Session 1: Nervous System Terminology Flashcards
What direction does “rostral” refer to?
Towards the head
What direction does “caudal” refer to?
Toward tail
Afferent refers to impulses traveling in what direction?
Afferent designates incoming connections (impulses conducted/directed toward the NEXT neuron)
Efferent refers to impulses traveling in what direction?
Efferent designates outgoing connections (impulses conducted/directed away from the neuron)
Define ipsilateral
same side
Define contralateral
opposite side
What is emergent properties in regard to functions of the nervous system? Give an example.
Consciousness. Cannot be explained by the physiology of the brain.
Cognition, the act of thinking, emerges from the unified actions of various parts of the brain.
What is the function of distributed control? Give an example.
The nervous system just have multiple centers of control, and must be able to switch among them as needed. Some centers responsible for planning, initiating, fine-tuning and timing of movements.
Drinking a cup of coffee while talking.
Describe the role of feedback as a function of the nervous system.
Feedback can be positive or negative. Nervous system keeps itself informed through feedback mechanisms. The brain gives a command and a copy is sent to other parts of the brain. When the event occurs, feedback is sent to the command center informing that the event did occur. The command center can then compare the original command and decide if further action is needed.
What is the function of adaptation in the nervous system?
Allows for learning, relearning via developmental processes and plasticity. Occurs at cellular and systems levels.
Describe parallel vs serial processing. Give examples of each
Parallel processing: Information is processed through multiple different pathways or sensory systems at once (multiple levels of analysis). Example: defining an orange.
Serial processing is only one pathway reaches the brain, and travels linearly. (stepping in a puddle)
What is the function of redundant representations? Give an example.
Use different sensory modalities (different ways) to recognize and describe one object (ie an orange). The orange has some built-in duplication of information and the nervous system has many ways to obtain information about the orange.
What is meant by hemispheric specialization? Give an example.
From a cellular point of view, they are the same but there are connectional differences (the division of labor is different on each side).
Example: Hemisphere dominance is defined by the presence of language (left = language formation, right = inflection and emotion)
Explain phylogenetic versus anatomic layers.
Anatomic layers: Structures in the brain made up of layers of cells. Different processes take place in different layers of cells.
Phylogenetic layers: Newer structures of the brain are located more superficially than older structures of the brain. The regions of the brain that are used more frequently will be larger. All original structures remain, but they may have been altered based on usage.
Explain columnar organization (dorsal vs ventral, processing, etc).
Parts of the nervous system are organized in vertical columns, particularly in older regions.
Information coming in at different levels is processed EXACTLY the same at all levels.
These are not tracts of axons, but cell columns.
