurotransmitters used to influence behavior?

Answer 58

acetylcholine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin

Question 59

True or False. Acetylcholine is found in both the CNS and PNS.

Answer 59

true

Question 60

What does acetylcholine do?

Answer 60

transmit nerve impulses in PNS muscles for voluntary movement, regulated arousal in CNS

Question 61

True or False. Epinephrine is found primarily in the sympathetic nervous system.

Answer 61

true

Question 62

What could low levels of norepinephrine lead to?

Answer 62

depression

Question 63

What does dopamine do? Where would it be found in the brain?

Answer 63

plays a role in smooth muscle movement and posture, found in basal ganglia

Question 64

What does serotonin do?

Answer 64

not entirely sure yet, likely mood, eating, sleeping, dreaming, social behavior (similar to norepinephrine)

Question 65

What does GABA do?

Answer 65

inhibits post-synaptic potentials by causing hyperpolarization, stabilizes neural activity

Question 66

What do endorphins do? What type of neurotransmitter is it?

Answer 66

painkiller, neuropeptie