Test 1: The Nervous System Flashcards
Forebrain - processes
Most recent evolutionarily
Thinking, planning, problem solving
Components of the forebrain
Includes Telencephalon and Diencephalon
Components of the nervous system
Central nervous system and
Peripheral nervous system
Components of the central nervous system
Brain
Spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system
(description)
Brings info into central nervous system and carries signals out of it
Divisions of peripheral nervous system
Somatic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
Somatic nervous system
cranial and spinal nerves
afferent and efferent features
Describe the function of afferent nerves
Describe their pathways
sensory - subserve the senses
take info from a receptor to the brain
Describe the function of efferent nerves
motor - subserve motor tasks (such as arm movement)
Autonomic nervous system components
Afferent component
Efferent component:
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic nervous system
Similarities and connections between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
SNS and PNS nerves generally have opposing effects (such as one increases heart rate where the other one lowers heart rate)
They each use a two-stage neural path
2-stage neural paths in SNS and PNS
- A neuron exiting the central nervous system
- Synapses on a 2nd stage neuron that influences a target organ
Sympathetic nervous system
- Describe places of exit
- Describe response type
- Describe proximity to target organ
Thoracolumbar places of exit from the central nervous system (the thorax and lumbar of spinal cord)
“Fight or flight” responses
2nd stage neurons are far from target organ
Parasympathetic nervous system
- Describe places of exit
- Describe response type
- Describe proximity to target organ
- One example
Craniosacral places of exit from CNS (brain and very bottom of spinal cord)
“Rest and restore” responses
Post-ganglionic fibers are near the target organ
ex: Vagus nerve
Telencephalon components
Cerebrum
Limbic lobe
Basal ganglia
Cerebral cortex lobes
Gray matter
- Occipital: vision
- Temporal: audition, smell, speech, emotion
- Parietal: sensory - taste, pain, touch, temp
- Frontal: motor, speech, executive functions
Corpus callosum - what is it and what does it do?
white matter
connects two hemispheres
large fiber tract
limbic lobe
- what functions is it involved in
- what are its components
part of the limbic system (involved in emotion, memory, and learning)
Contains amygdala, hippocampus, and septum
Basal ganglia
-What functions is it involved in?
Involved in motor coordination - does not initiate movements, but smoothes them
Involved with Parkinson’s disease
Components of diencephalon
Composed of thalamus and hypothalamus
What function does the thalamus serve?
sensory relay station
(except for smell)
Hypothalamus
What 3 things is it involved in?
Internal regulation: controls autonomic nervous system
involved in emotion
involved in endocrine system - sits on top of pituitary
Midbrain
2 components
smallest division
inferior colliculi (hearing)
superior colliculi (vision)
Components of hindbrain
pons
medulla
cerebellum
Pons
“bridge”
sleep/wake cycle
Medulla
What is its function and what does it monitor?
“Vital center” of the brain
Monitors: heart rhythms, respiration, blood pressure
What is the cerebellum involved in?
motor coordination
Reticular formation
Location and function
overlaps fore-, mid-, and hindbrain
involved in alerting and arousing the cortex
Ventricular system
Describe the set-up
2 lateral ventricles in cerebral hemispheres connect with a third ventrical in the midline in thalamus and hypothalamus
4th ventricle in hindbrain in the pons and medulla - joins to central canal
central canal
runs length of spinal cord
joined with the 4th ventricle
cerebrospinal fluid
How is it used and where is it made?
bathes brain and spinal cord
manufactured in the choroid plexus (located in a ventricle)
2 routes of cerebrospinal fluid
- lateral ventricles - 3rd ventricle - 4th ventricle - central canal
- lateral ventricles - down the back surface of spinal cord - up front surface of spinal cord - absorbed into circulatory system
2 ways the brain is protected
Physical protection: skull and cerebrospinal fluid
Chemical protection: blood-brain barrier
Blood-brain barrier
tightly packed cells of blood vessel walls that prevent entry of many molecules
5 methods of examining the brain
- CAT scan
- PET scan
- MRI
- fMRI
- EEG
CAT scan
- What does it stand for?
- How does it work?
- Structural or functional?
computerized axial tomography
narrow x-ray beam on one side of the head and a detector measures the # of x-ray photons that emerge on the other side
structural
PET scan
- What does it stand for?
- How does it work?
- Structural or functional?
positron emission tomography
Similar to CAT except the signal comes from the decay of radioisotope that has been injected into the circulatory system
Radioisotope links to glucose - can see how much is used in the brain
Functional
MRI
- What does it stand for?
- How does it work?
- Structural or functional?
magnetic resonance imaging
nuclei of atoms in the brain respond to magnetic fields differently, depending on local atomic environment
head is exposed to magnetic fields of different strengths, 3d image of head can be obtained
structural
fMRI
- What does it stand for?
- How does it work?
- Structural or functional?
functional magnetic resonance imaging
uses high powered oscillating magnetic fields and computers to measure cerebral blood flow in the brain and thereby measure the neural activity in the brain
structure and function
EEG
- What does it stand for?
- How does it work?
- Structural or functional?
electroencephalogram
places electrons on the surface of the skull, brain waves recorded
gross electrical recording - large brain area
Functional
What makes up the cerebrum?
cerebral cortex lobes and the corpus callosum
functions of temporal lobe
audition, smell, speech, emotion
functions of parietal lobe
sensory - taste, pain, touch, temp
functions of frontal lobe
motor, speech, executive functions
