Structural Neuroanatomy

Question 1

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What are the 2 systems vertebrate nervous systems are divided into?

Answer 1

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) and the central nervous system (CNS)

Question 2

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is the PNS divided into?

Answer 2

The somatic (internal) and the autonomic (external) nervous system

Question 3

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What does the somatic nervous system do? What kind of nerves does it have and what do they do?

Answer 3

• The SNS interacts with the external environment.
• It has afferent nerves that carry sensory signals in from the skin, skeletal muscles, joint, eyes, ears, etc. into the CNS.
• It also has efferent nerves that carry motor signals from the cns out to the skeletal muscles.

Question 4

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What does the autonomic NS do? What kind of nerves does it have and what are their purpose?

Answer 4

• The ANS participates in the regulation of the internal environment.
• It has afferent nerves that carry sensory signals from the internal organs to the CNS.
• It has efferent nerves that carry motor signals from the CNS to the internal organs.

Question 5

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What are the 2 different efferent nerves of the ANS? What do they do?

Answer 5

• Symathetic nerves which mobilize energyin threatening situations eg., vis adranal glands)
• Parasympathetic nerves act to conserve energy or “rest and digest” (e.g., stimulate gut motility.

Question 6

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What are the 2 parts of the CNS?

Answer 6

The brain and the spinal cord.

Question 7

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is the spinal cord composed of/ what does is look like?

Answer 7

The inner H-shape is the core of gray matter: cell bodies and unmyelintated axons.
Surrounding area of white matter: myelinated axons. The white matter extends out for the body to make afferent/efferent communication with the spinal cord.

Question 8

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

In the CNS what is a cluster of cell bodies called?

Answer 8

Nucleus/ nuclei

Question 9

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is a tract in the CNS?

Answer 9

a bundle of axons (white matter) is called a tract.

Question 10

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

In the PNS what is a ganglion/ganglia?

Answer 10

a cluster of cell bodies is called a ganglion or pural ganglia

Question 11

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is a bundle of axons called in the PNS?

Answer 11

Nerve, axons are often referred to as nerve fibers.

Question 12

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is Gray matter? How does it communicate?

Answer 12

the outer cortex + blood vessels is gray matter. Cell bodies + capillary blood vessels. it communicates via white matter tracts (myelinated axons)

Question 13

KNOW THE MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM:

What is White matter?

Answer 13

white matter s myelinated axons. gray matter communictes via white matter tracts.

Question 14

KNOW AND APPLY NEUROANATOMICAL DIRECTIONAL TERMS:

What direction (in animals) is:
a. towards the nose
b. towards the top
c. towards the tail
d. towards the stomach (bottom)
e. towards the front
f. towards the back

Answer 14

a. rostral
b. dorsal
c. caudal
d. ventral
e. anterior
f. posterior

Question 15

KNOW AND APPLY NEUROANATOMICAL DIRECTIONAL TERMS:

What is the difference between human directional terms and animal directional terms?

Answer 15

Imagine a human is crawling like a baby… the only thing that is confusing is that rostral is pointing to the nose but through the spine its pointing to the top of the head. Caudal points to the tail no matter what.

Question 16

KNOW AND APPLY NEUROANATOMICAL DIRECTIONAL TERMS:

How are the terms medial and lateral used?

Answer 16

Lateral refers to the outside whereas medial refers to the inside.

Question 17

KNOW AND APPLY NEUROANATOMICAL DIRECTIONAL TERMS:

What are the 3 sectional plane? What are some hints to know the difference.

Answer 17

Coronal, sagittal, horizontal
- Horizontal is like the horizon dividing top and bottom
- Coronal is like a crown (think beyonces crown) divided front and back
- Sagittal is like an arrow going through your head divided the hemispheres.

Question 18

KNOW AND APPLY NEUROANATOMICAL DIRECTIONAL TERMS:

What is the difference between ipsilateral and contralateral? Which way does our brain work?

Answer 18

Ipsilateral is halves on the same side where contralateral is 2 things on the opposite sides (our brain works contralaterally, the right side controls the left)

Question 19

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

In the human embryo (18-21 days old) how many divisions are there?

Answer 19

3 - hind, mid, and forebrain

Question 20

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What are the 5 divisions of the brain from top to bottom?

Answer 20

1. Telencephalon
2. Diencephalon
3. Mesencephalon
4. Metencephalon
5. Myelencephalon

Question 21

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What does the Myelencephalon (medulla) do and what is it made out of?

Answer 21

The myelencephalon (medulla) is composed of white matter tracts carrying signals between the rest of the brain and the body. This is where everything is being routed.

Question 22

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the reticular formations, where is it located and what does it do?

Answer 22

sometimes called the lizard brain… aka the hindbrain… aka the reticular formation is made up of many nuclei that play roles in arousal, attention, cardiac, respiratory and many life/death things. it is located in the myelencephalon and the metencephalon.

Question 23

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the metencephalon composed of and what does it do?

Answer 23

The metencephalon is the second half of the hind brain. It hold the pons (houses many fibre tracts and part of the reticular formation, and the cerebellum which has 50% of the neurons in the brain, is massively connected to the cortex, and involved in movement and timing (grabbing a cup)

Question 24

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

Why do some call the reticular formation the “lizard brain”

Answer 24

It was the hindbrain back when we were “lizards” it is so old that it was the part to basically keep up alive.

Question 25

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is apart of the hindbrain?

Answer 25

The reticular formation and the metencephalon (pons and cerebellum)

Question 26

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the mesencephalon composed of and what does it do?

Answer 26

The mesencephalon is composed of the tectum which contains nuclei that receive relay such as visual information and audtiory information, and the tegmentum which contains nuclei related to motor function and pain.

Question 27

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the diencephalon composed of?

Answer 27

the thalamus and the hypothalamus.

Question 28

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the thalamus?

Answer 28

• a 2-lobed structure
• many different types of nuclei - some process and relay info between receptors and cortex.
• nuclei may be specific to one sense or non-specific and involved in multimodal integration. (bridges multiple senses together)

Question 29

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the hypothalamus?

Answer 29

The hypothalamus is neural tissue. Play an important rolse in behaviours such as feeding, sec sleeping, temperature, emotion, and movement. Acts upon the endocrine (hormone) system via the pituitary gland.

Question 30

LIST AND DISSCUSS 5 DIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN:

What is the telencephalon and what is it composed of?

Answer 30

It is the largest division of the brain and it is composed of the basal ganglia, limbic system, and the cerebral cortex. In the telencephalon the cerebral hemispheres are connected by only a few (white matter) tracts called teh cerebral commissures, the largest is call the corpus callosum (a huge amount of information is passed this way.

Question 31

KNOW THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OR THE LIMBIC SYSTEM AND THE BASAL GANGLIA:

What is the basal ganglia?

Answer 31

It is a collection of nuclei highly connected o the cortex, thalamus, and midbrain. Involved in movement and learning. Highly involved with dopamine.

Question 32

KNOW THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OR THE LIMBIC SYSTEM AND THE BASAL GANGLIA:

What is the limbic system?

Answer 32

The limbic system includes the hippocampus (plays a role in spatial memory) and the amygdala (plays a role in emotions/ responding appropriately to environment)

Question 33

DESCRIBE THE LOCATION AND FUNCTION OF THE CORPUS CALLOSUM:

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 33

It is a large tract connecting the right and left hemispheres to pass information between the 2.

Question 34

KNOW THE MAJOR FISSURES:

What are the 3 major fissures and where are they?

Answer 34

• The central sulcus is the fissure the divides the frontal and parietal lobe (coronal divide).
• the lateral sulcus divides the frontal and temporal lobe (horizontal/diagonal)
• the longitudinal fissure is the largest fissure and it divides the 2 hemispheres

Question 35

KNOW THE LOBES OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX:

What are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex and where are they located?

Answer 35

The frontal lobes is the most rostral, the parietal lobe is the most dorsal, the occipital lobe is the most posterior and the temporal lobe is by the temples on each side of the brain.

Question 36

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANT ROLES OF THE CSF:

What are the ventricles?

Answer 36

The ventricles contain cerebrospinal fluid and are in the brain and spinal cord.

Question 37

UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANT ROLES OF THE CSF:

What are the 3 roles of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid)?

Answer 37

1. Buoyancy - we don’t want the brain to fall to the lower structure of the skull. The dense brain is suspended in fluid, reducing its effective weight. We don’t want the blood supply to be compromised or put pressure on the lower structures.
2. Protection - reduces injury upon head impact, if the brain does hit the skull it could lead to brain damage and hemorrhaging.
3. Chemical stability - the CSF flow rinses waste through the blood-brain-barrier (brings in new metabolytes and flushes out the old ones) maintains appropriate levels of hormones/pH.