unit 1 outcome 1 - brain Flashcards
Brain ans neurons
what is the cerebral cortex?
- is where high order thinking and information processing takes place
what does the cerebral cortex look like?
- high folded
- 3mm thick
- 80% of the brains volume
- large salvo ration
what do sensory areas do?
receives and processes information from the senses
what do motor areas do?
receive, process and send information about movement
what do association areas do?
integrates sensory, motor and other information and are included in complex mental abilities
what separates our left and right hemispheres?
longitudinal fissure
what is the corpus callosum?
- band of nerve fibres, 10cm long
- allows to transfer information between the two hemispheres
right hemisphere functions
- voluntary movement of the left side
- non verbal tasks
- spatial awareness
- creative ( art, music, beauty)
- facial recognition and emotion
- sensations from the left side
left hemisphere
- controls voluntary movement of the right side
- verbal task
- analysing
- logical reasoning
- sensations from the right Side
what does the primary motor cortex do?
- voluntary movement of skeletal muscles
- top part of the cortex moves the bottom part of body e.g.
- functions contralaterally
- in the frontal lobe
broca’s area
- left frontal lobe
- clear and fluent speech
- grammatical structure of sentence
association areas of the frontal lobe
- high order thinking, planning, judgement, personality and emotion
- phones gage
what does the primary somatosensory cortex do?
- receiving and processing sensation such as touch, pain and temperature
- functions contralaterally
- top part of the cortex control the bottom part of body
parietal lobe association area function
- spatial awareness and spacial skills e.g. parking, rubric cube
what does the primary visual cortex do?
- seeing the visual stimuls e.g. orange circle
occipital lobe association areas
- articulate what you see
- integrating visual info with other lobes
- forming memory of visual stimuli
primary auditory cortex
- receives and process auditory information
left= verbal
right= no verbal
wernickes area
- located in the left temporal lobe
- responsible for language comprehension and production of meaningful speech
association area in the temporal lobe
- memory
- facial recognition
Brian development
- birth
- 6 months
- 2 years
- 6 years
- mid 20s
birth= 1/4 adult size 6 months = 1/2 adult size 2 years= 3/4 6 years= 90-95% mid 20s= adult size
what is myelination?
- the growth and development of the white fatty myelin around the axon
what is synaptogenesis?
- the formation of new synapses between the brain’s neurons
what is synaptic pruning ?
- is the elimination of excess neurons and synapse that are not being used and have not established a connection with other neurons
- use it or lose it
what is brain injury ?
- any brain damage that impart or interfere with normal functioning of the brain
- temporary or permanent
what happens when you damage your frontal lobe?
biological - physical changes - impairments with motor activity psychological - changes in emotion ans personality - cognitive impairment social - difficulty to establish new relationships - breakdown of relationships
parietal lobe damage- what is spacial neglect?
what causes it?
- an attentional disorder in which the patient ignores stimuli on one side of the world ( usually left) ( damage of the right)
- stroke or accident victim
what is brain plasticity?
is the ability for the brain to change its structure or function in response to stimulation from the envirnment
- neural connections can be modified for different reasons
what is adaptive plasticity?
- the ability of the brain to compensate for the lost function and/or to maximise remaining functions in the event of brain injury
- rerouting and sprouting
what is Parkinson’s disease?
- is a progressive , degenerative, neurological condition that affects the control of body movement
- destroys neurons in the substantia nigra ( no dompomine)
symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
- tremors
- postural instability
- slowness of movement
- muscle rigidity ( stiffness)
what is the forebrain?
- it is the largest and most developed part of the brain
- responsible for high order thinking, problem solving, planning, memory, emotion , body language
the spinal cord
- covered by a series of bones called vertebrae
- connects brain and PNS
- replays info to and from the brain
what is the PNS?
- is all neurons outside of the CNS
- carries messages to and from the CNS
what is the somatic nervous system?
- is responsible for the voluntary movement of skeletal muscles e.g.. sport
- consists of sensory and motor neurons
what is the autonomic nervous system?
- comprises nerves that control bodily functions that are not voluntary
e. g. digestive system, respiratory system - controls internal organs e.g.. heart and stomach and glands such as thyroid
glial cells- microglia
- extremely small cells that protect neurons from foreign substances
- eliminate debris and clean up the nervous system
what is the sympathetic nervous system?
- activate flight and fight response
- increases responsiveness of muscles and organs during activity, stress or when treated
what is the parasympathetic nervous system? What are it roles?
- returns the body to a state of calm once stress tor the threat is gone
- responsible for maintaining homeostasis ( normal/ balance internal environment) heart rate, breathing
what are the glial cells of the CNS?
- astrocytes
- oligodendroglia
- microglia
what is the axon terminal?
- contains terminal buttons which contain neurotransmitters
glial cells- astrocytes
- star shaped, largest and most numerous
- provides structural support for neurons, removed waste, repairs and maintains chemical concentration
what is the myelin sheath?
white fatty substance covering the axon
- acts as an electrical insulator
- increases the speed of the neural signal
what systems makes up the PNS?
autonomic
- sympathetic
- parasympathetic
somatic
brochas area
-frontal lobe association area
frontal lobe
- largest lobe
- contains primer motor cortex
- responsible for voluntary movement skeletal muscles
- different parts of the motor cortex is responsible for different parts of the body movement
- top motor cortex= bottom part of the body
what dies the forebrain contain?
hypothalamus (is a small structure that has a role in survival actions and regulating internal environment e.g. sleep regulation, temp and hunger )
- thalamus ( is located beneath the cerebral cortex. it is divided into 2 egg shaped structures. sensory relay station. it enables the organism to process sensory stimulus and decide what we need to pay attention to- communication centre)
- the cerebrum (is the biggest and most recognised part. it is covered by the cerebral cortex. it is split into 2 hemispheres by the longitudinal fissure)
what do glial cells do?
- help support the Neuron
- provide insulation, nutrient and support for the Neuron
- assists in repairing Neurons and eliminating waste products
what is a synapse?
is the gap that separates the axon terminals from the dendrites. Neurotransmitters are released across the synapse to enable communication between neurons
motor nuerons (efferent)
- carries info away from the brain to the PNS or muscles or organs or glands
glial cells- oligodendroglia
- insulates neurons in the CNS by forming and maintaining myelin sheath around the axon
- plays a role in the neurons nutrition
glial cells- Schwann cells
- similar function to oligodendroglia cells (from myelin sheath around axon in the PNS)
what is the cell body (soma)?
- contains the nucleus which keeps the cell alive
- receives info from the dendrites and then transmits it along the axon
the hindbrain contains….
- the medulla ( is a continuation of the spine, it controls vital bodily functions e.g. breathing, HR and digestion)
- the pons ( sits above the medulla, receives info sent from visual areas to control you eye and body action) also regulates sleep and arousal
- the cerebellum ( walnut shaped, receives info form the pons, coordinates the sequence of body movement) injury can result in loss of balance
CNS structure and function
brain and spinal cord
enables the brain to communicate with the rest of the body by conveying messages form the brain to the PNS and from the PNS to the brain
what is the structure of the PNS
- somatic
- autonomic
+ sypmathathic
+ parasympathetic
Dendrites-
receive incoming messages from neighbouring cells
Cell body ( soma) -
integrates information received from the dendrites and transmits it ti the axon. Contains the nucleus which is responsible for keeping the cell alive.
Axon-
single tube like, fluid filled structure. Carries the neural impulses away from the cell body towards the axon terminals
Synapse-
is the gap that separates the axon terminal from the dendrites. The neurotransmitters are released across the synapse to allow communication between the neutrons
neurotransmitteres
The neurotransmitters are released across the synapse to allow communication between the neutrons
what is hemisphere specialisation?
refers to the idea that one hemisphere exerts greater control over a particular function
what are examples of hemisphere specialisation?
left- verbal task
analysing
logic reasoning
right- creative
- facial recognition
- emotions
spatial awareness
what is developmental plasticity ?
is the ability of the synapses to be modified
what are the 5 stages of developmental plasticity?
- proliferation
- migration
- circuit formation
- synaptic pruning
- myelination
what is proliferation ?
is the process whereby the unborn baby cells that will become neurons divide and multiply ( approx 250000 cell per min)
label a neuron
- dendrites
- nuclei
- soma ( cell body)
- axon
- myelin sheath
- Schwann cell
- axon terminal
what is the function of the nervous system?
- receive information
- process information
- respond to information
label the brain
forebrain
midbrain
hindbrain
what is the midbrain?
is the central part of the brain. in contains neural pathways connecting the upper and lower parts of the brain
- regulates arousal
- regulates the sleep wake cycle
what is the hindbrain?
supports vital Bodily functions and it is the link between the spinal cord and the Brain.
- muscle movement
- vital bodily functions
what is migration?
is when Newley formed neurons move outward to their destined location
what is circuit formation?
is a process that involves axons of new neurons growing growing out to target cells, forming new synapses with them
some causes of brain damage are?
- head injury
- stroke
- anorexia
brocas aphasia
- left frontal lobe
- cannot form a sentence
Wernickes aphasia
- left temporal lobe
- cannot understand written or spoken speech
