Parts of the brain Flashcards
How many ventricles in the brain?
4
2 lateral and 2 ventricle
Which ventricle can only been seen by the sagittal view?
4th
What is the purpose of the ventricles ?
communicating network
cavities filled with csf (made by choroid plexus) to help buoyancy
What is the size of the ventricles dependent on ?
cortical atrophy (ventricular enlargement when neurones are lost)
What are the following lobes involved in ?
- frontal
- parietal
- occipital
- temporal
frontal = mood, behaviour, decisions
Parietal = sensory
Occipital = visual
Temporal = spatial navigation, language, auditory
What is the name of the bundle of nerve fibres which join the hemispheres together ?
Corpus callosum
What experiment did Roger Sperry carry out ?
Cut the corpus callosum to cause lack of communication between hemisohere to stop the seizures caused by epilepsy
What does the thalamus do?
relay station for sensory info
What does the basal ganglia do?
involved in extrapyramidal motor control
(pyramidal = cortical spinal tract)
What is extrapyramidal motor control?
Initiation and fine control of movement (can also inhibit movement)
What happens if the sub thalamic nuclei is damaged?
Give rise to ballismus (uncontrolled movement of limbs)
What does the striatum do?
dopamine rich
important in extrapyramidal control and impact on mood
What does the limbic system control?
emotion and mood
What are the key nuclei within the limbic system ?
Amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus
Where is the amygdala located?
Basal forebrain
Give examples of the catecholamines in the brain
Dopamine, adrenaline/epinephrine, noradrenaline/noraepinephrine
What are the dopamine nuclei?
substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area and arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus
Where is 5-HT sythesised and what is the structure ?
Synthesised in raphe nuclei
Indoleamine
What is fMRI?
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Based on the face oxyhemoglobin (has different magnetic resonance than deoxy)
What’s the resolution of an MRI?
less than 1mm
What can be used to map pathways and connectivity in the brain?
diffusion tensor imaging
What does PET stand for ?
positron emission tomography
What does SPECT stand for ?
single photon positron emission tomography
What are some non-invasive ways to reveal activity of the brain?
EEG
MEG
PET scan
SPECT scan
What are the indirect markers for changes in NT function?
Cerebrospinal fluid (invasive but closer to where metabolites formed)
Plasma
Urine
Binding platelets
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using animal models?
Ad = drug screening
Disad = not exact phenocopy of gene
