Quiz 1 Flashcards
Dorsal is aka
aka synonymous with POSTERIOR and SUPERIOR
means on or toward the back of, in reference to brain nuclei, located above
Ventral aka
synonymous with “ANTERIOR” and “INFERIOR”
(on or towards the belly or side of the animal which the belly is located or, in reference to the brain, located BELOW aka inferior aka bottom of brain)
Rostral
means “toward the beak” or located toward the front.
front of brain/towards nose
Caudal
located near or towards the tail or end
back of brain, or basically the spinal chord in the brain bc brain turns at base
Rostral-Caudal axis
longitudinal neuroaxis, is the long axis of the body from nose to tail
dorsal-ventral axis
perpendicular to longitudinal axis from back to front or abdomen.
name the different Planes/sections/cuts of the brain (just name the 3)
horizontal,
coronal
sagittal
Horizontal plane (describe it)
this is parallel to the longitudinal axis from one side to the other. Splits into dorsal and ventral portions.
(is horizontal to the floor. like cuts the top half of head from bottom half of head)
Coronal (aka transverse) plane (Describe it)
is perpendicular to longitudinal axis between dorsal and ventral surfaces. splits anterior and posterior portions
(cuts from ear to ear, like a crown.)
sagittal plane (describe it)
Parallel to longitudinal axis and midline from dorsal and ventral surfaces. splits into left, right portions
(splits head from left to right and across… goes down the nose line so can see left hemisphere only or right hemisphere only )
Midsagittal plane (describe it)
midline, divides into symmetrical halves
parasagittal plane (describe it)
off the midline to the side.
Ipsilateral
on the same side
contralateral
on opposite side
afferent
information coming into brain or part of brain
efferent
information leaving brain or part of the brain
Nerve
bundle of axons OUTSIDE of CNS
Tract
Bundle of axons INSIDE of CNS
Tract is also known as what?
aka pathway, fasciculus, peduncle, lemniscus. but is only really interchangeable with pathway, the others are dependent on the actual name of the area being discussed
how do you name a tract?
named by starting point and ending point.
Nucleus
is a cluster of cell bodies INSIDE CNS (in gross anatomy) where DNA is located (in microscopic anatomy/cell anatomy).
Ganglion
is a cluster of cell bodies OUTSIDE the CNS
Know the functional principles. such as:
Principle #1: The nervous system’s function is to produce a response within a perceptual world created by the brain.
START/FINISH
Functional Principle #2: The nervous system is constantly changing, an attribute called neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity- the idea that the brain can change. We’re born with certain neurons, and then dependent of experience and nature/nurture, those neural systems are contstantly changing via pruning, etc.
Principle 3: Brain circuits generally are crossed. visual is.... somatosensory is..... auditory is..... olfactory is....
visual and somatosensory are both crossed. auditory is mainly crossed, but some ipsilateral. olfactory is NOT crossed. He wont test us on whether cranial nerves are not crossed except on IV…
Principle #4: CNS functions on multiple levels.
As animals evolve, new structures are added to refine functions of older structures.
Older structures are not replaced, but integrated with newer ones.
The brain stem is super old, then above that is the limbic or reptillian brain. Then above that is the amygdala, which is where fear and fight and flight response is. Its important to understand this bc sometimes our pts responses are reactive. They are responding bc their brain is wired that way. But this doesn’t mean that the cortex cant overlay or overcome those fear conditioning circuits. You will never forget the trauma, those tracks will remain, but you CAN help them have different responses than what they are.
Principle #5: The brain is symmetrical & asymmetrical.
Both anatomically & functionally
Left and right hemispheres arent symmentrical. The right hemisphere is actually a little bit larger, and they function extremely different. But if you look at the thalamus, and the various structures inside the different portions of the thalamus, then you will see that they are almost the same. And that is symmetrical.
Principle #6: Brain systems are organized hierarchically and in parallel.
Are multiple, parallel, hierarchically-organized (serial) pathways
What we mean by hierarhical is that they are serial. That A sends to B, B then sends to C, C to D, D to E and so on.
Also for hierarchical: so you may have 15 nuerons, each sending info up to 5 neurons, which then send up to 2 nuerons. So the 2 neurons are receiving info technically from all 15 neurons, but those 2 neurons are privy to all of the information from all of the neurons bc of the hierarchical organization. Think pyramid. For parallel, processing, multiple systems or circuits may be rcessing different information at the same time. an example might be that one module in your brain is processing a person holding an object, while another module/circuit is processing that it’s a green object, while another module is processing that the pen is MOVING. But we don’t proces that in a heirarchy- instead these systems are procesing and operating simultaneously and we perceive it as one unified thing. There are certain modules processing for certain kinds of task.
Principle #7: Sensory & motor divisions occur throughout the nervous system.
There are systems specialized for receiving sensory information, while others are specilized for receiving information about information about a movie object.
Principle #8: Sensory input to the brain is divided for recognizing objects and controlling movements.
Dorsal pathway processes that an object is moving or WHERE it is.
WHAT an object is or recognizing an object is happening in ventral pathway
Principle #9: Functions are both localized & distributed (depending on degree of specificity).
Modules perform highly specialized functions.
Modules work together for higher-level function.
So comprehending spoken language is a different part than a part of brain responsible for speaking or communicating (language)
Principle #10: The nervous system works through excitation & inhibition.
Damage to excitatory instructions can cause loss of behaviors.
Damage to inhibitory instructions Injury can cause release of behaviors.
What this means: neuron a can excite neuron B (make it more likely to fire) or inhibit (make less likely to fire). This gets complicated if you have certain neurons that are damaged early on in the process- like those neurons picking up photostimuli, or damage to the excitatory neurons, can cause a loss of behaivors.
Principle #11: Information is processed in sequence of “in – integrate – out.”
Incoming information is summed & transformed while being integrated, leading to new, created information.
At level of neuron or at higher levels
Consciousness may be the ultimate form of integration.
A lot of our information is actually processed subconsciously- like you don’t think you have to move your feet when walking and talking with a friend. And the ultimate example of integration is consciousness.
Principle #12: CNS modulates basic excitation & inhibition via neuromodulators (neurotransmitters).
One neuron can modulate internal biochemistry (even gene expression) of another.
Principle #12: CNS modulates basic excitation & inhibition via neuromodulators (neurotransmitters).
One neuron can modulate internal biochemistry (even gene expression) of another.
Principle #13: Neurons with basically similar properties can produce very different actions due to the way they are connected with each other and with receptors and end organs.
Hence, the critical importance of understanding neuroanatomy
Principle #13: Neurons with basically similar properties can produce very different actions due to the way they are connected with each other and with receptors and end organs.
Hence, the critical importance of understanding neuroanatomy
Name the major classification groups for techniques
electrophysiological testing
Single-Cell Microelectrode:
Placed on single neurons gives insight into function
Single neuron that responds only to head direction
Single neuron that responds only to line segment with certain orientation
Single neuron that responds only to a specific human face
SUPER Small electrode that can be placed on a single neuron. Found that a single neuron can respond to only head direction, or only line segnment… there are specific neurons for specific things… like a moving object versus a moving line versus line, etc. So with the single neuron that responds to only one face: its bc there are neurons that are at the top of that hierarchy, which in turn means that they are actually receiving all of the information up the ladder form TONS of neurons.
Electrical cortical stimulation mapping
Provides insights, but is invasive and usually limited to animals & surgical pts
What areas of the brain do what…. By stimulating certain neurons, (like playing a certain sound or seeing certain face) they could map out the brain
Wada test
Amobarbital injected into carotid artery disrupts ipsilateral cognitive functioning (usually language is tested).
Uses are similar to those of electrical cortical stimulation mapping
Wada test is a neuropsych test- they inject amobarbital into the artery (like right carotid artery), which serves a certain part of the brain (The right hem of brain), and it stops those neurons from functioning. This is usually done in epilepsy patients to be sure that they arent giong to damage a certain portion of the temporal lobe (like their ability to speak, area for language) when they go in and do the surgery to remove certain portions of brain….
Neuropsychology –
Usually, the study of the above (of behavioral neuroscience), but in humans
Especially in the case of Clinical Neuropsychology
“Behavioral Neuroscience” –
The study of brain-behavior relationships, how brain function relates to thoughts, emotions and behavior.
The biological foundations of behavior
