Parts of the Nervous System Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Brain and Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System
The peripheral nervous system is made up of thick bundles of axons, called nerves, carrying messages back and forth between the CNS and the muscles, organs, and senses in the periphery of the body (i.e., everything outside the CNS). The PNS has two major subdivisions: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system.
Somatic Nervous System
associated with conscious or voluntary processes. Motor Neurons and Sensory Neurons
“Each nerve is basically a two-way superhighway, containing thousands of axons, both efferent and afferent.”
Efferent fibers
“moving away from” Motor Neurons: nerve fibers which carry instructions from CNS to muscles
Afferent fibers
“moving toward” Sensory Neurons: nerve fibers which carry sensory information to the CNS
Autonomic Nervous System
controls internal organs and glands, outside of conscious control.
Can be divided into Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous Systems
Sympathetic Nervous System
prepares body for stress related activities (e.g. increase heart rate, dilates pupils, inhibits digestion) one half of homeostatis
Parasympathetic Nervous System
routine, day to day operations (e.g. slows heart rate, stimulates digestion, contracts bladder, constricts pupils) one half of homeostasis
Spinal Cord is divided into _____ segments which each correspond with a vertebrae
30
Automatic Reflex
sensory messages that are immediately acted on by a simple processing center in the spinal cord which then initiates a motor command without having to be processed by the brain (e.g. kneejerk, heat recoil)
Cerebral Cortex
outermost surface part of the brain responsible for higher functioning such as consciousness, thought, emotion, reasoning, language, and memory
Gyri and Sulci
Gyri= Bumps Sulci= Grooves
Longitudinal Fissure
deepest sulcus dividing the brain into two hemispheres
Corpus Callosum
thick band of fibres made up of more than 200 million axons, connecting left and right hemispheres
Forebrain
largest part of brain Includes: \+ Cerebral Cortex - Frontal Lobe - Parietal Lobe - Occipital Lobe - Temporal Lobe
+ Sub Cortical Structures:
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary Gland
- Limbic System
Frontal Lobe
Foward part of Forebrain divided from parietal lobe by central sulcus
REASONING, MOTOR CONTROL, EMOTION, LANGUAGE
contains:
+ Motor Cortex
+ Prefrontal Cortex
+ Broca’s Area
Motor Cortex
Part of frontal lobe
PLANNING AND COORDINATING MOVEMENT
Prefrontal Cortex
Part of frontal lobe
HIGHER LEVEL COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING
Brocas Area
Part of Frontal Lobe
LANGAGE PRODUCTION
Parietal Lobe
Behind Frontal, in front of Occipital lobe on Forebrain SENSORY PROCESSING Contains: \+Somatosensory Cortex \+"Cortical Homunculus"