Week 2 - Structure of the brain Flashcards
What are the components of the Central Nervous System?
- The brain
- The spinal cord
What is the Peripheral Nervous System?
The part of the nervous system that consists of nerves that are located outside of the brain and spinal cord
What are afferent neurons?
Nerves that carry information from the peripheral nervous system to the spinal cord and brain
What are efferent neurons?
Nerves that carry information from the spinal cord and brain to the peripheral nervous system
What are sensory neurons?
A type of afferent neuron that carries information about the internal and external environment from the PNS to the CNS
Are sensory neurons afferent or efferent?
Afferent
Are motor neurons afferent or efferent?
Efferent
What are motor neurons?
Neurons that carry information from the brain to the muscles to initiate movement
What are the two main subdivisions of the Peripheral Nervous System?
- Autonomic nervous system
- Somatic nervous system
What is the autonomic nervous system?
The part of the nervous system which controls activities of the body that are outside of conscious control, eg heart rate and digestion of food
What are the two components of the autonomic nervous system?
- Sympathetic nervous system
- Parasympathetic nervous system
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
The part of the autonomic nervous system which controls “fight or flight” responses
What is the parasympathetic nervous system?
The part of the autonomic nervous system which deals with “rest and digest”
What is the sensory nervous system?
The system which is responsible for sensory neurons communicating information from the sense organs to the brain
What is the motor nervous system?
The system which deals with neurons which are responsible for the voluntary control of movement
What are the general characteristics of a stress response?
- Increase in heart rate
- Increase in breathing (lungs dilate)
- Decrease in digestive activity
- Liver releases glucose for energy
What are neurotransmitters?
Chemicals released by neurons which have effects on neighbouring cells
What are the 3 types of cells that neurotransmitters affect?
- Neurons
- Endocrine cells
- Muscle cells
What are receptors?
Proteins on or within a cell which respond to a biological molecule such as a neurotransmitter
What is noradrenalin?
A neurotransmitter which is primarily used within the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system to transmit information to effector cells
What is noradrenalin also known as?
Norepinephrine
What type of cells does noradrenalin affect?
Effector cells
Within which branch of the autonomic nervous system is noradrenlin primarily used?
The sympathetic branch
Along with the sympathetic nervous system, what is the other component of a stress response?
The neuroendocrine system
What is the neuroendocrine system?
The system which comprises the hypothalamus and glands and controls hormone levels in the blood
What does the neuroendocrine system control?
Hormone levels in the blood
What is the function of hormones?
To regulate the activity level of cells and tissues
What is the difference between a hormone and a neurotransmitter?
- A hormone is a chemical which is released from a gland into the blood and circulates around the body
- A neurotransmitter is a chemical which is released from neurons to act directly on their target cell/organ
What areas of the brain does the neuroendocrine system consist of?
- Hypothalamus
- Pituitary gland
- Adrenal gland
What is a stressor?
Any stimulus which triggers a stress response
What is the hypothalamus?
The brain structure which is responsible for the control of many bodily functions
Which additional brain structure does the hypothalamus link to and why?
- The pituitary gland
- To modulate the release of hormones
Where in the body is the adrenal gland?
Just above the kidney
During the stress response is noradrenaline functioning as a neurotransmitter or a hormone?
Noradrenaline functions as both a hormone and a neurotransmitter
What is the feature of the stress response which ensures that cortisol levels in the blood do not rise indefinitely?
Negative feedback loops act on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland to dampen their activity
What is the third branch of the autonomic nervous system?
The enteric nervous system (ENS)
Why is the enteric nervous system different from the other parts of the peripheral nervous system?
There are some reflexes which operate entirely within the gut, without any input from the CNS
What is the gut-brain axis?
Biodirectional communication between the brain and the GI system involving the immune system, neurons and the neuroendocrine system
What are the components of the gut-brain axis?
- Vagus nerve
- Neuroendocrine system
- Immune system
At the simplest level, what are the three components of the brain?
- Cerebrum
- Cerebellum
- Brain stem
Which area of the brain is the largest?
The cerebrum
What regions of the brain are contained within the cerebrum?
- Cerebral cortex
- Subcortical regions
What are the functions of the cerebellum?
- Control of balance
- Movement
Where is the cerebellum located?
To the back of, and below, the cerebrum
Where is the brain stem located?
Below the cerebrum
What is the brain stem responsible for?
Control of involuntary processes, e.g. heart rate and breathing
What is the frontal lobe responsible for?
- Controlling movement and language
- Higher level cognitive skills such as reasoning and reasoning and planning
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
- Processing information about touch
- Spatial awareness
What is the occipital lobe resonsible for?
- Processing of visual information
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
- Processing auditory information
- Speech
- Memory
Which part of your brain would be responsible for deciding how to respond to the sound of a smoke alarm?
Frontal lobe
Which part of the brain is responsible for ascertaining the position of body parts in relation to one another, and using that information to guide movement?
Parietal lobe
Which part of the brain is responsible for processing visual information in order to move away from an area of danger?
Occipital lobe
Which part of the brain is responsible for processing the sound of a smoke alarm?
Temporal lobe
Which area of the brain is the largest?
Cerebrum
Which part of the brain is responsible for the complex higher order processing?
Cerebrum
Which area of the brain is responsible for the control of balance and movement?
Cerebellum
Where is the brain stem located?
Where the spinal cord joins the brain
Which part of the brain controls reflexes?
Brain stem
What are gyri?
The ridges on the surface of the cortex of the brain
What is the purpose of gyri?
To increase the surface area of the brain, which allows billions of cells to be contained in a relatively small space
What are sulci?
The grooves between the gyri
What is the purpose of the sulci?
To provide brain landmarks
Which area of the brain is involved in reasoning, movement and language?
Frontal lobe
Which area of the brain deals with processing touch information and spatial awareness?
Parietal lobe
What information does the occipital lobe process?
Visual information
Memory, understanding speech, and hearing are dealt with by which area of the brain?
Temporal lobe
What is the prefrontal cortex important for?
- Reasoning
- Moderating behaviour
- Planning
- Decision making
Planning and execution of voluntary movement is dealt with by which area of the brain?
Motor cortex
What is the primary somatosensory cortex?
The area of the brain which deals with processing information regarding touch, pain, temperature and body position from the sense organs
Information from the visual system is dealt with by which area of the brain?
Primary visual cortex
Information about sounds are dealt with where in the brain?
Primary auditory cortex
Where is the prefrontal cortex located within the brain?
The most anterior part of the frontal lobe
What is a coronal cut?
A vertical cut from the top of the brain to the bottom
What does a coronal cut do?
Divides the brain into a front and back portion
Which subdivision of the frontal lobe is important for executive function such as planning complex behaviour, decision-making and moderating behaviour?
Prefrontal cortex
Where is the orbitofrontal cortex situated within the brain?
At the very front
What is the orbitofrontal cortex important for?
- Reward
- Emotions
Touch and spatial awareness are dealt with by which part of the brain?
Parietal lobe