The CNS Flashcards
What is does the CNS include?
- brain
- spinal cord
What are neurons?
nerve cells
What does the PNS include?
- spinal nerves
- cranial nerves
What two categories of cells are classified as neural tissue?
- Neurons
- Neuroglia (glia; glial cells)
What is the matrix for neural cells?
Network composed of proteins and polysaccharides
What are the main purposes of neural tissue?
- communication
- integration
What are the components of a neuron?
- dendrites
- axon
- soma
- nucleus
- synapses
- myelin sheath
- nodes of Ranvier
Where does information enter the neuron?
through the dentrites
What is the function of the myelin sheath?
insulation
What are the Nodes of Ranvier?
gaps in between the myelin sheath surrounding axons
Where do neurons connect to other nerve cells?
through the synapses
What is the path of electrical impulses in the neuron?
dendrites > soma > axon > myelin sheath > synapses
What color is the nerve cell?
grey
What color is the myelin sheath?
white
Where on the brain is there more grey matter?
outside
Where on the brain is there more white matter?
deeper inside
What is the function of white matter?
to transmit messages
What color is the corpus callosum?
white
What is grey matter in the CNS called?
nuclei
What is white matter in the CNS called?
tracts
What is grey matter in the PNS called?
ganglia
What is white matter in the PNS called?
nerves
What is the exception to white matter of the CNS being called tracts?
ocular nerve
What is the synapse?
where the end of one nerve cell touches the end of another to communicate
What is the synaptic cleft?
the gap between one nerve cell and another
What contains neurotransmitters?
vesicles
What are neurotransmitters?
chemical compounds
When are neurotransmitters released?
when cell activated through a chemical reaction
What are four examples of neurotransmitters?
- dopamine
- endorphins
- serotonin
- adrenaline
What does the terminus button encompass?
- presynaptic neuron
- vesicles
- mitochondrion
- synaptic cleft
What happens when neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft?
they are passed to the postsynaptic neuron and trigger a response
What are the two major parts of the brain?
- Hindbrain
- Forebrain
What is the hindbrain comprised with?
- cerebellum
- brainstem
What are the two components of the brainstem?
- pons
- medulla
What is the forebrain compromised of?
- diencephalon
- cerebrum
What is the diencephalon?
Gray matter in the deepest part of the forebrain
What is the diencephalon comprised of?
- thalamus
- hypothalamus
- epithalamus
- subthalamus
What is the cerebrum?
The largest part of the human brain, which is responsible for conscious thought, perception, and movement.
What is the cerebrum comprised of?
- grey matter (cerebral cortex)
- white matter (corpus callosum)
- two hemispheres
- four lobes
What is the corpus callosum?
The white matter connecting two hemispheres
What is the corpus callosum?
The white matter connecting two hemispheres
What are the functions of the corpus callosum?
- Communication between hemispheres
- Eye movement and vision
- Maintaining the balance of arousal and attention
- Tactile localization
What are the four lobes?
- frontal
- parietal
- temporal
- occipital
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
sensory perception
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
audition
Where is the Sylvian fissure?
see image 2.1
Where is the central sulcus?
see image 2.2
Where is the precentral gyrus?
see image 2.3
Where is the postcentral gyrus?
see image 2.3
Where is the inferior frontal gyrus?
see image 2.3
Where is Herschl’s gyrus?
see image 2.3
Where is Broca’s Area?
see image 2.3
Where is Weirnicke’s Area?
see image 2.3
Where is the angular gyrus?
see image 2.3
What does Broca’s aphasia effect?
- grammar
- spontaneous speech
What does Weirnicke’s aphasia effect?
- decoding language
- impaired understanding of speech
- impaired silent reading
What is the Herschl’s gyrus responsible for?
It is responsible for processing auditory information
What does the cerebellum control?
- fine-tuning of motor control
- balance, posture, movement
- cognition (mostly)
What does the pons control?
- breathing
- sleep/consciousness
What does the medulla control?
- heart rate
- breathing
- blood pressure
What does the diencephalon control?
- emotions
- automated muscular movements
What are the functions of the amygdala?
- Processes emotions
- Fight or flight
- Swearing
What are the four fs of the amygdala?
- fighting
- fucking
- feeding
- fleeing
What are gyri?
Grooves of brain that stick out
What are sucli?
Valleys of brain that go in
What are fissures?
Deep sulci between the lobes
What are action potentials?
The transmission of electrical charge down axon through dendrites to next neural cells
What are ions?
atoms with a charge (don’t have equal numbers of protons and electrons)
What are the features of an atom?
- do not have an electrical charge
- do have equal numbers of protons and electrons
What charge is the inside of a cell?
negative (K+ & Anions-)
What charge is the outside of a cell?
positive (Na+)
What is resting potential?
voltage difference between inside and outside of axon at rest
What prohibits ions to pass through membrane wall?
protein
What part of the membrane wall does allow ions to pass?
- gates
- sodium-potassium pumps
What happens when the threshold is reached inside the cell?
- Na+ ion gates open
- many Na+ ions rush in
- raises charge (potential)
What happens when peak positive potential is reached?
- K+ channels open
- K+ ions flow out
- Na+ gates close
- charge goes down
- K+ (outside) and Na+ (inside) are switched
What happens in the refectory period?
- Pumps move Na+ out
- Pumps move K+ in
- Undershoot
What is the analogy for the refectory period?
flushing toilet
What happens to action potential once it reaches the terminal point?
- vesicles move to the membrane wall
- vesicles hit the membrane wall
- releases neurotransmitters
- neurotransmitters move to the synaptic cleft
- activates receptors on next neuron
- triggers ion channels to open
What is saltatory conduction?
Action potentials jump rapidly between the nodes of Ranvier rather than movement continuously along the entire length of the axon
AP movement down axon is faster in _____ axon.
thicker
What areas in the brain is language associated with?
- distributed throughout the entire cortex
- differential lateralization of cerebral hemispheres
- areas along the Sylvian fissure (Perisylvian Language Zone)
What is cerebral localization?
Different areas of the brain serve specific functions
What is Broca’s area responsible for?
Conscious speech planning
Where is Broca’s area located?
- Left hemisphere on the frontal lobe
- Posterior portion of the inferior frontal gyrus (frontal operculum)
What are the Brodmann’s areas for Broca’s area?
45, 44
What is Wernicke’s area responsible for?
Conscious speech
comprehension
Where is Wernicke’s area located?
- Posterior section of the superior temporal gyrus (STG)
- In the left hemisphere
What else is superior temporal gyrus (STG) responsible for?
Social cognition
What is not effected in Broca’s aphasia?
understanding
What is not effected in Wernicke’s area?
- production
- fluency
What is the arcuate fasciculus?
Tract (of white matter)
What is the function of the arcuate fasciculus?
To connect Broca’s area with Wernicke’s area
What species have an arcuate fasciculus?
human primates
What results from damage to arcuate fasciculus?
conduction aphasia
What are the effects of conduction aphasia?
Cannot repeat something they are told
What remains uneffected in conduction aphasia?
- understanding
- production
What are arcuate fasciculus anatomical differences associated with?
- stuttering
- dyslexia
- autism
- amusia
- insomnia
What areas are associated with perception?
- Wernicke’s area
- Auditory cortex
- Visual cortex
- Somatosensory cortex
- Amygdala
What areas are associated with production?
- Broca’s area
- Angular gyrus
- Somatomotor cortex
- Cerebellum & basal ganglia
What is the function of the auditory cortex?
Processes auditory information
Where is the auditory cortex located?
On the superior
temporal gyrus
What is the function of the visual cortex?
Processes visual
information
Where is the visual cortex located?
in the occipital lobe
Why is the visual cortex important for language?
- facial ques
- McGurk effect
- sign language
What is the function of the motor cortex?
- to control motor movement
- to receive a conscious speech plan
Where is the motor cortex located?
Anterior to central sulcus
What is the motor homunculus?
The part of the motor cortex that has a direct mapping to each body part
What are the largest areas represented on the motor homunculus?
- hands
- speech articulators
What is another name for the motor cortex?
somatomotor cortex
What is the function of the somatosensory cortex?
to perceive sensation
Where is the somatosensory cortex located?
Posteriortocentralsulcus
What is the sensory homunculus?
The part of the somatosensory cortex that has a direct mapping to each body part
Are the sensory homunculus and the motor homunculus identical?
No, they are slightly different in representation
Where is the amygdala located?
Located in deep grey
matter
Associations between ____ of ____ amygdala at 6 months and ______ and ______ abilities at 2, 3 and 4 years of age.
volume; right; expressive; receptive
What is the function of the angular gyrus?
- High-level speech planning
- Multimodal integration
Where is the angular gyrus located?
- Part of parietal lobe
- near the superior edge of the
temporal lobe
What other part of the brain is also responsible for multimodal integration?
cerebellum (lower level)
Along which fissure are the language areas located?
perisylvian fissure
What language areas are located along the Sylvian fissure?
- Auditory cortex
- Broca’s area
- Angular gyrus
- Wernicke’s area
What type of processing is the mid-superior temporal gyrus most strongly associated with?
phonetic processing
What type of processing is the anterior superior temporal gyrus most strongly associated with?
auditory word- form processing
What type of processing is the anterior superior temporal sulcus most strongly associated with?
phrasal processing
Individual speech sounds tend to group in the brain according to _______.
phonological classes
