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Physiology Exam 2 > The CNS > Flashcards

The CNS Flashcards

1
Q

The CNS consists of?

A

Brain and spinal cord

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2
Q

CNS receives input from ____ neurons, directs activity of ____ neurons, and ____ neurons maintain homeostasis in the internal environment.

A

Sensory; motor; association

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3
Q

What is gray matter?

A

Neuron cell bodies and dendrites in the CNS

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4
Q

What is white matter?

A

Myelin; consists of axon tracts in the CNS

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5
Q

What is the largest portion of the brain and what is it responsible for?

A

Cerebrum (80% of mass) ; higher mental functions (value system, personality traits)

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6
Q

What is the corpus callosum?

A

Major tract of axons that functionally interconnects RT and LT cerebral hemispheres
**small amount of people born without a corpus callosum (ex: Rain man basically had 2 brains)

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7
Q

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

A

Cognition, reasoning, thinking, moral/ethical center

**fMRIs of criminals: 60-70% shows a deformed frontal lobe

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8
Q

What is Broca’s area responsible for?

A

Speech

  • located in frontal lobe
  • stroke can cause impairment
  • *women’s Broca area is larger (go figure)
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9
Q

What is the cerebral cortex characterized by?

A

Numerous convolutions

  • gyri = elevated folds
  • sulci = depressed grooves
  • body regions with the greatest number of motor innervations are represented by largest areas of motor cortex
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10
Q

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

A

Perception of somasthetic sensation

  • Body regions with highest densities of receptors are represented by largest areas of sensory cortex
  • Sensation/perception, integrating sensory input
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11
Q

What is the temporal lobe responsible for?

A

Interpretation and association of auditory and visual information

  • contain auditory centers that receive sensory fibers from cochlea
  • Sensory experiences, memory of visual and auditory patterns
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12
Q

What is the occipital lobe responsible for?

A

Vision and coordination of eye movements

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13
Q

What is insula responsible for?

A
  • Implicated in memory encoding
  • Integration of sensory information with visceral responses
  • Coordinated cardiovascular response to stress
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14
Q

With what tests can the brain be visualized?

A

1) CT (computed tomography)
2) PET (positron-emission tomography)
3) MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)

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15
Q

What is a CT?

A

Complex computer manipulations of data obtained from x-ray absorption by tissues of different densities

  • Soft tissue
  • Shows you slices of the brain
  • To visualize tumors, aneurysm or encephalopathies
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16
Q

What is a PET?

A

Radioisotopes that emit positrons are injected into blood stream -> collision of positron and electron result in emission of gamma rays

  • Pinpoint brain cells that are most active
  • Brain metabolism, drug distribution
  • Maps the brain, a lot of radiation
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17
Q

What is an MRI?

A

Protons (H+) respond to magnetic field, which align the protons -> emit a radio-wave signal when stimulated

  • Brain function
  • fMRI (functional mRI) carefully, tediously used to create brain maps
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18
Q

What is an electroencephalogram (EEG)?

A

Measures synaptic potentials produced at cell bodies and dendrites

  • Create electrical currents
  • Used clinically to diagnose epilepsy and brain death
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19
Q

What are the 4 EEG patterns?

A

1) Alpha
2) Beta
3) Theta
4) Delta

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20
Q

Where is the EEG pattern alpha recorded?

A

From parietal and occipital regions

  • person is awake, relaxed, with eyes closed
  • 10-12 cycles/sec
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21
Q

Where is the EEG pattern beta recorded?

A

Strongest from frontal lobes near precentral gyrus

  • produced by visual stimuli and mental activity
  • evoked activity
  • 13-25 cycles/sec
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22
Q

Where is the EEG pattern theta recorded?

A

Emitted from temporal and occipital lobes

  • common in newborn
  • adult indicates severe emotional stress (i.e. in touro class of 2020)
  • 5-8 cycles/sec
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23
Q

Where is the EEG pattern delta recorded?

A

Emitted in a general pattern

  • common during sleep and awake infant
  • in awake adult indicates brain damage
  • 1-5 cycles/sec
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24
Q

What are the 2 types of EEG patterns during sleep?

A

1) REM (rapid eye movement): every 90 mins; dreams occur during this; low-amplitude, high-frequency oscillations; similar to wakefulness (beta waves); extremely important for CSF wash (cleans beta-amyloid plaques)
2) non-REM (resting): high-amplitude, low-frequency waves (delta waves); superimposed on these are sleep spindles (waxing and waning bursts of 7-14 cycles/sec; last for 1-3 sec)

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25
What is the basal nuclei?
Masses of gray matter composed of neuronal cell bodies located deep within white matter - functions in the control of voluntary movements - also known as basal ganglia
26
What is cerebral lateralization?
Cerebral dominance (specialization of one hemisphere) - Left hemisphere: more adept in language and analytical problems (damage -> severe speech problems) - Right hemisphere: more adept at visuospatial tasks (damage -> difficulty finding way around house)
27
What 4 areas are involves in language?
1) Broca's area 2) Wernicke's area 3) Angular gyrus 4) Arcuate fasciculus
28
What part of language is Broca's area involved in?
Articulation of speech | -damage -> comprehension of speech in unimpaired
29
What part of language is Wernicke's area involved in?
Language comprehension | -damage -> language comprehension is destroyed, but speech is rapid without any meaning
30
What part of language is Angular gyrus involved in?
Center of integration of auditory, visual and somathestic information -damage -> aphasias
31
What part of language is Arcuate fasciculus involved in?
To speak intelligibly, words originating in Wernicke's area must be sent to Broca's area -Broca's area sends fibers to the motor cortex which directly controls the musculature of speech
32
What area are important in the neural basis of emotional states?
Hypothalamus and limbic system
33
What is the limbic system?
Group of forebrain nuclei and fiber tracts that form a ring around the brain stem -center for basic emotional drives
34
The limbic system functions as a ____ circuit.
Closed (Papez circuit) -fornix connects hippocampus to hypothalamus, which projects to the thalamus which sends fibers back to the limbic system
35
What is a mirror neuron?
When you see someone cry/laugh you want to do the same -> allows empathy **Autistic people do not have these
36
What areas are involved in aggression?
Amygdala and hypothalamus
37
What areas are involved in fear?
Amygdala and hypothalamus
38
What area is involved in feeding?
Hypothalamus
39
What areas are involved in sexual drive and behavior?
Hypothalamus and limbic system
40
What areas are involved in goal directed behavior (reward and punishment)?
Hypothalamus and frontal cortex
41
What area is a critical component of memory?
Hippocampus
42
What area consolidates short term into long term memory?
Medial temporal lobe
43
Acquisition of new information, facts and events requires what areas?
Hippocampus and medial temporal lobe
44
What does long-term memory require?
Activation of genes, leading to protein synthesis and formation of new synaptic connections -Altered postsynaptic growth of dendritic spines in area of contact
45
What area stores factual information?
Cerebral cortex - Visual memories lateralized to left hemisphere - Visuospatial information lateralized to right hemisphere
46
What area is involved in performing exact mathematical calculations?
Prefrontal lobes | -complex, problem-solving and planning activities
47
What is long-term potentiation?
Type of synaptic learning | -Synapses that are first stimulated at high frequency will subsequently exhibit increased excitability
48
How does glutamate cause long-term potentiation in the hippocampus?
- Requires activation of the NMDA receptors for glutamate -> glutamate and glycine or D-serine binding and partial depolarization are required for opening of channels for Ca2+ and Na+ - May also involved presynaptic changes: binding of glutamate to NMDA receptors and simultaneous depolarization, open receptor channels for Ca2+ -> Ca2+ causes long-term potentiation in postsynaptic neuron, release of NO from postsynaptic neuron -> NO acts as a retrograde messenger, causing release of NT
49
What are neural stem cells?
Cells that both renew themselves through mitosis and produce differentiated neurons and neuroglia
50
Which area has been show to contain stem cells?
Hippocampus; required from long-term memory
51
What is neurogenesis?
Production of new neurons | -indirect evidence that links neurogenesis in hippocampus with learning and memory
52
What info does the lateral geniculate nuclei relay?
Visual info (thalamus -> cerebrum)
53
What info does the medial geniculate nuclei relay?
Auditory info (thalamus -> cerebrum)
54
What info does the intralaminar nuclei relay?
Alertness and arousal from sleep (thalamus -> cerebrum) | -activated by many sensory modalities and projects to many areas
55
What does the epithalmus contain?
- Choroid plexus where CSF is formed | - Pineal gland which secretes melatonin
56
What does the hypothalamus contain? What does it stimulate, produce and coordinate?
Neural centers for hunger, thirst, and body temp. - contributes to regulation of sleep, wakefulness, emotions, sexual arousal, anger, fear, pain and pleasure - stimulates hormonal release from anterior pituitary - produces ADH (vasopressin) and oxytocin (from posterior pituitary) -> both stored in pituitary gland - coordinates sympathetic and parasympathetic reflexes
57
What is the posterior pituitary responsible for?
Storing and releasing ADH and oxytocin
58
Hypothalamus produces releasing and inhibiting hormones that are transported to ______ pituitary.
Anterior | -regulate secretions of anterior hormones
59
What does the anterior pituitary regulate?
Secretions of hormones of other endocrine glands
60
What is the substantia nigra required for?
- Required for motor coordination - Damaged in Parkinson's - NT for this is Dopamine - In midbrain
61
What is the pons important for?
- Controls breathing (primitive) - Contains the apneustic and pneumotaxic respiratory centers - Necessary for motor movements - In hindbrain (metencephalon)
62
What is the cerebellum necessary for?
- Participates in coordination of movements - Necessary for motor learning, coordinating different joints during movements, and limb movements - In hindbrain - Receives input from proprioceptors
63
What does the vasomotor center control?
Controls autonomic innervation of blood vessels | -in hindbrain
64
What is the reticular formation?
Complex network of nuclei and nerve fivers within medulla, pons, midbrain, thalamus and hypothalamus -Functions as the reticular activating system (RAS): nonspecific arousal of cerebral cortex to incoming sensory information
65
What do ascending spinal tracts convey?
Convey sensory information from cutaneous receptors, proprioceptors and visceral receptors to cerebral cortex -Sensory fiber tract decussation may occur in medulla or spinal cord
66
What are the descending spinal tracts?
- Corticospinal tracts (pyramidal): descend directly without synaptic interruption from cerebral cortex to spinal cord ; function in control of fine movements that require dexterity - Reticulospinal tracts (extrapyramidal): influence movement indirectly; gross motor movement
67
Motor response to small muscles occurs in what tracts?
Anterior and lateral corticospinal tract
68
Where do the cranial nerves arise from?
- 2 pairs from neuron cell bodies in forebrain - 10 pairs from midbrain and hindbrain - Most are mixed nerves containing both sensory and motor fibers
69
How many spinal nerves are there?
31 pairs grouped into 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral and 1 coccygeal - Mixed nerve that separated near the attachment of the nerve to spinal cord - Produces 2 roots to each nerve (dorsal root = sensory fibers; ventral root = motor fibers)
70
What is the reflex arc?
Unconscious motor response to a sensory stimulus - Stimulation of sensory receptors evokes APs that are conducted into spinal cord -> synapses with association neuron, which synapses with somatic motor neuron - Conducts impulses to muscle and stimulates a reflex contaction - Brain is not directly involved!

Physiology Exam 2 (4 decks)

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