The Brain Flashcards
What is Cerebral Spinal Fluid?
A clear, colorless liquid around the brain and spinal cord that
-cushions the CNS from physical trauma
-delivers nutrients and removes waste
Where is CSF made?
The choroid plexus (in the 3rd and 4th ventricles)
What is CSF made of?
Plasma filtered through ependymal cells
How does CSF return to the bloodstream?
Arachnoid villi extending into the dural sinuses
What are ventricles?
Chambers that allow spinal fluid to flow throughout the brain
What is the thin channel that connects the third and fourth ventricles?
The cerebral aqeduct
What are the regions of the brain?
Cerebrum, Diencephalon, Cerebellum, Brainstem
What is the cerebrum dedicated to?
“Higher brain functions” (sense of self, intelligence, etc), movement, sensation
What is the diencephalon for
Maintaining homeostasis and relaying signals; connects nervous and endocrine system
What is the cerebellum responsible for?
Motor learning and motor control
What is the brain stem responsible for?
Vital body functions: Heart rate, body temp, respiratory rate
What is the “lizard brain”?
Cerebellum and brain stem, simple functions for staying alive (fight or flight)
What is the “mammal brain” and why do we have it?
The limbic system - memories, habits, and attachments.
Developed for complex social groups and caring for young
What is the Neo-Cortex?
The “human brain” - language, abstract thought, imagination, consciousness, reasoning
What is the difference between a gyrus and a sulcus?
A gyrus is a peak and a sulcus is a valley
What are the lobes of the cerebral cortex?
Frontal lobe
Parietal lobe
Occipital lobe
Temporal lobe
Insula
What does the frontal lobe control?
Memory, Motor Control, Consciousness
What does the parietal lobe control??
General sense and spacial orientation
What does the occipital lobe control?
Vision
What does the temporal lobe control?
Sound, Memory, and Language
What does the insula control?
Cognition, Self-Awareness, Perception
What are the brain landmarks of separation?
Longitudinal Fissure - right and left hemispheres
Central Sulcus - frontal and parietal lobes
Lateral Sulcus - Frontal, Parietal, and Temporal Lobes
What are the major motor areas of the cerebral cortex?
Alcon the frontal lobe:
Premotor Cortex - The Planner
Supplementary Motor Cortex - The Coordinator
Primary Motor Cortex - The Initiator
What are the major sensory areas of the cerebral cortex?
- Primary Somatosensory Cortex (Parietal) - receives info on general senses
- Primary Visual Cortex (Occipital) - receives basic visual info from the eye
- Primary Auditory Cortex (Temporal) - receives sound info from the ear
- Primary Gustatory Cortex (superiormost in Insula) - receives taste info from tongue
- Primary Olfactort Cortex (inferiormost in Insula) - receives info from nose about smell
What part of the lobe receives signals and where are integrations made?
Received at furthest-most, integrates at borders
What is the prefrontal cortex responsible for?
Located in frontal lonbe - Planning, personality and social behavior
What is Broca’s area?
Part of the frontal lobe responsible for language production.
In Broca’s aphasia one can understand language but can’t communicate
What is Wernicke’s area?
In the temporal lobe - language comprehension
In Wernicke’s aphasia one can speak but can’t comprehend language
What are the three components of the Limbic System?
Amygdala, Hippocampus, Cingulate Gyrus
Amygdala
Fear and emotional reactions to stimuli
Hippocampus
Creating and storing new memories
Cingulate gyrus
Links behavior to emotions and memory
What are the four major white matter regions of the cerebral cortex?
1 association fibers - connect regions within hemispheres
2 commisural fibers - connect left and right hemispheres
3 Projection fibera connect up and down
4 corpus callosum large fiber bundle connecting left and right hemispheres (visible on model)
What are the three regions of the Diencephalon?
Thalmamus, Epithalamus, Hypothalamus
Thalmamus
Largest region of diencephalon, connects brainstem and cerebrum
-consciousness
-arousal
-relay between sensory and motor neurons
Epithalamus
Posterior region of diencephalon, controls the pineal gland
-sleep and reward processing
Hypothalamus
Inferior region of the diencephalon that controls homeostasis
-Controls the endocrine system
-produces hormones
-regulates autonomic nervous system
-regulates temperature
-controls food and water intake
-Regulates sleep and circadian rhythms
-Links emotions and memories to body state
What are the parts of the cerebellum?
Folia, the ridges of grey matter
Arbor Vitae, the branches of white matter
Does the cerebellum have more grey matter or white matter?
Grey, it is pricessing more information than it is sending signals
What are the regions of the brainstem from inferior to superior?
-
Medula Oblongata - connects directly to spinal cord
-Breathing, heartrate, blood pressure, and involuntary muscle reflexes (swallowing, sneezing, coughing, vomiting) -
Pons - middle bit, connects to cerebellum
-respiration and bladder control -
Midbrain - superiormost, connects to diencephalon
-motor control, sensory cranial nerves that respond to visual and auditory stimuli
