PSYC2020 Practice Questions - Wk2 Gross Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What is another name for the coronal plane?
Frontal
Why does the orientation of bipedal vertebrates matter in understanding neuroanatomy?
The reference directions will change depending on whether you are talking about the PNS or brain structures
What is the difference between afferent and efferent nerves?
Afferent - sensory in
Efferent - out to motor
What is the difference between the CNS and the PNS?
The CNS is the brain and spinal cord. The PNS is all the nerves outside of the skull and spine.
What is the relationship between the CNS and PNS?
The PNS transmits info to and from the CNS
What does the Peripheral nervous system divide into?
Somatic and autonomic nervous systems
What does the somatic nervous system deal with?
Interaction with the environment, motor control and sensory info
What does the autonomic nervous system deal with?
Regulating body’s internal state
How do the efferent nerves of the ANS divide?
Parasympathetic and sympathetic
In the ANS, what would sympathetic efferent nerves do?
Stimulate, organise energy, ‘wind up’
In the ANS would do parasympathetic efferent nerves do?
Conserve energy, ‘wind down
What system deals with voluntary interactions with the environment?
Somatic nervous system.
Can we be aware of internal states and information from our organs?
Yes. This is increasingly being used in clinical applications.
Where do ANS nerves attach to the nervous system?
Sympathetic - from chest and mid back
Parasympathetic - from brain, lower back
What neurotransmitters are used by the two sides of the ANS?
Sympathetic - noradrenaline/norepinephrine
Parasympathetic - acetylcholine
What is interoception?
Perception of internal states
What impact could a lack of interoception have on a person?
Inability to read internal states leads to inability to regulate themselves, or adjust to different situations ?
What are the 12 cranial nerves?
I. Olfactory (smell)
II. Optic (sight)
III. Occulomotor (eye movement)
IV. Trochlear (eye movement
V. Trigeminal (facial sensation, chewing)
VI. Abducens (eye movement)
VII. Facial (taste - front 2/3 of tongue)
VIII. Auditory/Vestibular nerve
IX. Glossopharyngeal (taste - back 1/3 of tongue)
X. Vagus
XI. Spinal accessory (neck, shoulders, head)
XII. Hypoglossal (tongue movement)
how could a neurologist test an organ being innovated by more than one cranial nerve?
Eye movement is control by two nerves
How are golgi stains different from Nissl stains? And what does this mean for our recent understanding of neurons and glial cells?
They show connections between cell bodies.
What are poles?
The number of directions for transmission by a neurone.
Where do you find oligodendrocytes?
In the CNS
Where do you find Schwann cells?
in the PNS
What do glial cells facilitate? 3
Saltatory conduction, myellination, and regeneration.
What are differences in the function of unipolar and bipolar neurons, as opposed to multipolar neurons?
Unipolar - sensory
Bipolar - sensory relays
Multipolar - more involved in transferring information
Why do nerves split as they approach the spinal cord?
Afferent nerves enter through the dorsal horn (back), efferent signals exit through the ventral horn (front)
Why are there white and grey matter in the spinal cord? And what do they contain?
White matter is myelinated axons (white from cholesterol)
Gray matter is cell bodies and interneurons
Are afferent neurons unipolar or multipolar?
Unipolar
Are efferent neurons unipolar or multipolar?
Multipolar
What does the hindbrain develop into?
Metencephalon and myelencephalon
What does the midbrain develop into?
Mesencephalon
What does the forebrain develop into?
Diencephalon and telencephalon
How are cerebral hemispheres formed?
The forebrain develops the telencephalon which becomes the cerebral hemispheres
Where do the ventricles come from?
They are byproducts of early development and not structures in themselves
How is the brain protected? 2
Physical - skull, meninges, cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)
Chemical - blood brain barrier
Where does CSF come from, and where is it absorbed?
The choroid plexi produce the fluid in the ventricles, it flows through the subarachnoid space and is absorbed into he sinus, through the arachnoid villus
What are the three meninges types?
Dura mater, arachnoid meninx, Pia mater meninx
What condition do you get if CSF drainage is blocked?
Hydrocephalus
What is the role of the reticular formation?
Arousal - as in, staying conscious
What structures are in the metencephalon and what do they do?
Pons - vital function relay centre
Cerebellum - sensory and motor control; cognitive adjustment
What is in the myelencephalon?
Portion of reticular formation, but mostly axonal tracts carrying info from brain to body and back.
Vital functions - heart rate, breathing
What structures are in the mesencephalon?
Tectum - colliculi
Tegmentum - substantia nigra, red nuclei, reticular formation, periaquaductal grey
What do the superior and inferior colliculi do?
Visual and auditory orienting of attention, respectively
What role does the Substantia Nigra in Parkinson’s disease?
Connection between substantia nigra and striatum diminished
What structures are in the diencephalon?
Thalamus - ‘relay station’
Hypothalamus - controls pituitary gland
What are the three nuclei in the thalamus?
Lateral geniculate - first visual synapse of optic nerve
Medial geniculate nucleus - auditory relay
Ventro Posterior Nucleus - sensorimotor relay
What does the pituitary gland control?
Lactation, stress, growth and reproduction, blood pressure
What does the Lymbic system control?
Four Fs, primal affect (emotional functions)
What does the basal ganglia do?
Voluntary movement
What is the striatum made up of?
Tails of caudate and putamen
What are the two main cell types in the neo-cortex?
Pyramidal (large, multipolar, inward axon) and stellate (small, no axons, lateral info) cells
Which layers of the cortex are thicker in sensory vs motor areas?
IV and V respectively
Which way does information flow in the neo cortex and what is this called?
Vertical flow - columnar organisation
Where is the somatosensory area of the cortex?
Postcentral gyrus
Where is the motor area of the cortex?
Precentral gyrus
What are the gross functional areas of the cortex?
Motor, somatosensory, hearing/language, visual, and executive control/planning
What’s the best way to see the corpus callosum?
Frontal plane
What are the 3 ways information can be connected in the brain?
Homotopic - to the same point, other side
Heterotopic - to a different point, other side
Ipsilateral - different point same side
What happens in experiments on people with commisurotomies / callosotomies?
Sensory info presented to one hemisphere is not able to guide behaviour in the other, eg cannot name but can draw something
