The brainstem

Question 1

what does the brainstem connect?

Answer 1

forebrain and spinal cord

Question 2

What are the neurones in the brainstem involved in?

Answer 2

in cardiovascular and respiratory control

Question 3

what is important in the brainstem?

Answer 3

the cranial nerves coming out of it

Question 4

what is the fourth ventricle?

Answer 4

where the spinal fluid is made and maintains the neural tissue alive

Question 5

what are the brain structures derived from?

Answer 5

from 3 primary vesicles of the early neural tube early in development

Question 6

when do the rostral and caudal ends of the neural tube close

Answer 6

days 21-24

Question 7

what is differentiation?

Answer 7

developmental process by which structures become more complex and specialised

Question 8

what does the midbrain differentiates into?

Answer 8

tectum and tegmentum

Question 9

what does the rostral hindbrain differentiates into?

Answer 9

cerebellum and pons

Question 10

what does the caudal hindbrain differentiates into?

Answer 10

medulla

Question 11

what information does the axons in the midbrain carry?

Answer 11

information from forebrain to spinal cord and vice versa

Question 12

in what functions are the neurones in the midbrain involved?

Answer 12

1. superior colliculus
2. inferior colliculus
3. cell groups involved in voluntary movements
4. periaqueductal gray

Question 13

what is superior colliculus?

Answer 13

receives input from eye, controls eye movements

Question 14

what is the inferior colliculus?

Answer 14

receives input from ear, relays auditory information to thalamus

Question 15

what group of cells are involved in voluntary movements?

Answer 15

substantia nigra and red nucleus

Question 16

what is periaqueductal grey?

Answer 16

important in control of somatic pain sensations

Question 17

what axons does the pons contain?

Answer 17

axons carrying information from forebrain to spinal cord and vice versa

Question 18

what does the pons relay?

Answer 18

relays information from cerebral cortex to cerebellum

Question 19

why does the pons bulge out from ventral surface?

Answer 19

to accommodate circuitry

Question 20

what are the neurones in the pons involved in?

Answer 20

1. reticular formation - sleep and wakefulness, body posture

2. pontine nuclei - relays info to cerebellum for motor control

Question 21

where do axons that do not terminate in pons enter?

Answer 21

medullary pyramids

Question 22

what are medullary pyramids?

Answer 22

corticospinal tract fibres involved in voluntary movements

Question 23

what does the medulla receive?

Answer 23

sensory information: auditory, touch taste

Question 24

what does the medulla relay?

Answer 24

relays touch and taste information to thalamus

Question 25

what roles does the medulla have?

Answer 25

respiratory control, cardiovascular control and temperature control

Question 26

what does the inferior olive do?

Answer 26

motor control

Question 27

what does it mean that some cranial nerves are sensory?

Answer 27

they carry information from the environment to the nervous system
e.g. olfactory (sensation of smell); optic (sensation of vision)

Question 28

what does it mean that some cranial nerves are motor?

Answer 28

they carry information out of the CNS, control the body

e.g. eye movements

Question 29

what do cranial nerves that are sensory and motor control?

Answer 29

parasympathetic control of heart, lungs and abdominal organs; throat and neck movements, tongue movements

Question 30

How many cranial nerves are there?

Answer 30

12

Question 31

what are nuclei?

Answer 31

Clusters of neurones

Question 32

how does the brainstem have the cardiovascular control?

Answer 32

brainstem receives sensory information form heart

brainstem sends information to heart to regulate heart rate and blood pressure

Question 33

what is the brainstem’s respiratory control?

Answer 33

brainstem receives sensory information from lung and chest wall
brainstem receives information on blood pH
brainstem sends information to respiratory muscles to control breathing

Question 34

what surrounds the brainstem?

Answer 34

major blood vessels that supply it

Question 35

what is brainstem death?

Answer 35

when a person no longer has any activity in their brainstem - permanent loss of consciousness and the capacity to breathe

Question 36

is it possible to keep someone alive after brainstem death?

Answer 36

yes - by keeping the person on ventilator which allows body and heart to be artificially oxygenated

Question 37

is brainstem death permanent?

Answer 37

Yes

Question 38

why does brainstem death occur?

Answer 38

when blood and/or oxygen supply to the brain is stopped: cardiac arrest; heart attack; blood clot; head injury; brain tumour

Question 39

how is brainstem confirmed?

Answer 39

if the patient fails to respond all of the clinical tests

Question 40

Why can limbs and upper torso move after brain stem death is diagnosed?

Answer 40

these movements are spinal reflexes generated by spinal cord

Question 41

what is ondine’s curse?

Answer 41

patients suffer form respiratory arrest during sleep

• can volitionally control breathing
• do not have automatic control breathing

Question 42

how is ondine’s curse acquired?

Answer 42

congenital or after injury or trauma to the brainstem

Question 43

what is locked in syndrome?

Answer 43

patients have no voluntary motor control apart from the ability to perform eye movements

Question 44

what causes the locked in syndrome?

Answer 44

a result of bilateral lesion in the ventral pons damaging the corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts

Question 45

what indicates that the limbic system is intact in locked in syndrome?

Answer 45

emotions (crying, anxiety and laughing) modulate resting breathing pattern- limbic system is separate form volitional control

Question 46

what is the brainstem consisted of?

Answer 46

midbrain, pons and medulla

Question 47

what is the name given to the cluster of brainstem neurones that control regular breathing patterns?

Answer 47

Prebötzinger complex