Quiz 1 Flashcards
What two cell types is the nervous system made of?
(and what percent of each?)
Neurons and glial cells
50% neurons and 50% glial cells
What are the 3 types of glial cells?
- Oligodendrocytes (in CNS, Schwann cell in PNS)
- Astrocytes
- Microglia
What is the purpose of oligodendrocytes?
- Provides physical support/structure
- Insulate neurons (myelinate/produce myelin)
What is the purpose of astrocytes?
-Supply nutrients and oxygen
-Bridge b/w nervous and vascular system
What is the purpose of microglia?
Clean up debris
Which glial cell is only found in the PNS and what is its equivalent in the CNS?
Schwann cell (equivalent of oligodendrocytes)
What is post-synaptic potential (PSP)?
A graded electrochemical response
(the PSPs from many dendrites converge at axon hillock)
What is the convergence of post-synaptic potential (PSP)?
Integration
What is Action Potential (AP)?
All or nothing electrochemical response
(resting @ -70mV and threshold @ -55mV)
What is Spatial summation?
Multiple EPSPs (Excitatory post synaptic potential) happening close together.
What are the (10) parts of a neuron?
-Dendrites
-Cell body
-Cell membrane
-Node of Ranvier
-Schwann Cell
-Nucleus
-Axon
-Axon hillock
-Myelin Sheath
-Axon terminal
What part of a neuron receives signals from other cells?
Dendtrites
What part of the neuron is responsible for organization and keeping the cell functional
Cell body
What part of the neuron protects the cell?
Cell membrane
What are the Nodes of Ranvier?
-Unmyelinated parts of axon
-Allow diffusion of ions
What produces the myelin sheath? (in PNS)
Schwann cell
What controls the entire neuron?
Nucleus
What transfers signals to other cells/organs?
The axons
What generates an impulse in neuron?
Axon hillock
What increases speed of signal?
Myelin Sheath
What forms junctions with other cells?
Axon terminal
What is grey matter?
-Groups of cell bodies, dendrites and terminal endings.
-the site of integration and transformation
What cell bodies are in the grey matter of the CNS?
Nuclei
What cell bodies are in the grey matter of the PNS?
Ganglia
What is white matter?
-Bundles of myelinated axons
-Pathways or fiber tracts connecting areas of grey matter
(electric signals can skip past myelin, making them faster)
What is the central nervous system? (what makes it up)
Spinal cord, brain stem, cortex (within skeletal casing - skull/spinal column)
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Outside the skeletal casing. Further subdivided into the somatic (skeletal muscles) & autonomic (smooth muscles and glands)
Parts of the CNS: Spinal cord.
-Contains finer tracts:
-afferent or ascending (to the brain)
-efferent or descending (from the brain)
-Entry/exit zones of PNS
-Pods of interneurons that interact with ascending/descending pathways
What is a ganglion
Cluster of cell bodies in the PNS
What is nuclei
Cluster of cell bodies in the CNS
Parts of the CNS: Brain Stem
- Pons, medulla (hindbrain) & midbrain
- Contains the 12 cranial nuclei & sensory/motor nerves that innervate eyes, head, neck and upper trunk
(nuclei in brainstem are critical to autonomic function, alertness and eye/hand movement)
Parts of the CNS: Cerebellum
‘little brain’
* contains >50% of brain neurons
* Has dense afferent and efferent connections with brainstem and cortex
* Influences cortex activity and ascending/descending projections
Parts of the CNS: Basal Ganglia
- Group of subcortical nuclei that are adjacent to the thalamus and descending motor tracts
- Important contribution to control of movement, learning, cognition and emotions
What structures are included in the Basal Ganglia
- Caudate Nucleus
- Putamen
- Globus Pallidus (internal and external)
- Substantia nigra
- Subthalamic Nucleus (STN)
Parts of the CNS: Thalamus
- Critical relay between cortex and other parts of CNS
- Essential to sensorimotor processing (also plays role in alertness)
- All sensory input from body (except smell) pass through thalamic nucleus
- Olfactory system bypasses thalamus
Parts of the CNS: Hypothalamus
- Contributes to control of many internal body functions & regulation of homeostasis
- Links between nervous system and endocrine system
Name the lobes of the cerebral cortext
and where they are
Frontal lobe (front of head)
Parietal Lobe (behind frontal)
Occipital lobe (back of head)
Temporal lobe (by ears, under frontal/parietal)
What is sulci
Deep valleys of the folds of the cortex
Main sulci include central sulcus (between frontral and parietal lobe) and parieto-occipital sulcus (between parietal and occipital lobe)
Describe Frontal Lobe
- Action control (body/eye movement, speech)
- Control of high-level cognitive/executive function (planning)
- Behaviour and emotion control (including personality)
- Controls voluntary behaviour
- Most developed (in humans)
Describe Parietal Lobe
- Receives and processes touch and taste sensory info
- Receives processed visual and auditory information
- Integrates info from senses for object perception, spatial awareness and motor control
Describe Occipital Lobe
- Recieves raw visual input from the visual thalamus
- Early processing of colour, edges, motion of objects and self-movement through the environment
Describe the Temporal lobe
- Recieves raw auditory input from thalamus
- Early processing of sound (intensity, pitch, location)
- Storage and retrieval of memories
- Combines visual info into object perception
- Classification and grouping of objects
- Emotion processing
Amygdala and hippocampus are sometimes lumped in with temporal lobe
Cerebral cortex taxonomy
What is Brodmann area
- Regions of cortex grouped by cytoarchitechture
- cytoarchitecture mirrors function, creating a link between the Brodmann area and functional cortex taxonomy
what is cytoarchitecture
Density of cells contained in grey matter of cortex
Cerebral cortex taxonomy
Explain the Primary cortex regions
1st arrival of sensory input or last stop for motor output (primary regions are very specific)
Cerebral cortex taxonomy
What are the primary regions for each lobe
- Primary motor cortex (frontal)
- Primary somatosensory cortex (parietal)
- Primary visual cortex (occipital)
- Primary auditory cortex (temporal)
cerebral cortex taxonomy
Explain secondary cortical regions
Recieves processed info and puts it into the big picture (right next to primary region)
cerebral cortex taxonomy
Explain Association areas of cortex
Another name for ‘secondary’ that reflects integration of info. Integrates info among regions/cortexs/lobes
What are sensory receptors and what do they do
Specialized cells or endings that convert stimulus energy to electrical potential that can be transmitted and interpreted by nervous system
Sensory receptors
What are the 4 main types of Sensory receptors
- Mechanoreceptors
- Photoreceptors
- Chemoreceptors
- Thermoreceptors
Sensory receptors
What is common to all Sensory receptors
- They are a mechanism by which the stimulus energy leads to a change in electrochemical state of cell or axon (receptor potential)
- A mechanism to convert “passive” receptor potential into action potential
Sensory receptors
What do mechanoreceptors do
convert mechanical enery (force)
Sensory receptors
What to photoreceptors do
Convert light energy (photons)
in retina