Week 1: Pre-lecture 1 and Lecture 1: Intro to Brain Flashcards
Which aspects does a coronal plane divide?
anterior and posterior aspects
Which aspects does a sagittal plane divide?
medial and lateral aspects
What do these mean:
- dorsal
- ventral
- rostral
- caudal
- towards the back
- towards the belly
- towards the face/ nose
- towards the feet
What is the cephalic flexure?
bend between the long axis of the spinal cord and brain stem with respect to the long axis of the cerebrum
Why is the superior surface of the brain also its dorsal surface?
arose from the dorsal aspect of the embryo
The neural tube develops 3 swellings. What are these called?
- Prosencephalon (forebrain)
- Mesencephalon (midbrain)
- Rhombencepahlon (hindbrain)
The three swellings become 5. What are these called?
- Prosencephalon develops into the telencephalon and diencephalon
- Mesencephalon
- Rhombencephalon develops into metencephalon and myelencephalon
What does the telencephalon form?
cerebral hemispheres
What structures does the diencephalon include?
- thalamus - important relay station between brainstem, spinal cord and cerebral cortex
- hypothalamus - controls the ANS - below the thalamus
Give an example of two structures that develop from the metencephalon
pons and cerebellum
Give an example of two structures that develop from the myelencephalon
medulla
Where do the lateral ventricles form from?
telencephalon
What does the optic vesicle (future eye) and 3rd ventricle develop from?
diencephalon
Where does the cerebral aqueduct form from?
mesencephalon
Where does the 4th ventricle form from?
myelencephalon
What happens to the rest of the neural tube during development? (the part that doesn’t form swellings)
forms the spinal cord
How many subdivisions are there of the CNS?
6/7
- cerebral hemispheres
- diencephalon
- midbrain (mesencephalon)
- medulla
- pons
- cerebellum
- spinal cord
What is the function of a neurone?
- convey information via electrical signals called action potentials
- receive, integrate (decide what to do with) and transmit
What are the three types of neurones and their functions?
- Afferent/sensory neurones
- carry information from receptors to CNS - Efferent/ motor neurones
- carry information from CNS to peripheral effects - Interneurones
- link afferents to efferents within CNS (linking sensory neurones directly to motor neurones)
What is the role of dendrites?
to receive information - this information is then processed in the cell body, which then sends the information, conducted by the axon of the neurone, towards the next neurone
What is the function of myelin?
surrounds nerve cell axons to insulate them and increase the rate at which action potentials are passed along the axon
Describe the 3 types of neurones
- Bi-polar: neurone that has two projections arising from the cell; one is an axon and one is a dendrite
- Pseudo-unipolar: has only one projection coming from the cell but this projection splits into two as soon as it arises so info can bypass the cell body
- Multipolar: more than two projections coming from the cell body
Describe the sub-divisions of the cerebrum (forebrain)
Cerebrum:
- Telencephalon (outer brain)
- Diencephalon (inner brain)
What does the brain stem consist of?
In order:
- midbrain (connected directly to the diencephalon)
- pons (bowl shaped)
- medulla oblongata
How is the spinal cord attached to the brain stem?
it is connected to the medulla oblongata in the brainstem
Where is the cerebellum?
behind the brainstem
what is the corpus callosum?
structure of white matter separating the right and left cerebral hemispheres
how are the right and left hemispheres of the brain separated?
by a longitudinal fissure a.k.a superior sagittal fissure
What are gyri?
elevated ridges
What are sulci?
grooves
What is white matter made of?
collection of axons that link neurones
-myelin makes it white
What is grey matter made of?
nerve cell bodies
What is the cerebral cortex?
surface of cerebral hemispheres, made up of gyri and sulci
What is lissencephaly?
- smooth brain (how it begins in embryological development)
- this happens before the brain develop gyri and sulci
- smooth brains are seen in animals that can’t perform higher level functions
The cerebral hemisphere is divided into 4 lobes. What are these?
- frontal
- parietal
- occipital
- temporal
Which lobes do each of these sulci divide?
- Central sulcus
- Parieto-occipital sulcus
- Lateral sulcus
- Divides the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe
- divides the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe
- divides the temporal lobe. and the frontal and parietal lobe
What are the two types of gyri?
- Pre-central gyrus - functions as the primary motor cortex, initiating motor control
- Post central gyrus - functions as the primary sensory cortex, receiving sensory information
