Overview of the nervous system

Question 1

What can the human nervous system be broken down into?

Answer 1

the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system

Question 2

What does the central nervous system consist of?

Answer 2

the brain and the spinal cord

Question 3

What is the brain?

Answer 3

a bunch of several structures that include the cerebrum (the left and right hemisphere), the spinal cord, and the cerebellum

Question 4

What is the cranium?

Answer 4

the place that encases or holds the brain

Question 5

What is the spinal cord?

Answer 5

part of the brain; it connects the brain and body; the brainstem that passes through the foramen magnum

Question 6

What is gray matter?

Answer 6

cell bodies or nuclei that process information in the brain; it makes up the cortex or outer layer of the brain; look dark in dissections

Question 7

What is white matter?

Answer 7

extensions of the gray matter that transmit signals from one cell to another; A.K.A CNS tissues made up of axons that are covered by myelin; Appears light in dissection.

Question 8

What structures protect the brain and spinal cord?

Answer 8

cerebrospinal fluid, meninges, and bony encasing

Question 9

What is CSF?

Answer 9

fluid found in the ventricles of the brain and spinal cord; it protects and nourishes the brain

Question 10

What are the meninges?

Answer 10

set of 3 tissue layers that cover the brain and spinal cord and have space for CSF to be in

Question 11

The _____ protects the brain and the ______ protects the spinal cord.

Answer 11

cranium; vertebral column

Question 12

What is the PNS?

Answer 12

nerves that leave the brain and spinal cord and go to the body’s muscles, tissues, and organs in order to innervate them.

Question 13

What nerves make up the PNS?

Answer 13

12 cranial nerves that innervate the head and neck and 31 pairs of spinal nerves that innervate body parts below the neck

Question 14

What can the PNS be divided into?

Answer 14

autonomic and somatic

Question 15

What is the autonomic nervous system?

Answer 15

one part of the peripheral nervous responsible for unconscious control of body systems. Has two parts: sympathetic or fight or flight and parasympathetic (Rest and digest)

Question 16

What is the somatic nervous system?

Answer 16

One part of the peripheral nervous system responsible for voluntary body movements and bodily sensation.

Question 17

What three areas does the cortex (outer layer of the brain) consist of?

Answer 17

primary, secondary (association), and tertiary (heteromodal)

Question 18

What is somatotopy?

Answer 18

a term that describes the arrangement of primary motor and sensory areas; these areas are organized by the parts of the body (soma) that they control.

Question 19

Why are the hands, lips, and mouth of the homunculus so big?

Answer 19

There are many brain cells controlling those areas.

Question 20

What is tonotopy?

Answer 20

a term used to state that the regions within the auditory system are organized based on the pitch of a sound.

Question 21

What is retinotopy?

Answer 21

a term used to state that regions in the visual cortex are arranged based on where the image hits the retina.

Question 22

What is a gyrus?

Answer 22

a hill or ridge; a.k.a convolution (plural form is gyri)

Question 23

What is a sulcus?

Answer 23

valley or enfolding (plural form is sulci)

Question 24

What is a fissure?

Answer 24

a valley or enfolding; usually deeper than a sulcus

Question 25

What is cortex?

Answer 25

outer layer of gray matter that covers the hemispheres

Question 26

What is a nucleus?

Answer 26

bunch of cell bodies; a term used to describe structures in the central nervous system; plural form is nuclei

Question 27

What is a ganglion?

Answer 27

bunch of cell bodies; term used to describe structures in the peripheral nervous system; plural form is ganglia

Question 28

What is a fasciculus?

Answer 28

a group of axons

Question 29

What is a commissure?

Answer 29

band of fibers/axons that connect the two sides of the nervous system

Question 30

What is a projection tract?

Answer 30

group of axons that begin in the brain and extend outside of it, such as the spinal cord

Question 31

What is an association tract?

Answer 31

group of axons within the hemisphere; they connect lobes to each other or gyri to each other within a lobe

Question 32

What are the two categories of cells in the nervous system?

Answer 32

neurons and glial cells

Question 33

What do glial cells do?

Answer 33

they provide structure, protection, and management of waste

Question 34

What are the parts of a neuron?

Answer 34

soma or cell body, dendrites, axon, axon hillock, axon terminal,

Question 35

What is a synapse?

Answer 35

The point where neurons communicate

Question 36

______ are the areas that are the core and initial location of processing

Answer 36

Primary areas

Question 37

_______ are the areas where further processing of input occurs; multiple aspects of signals and integration across modalities is combined.

Answer 37

Secondary (association) areas

Question 38

______ are the areas that are characterized by multimodal inputs and functions, such as the prefrontal cortex.

Answer 38

Tertiary (heteromodal) areas

Question 39

What landmark in the brain separates the left and right hemispheres?

Answer 39

sagital sulcus a.k.a. longitudinal fissure

Question 40

What lobes does the sylvian fissure a.k.a lateral sulcues separate?

Answer 40

temporal lobe inferiorly from the frontal lobes and superiorly from the parietal lobes

Question 41

Deep in the sylvian fissure is the ________

Answer 41

insula

Question 42

What landmarks are on the lateral surface of the brain?

Answer 42

central sulcus or sulcus of Rolando; sylvian fissure; insula; pre-central gyrus and post-central gyrus

Question 43

What landmarks are on the medial surface of the brain?

Answer 43

cingulate gyrus, thalamus, corpus callosum, septum pellucidum, hypothalamus, calcarine sulcus

Question 44

What are the three regions that the frontal lobes are divided by functionally?

Answer 44

anterior or prefrontal region (a.k.a. prefrontal cortex); posterior frontal region; posterior part of the inferior frontal gyrus or the frontal operculum

Question 45

What is the function of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 45

executive functions, such as working memory, problem-solving, reasoning, and planning

Question 46

What is the function of the posterior region of the frontal lobe?

Answer 46

Has the motor cortices (supplementary motor areas, premotor area, and primary motor area)

Question 47

What is the function of posterior portion of the inferior frontal gyrus?

Answer 47

basic language expression

Question 48

Where is the primary motor area found?

Answer 48

within the pre-central gyrus

Question 49

What are the functions of the parietal lobes?

Answer 49

awareness of one's body in space; processing of senses and attention; awareness of one's body i.e. knowing that you are tall or short, fat or skinny, etc.

Question 50

What is one function of the temporal lobe?

Answer 50

language comprehension

Question 51

What is the primary function of the basal ganglia?

Answer 51

motor control

Question 52

The _______ is the primary auditory processing area.

Answer 52

transverse gyrus or Heschl gyrus, located in the anterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus

Question 53

Where is the hippocampus located? What is its function?

Answer 53

Deep to the parahippocampal gyrus in the medial region; it turns short-term memory into long-term memory.

Question 54

What is the fusiform gyrus, where it is located, and what is its purpose?

Answer 54

Also known as the occipotemporal gyrus, it is located on the inferior surface of the temporal lobe. It is important for visual processing, particularly for faces

Question 55

What are the two areas found in the temporo-parietal-occiptal area? What purpose do they serve?

Answer 55

Angular gyrus and supramarginal gyrus; they integrate signals from the language areas of the temporal lobe and visual signals from the occipital lobe to aid in visual language, namely reading and writing

Question 56

What is the function of the occipital lobes?

Answer 56

visual processing at the occipital poles and around the calcarine sulcus

Question 57

What does the calcarine sulcus do?

Answer 57

It divides the occipital lobe into superior and inferior sections

Question 58

What are the subcortical structures of the brain?

Answer 58

basal ganglia and thalamus

Question 59

What are the major structures of the basal ganglia?

Answer 59

subthalamic nuclei, caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, and putamen

Question 60

What parts of the CNS is the basal ganglia connected to?

Answer 60

sensory areas of the CNS; brainstem; cerebellum; other motor areas such as the pre-central gyrus

Question 61

What attaches the cerebellum to the brainstem?

Answer 61

peduncles - these send signals to and from the cerebellum

Question 62

What role does the thalamus play in the CNS?

Answer 62

it is an area where most sensory signals, except for smell, synapse. It is connected to most regions in the CNS; thus, it plays a role in hunger, hormonal control, sleep/wake cycles, and cortical control.

Question 63

What are folia?

Answer 63

Sulci and gyri in the cerebellum

Question 64

What are the functions of the cerebellum?

Answer 64

coordinating movement, maintaining balance, motor learning, and vision

Question 65

What are the three parts of the brainstem?

Answer 65

midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata

Question 66

What role does the brainstem play?

Answer 66

plays a role in automatic and life sustaining functions; places where cranial nerves that are important to speech and swallowing are housed.