[Week 3] The Nervous System Flashcards
Afferent nerves
Nerves that carry messages to the brain or spinal cord.
Agnosias
Due to damage of Wernicke’s area. An inability to recognize objects
Aphasia
Due to damage of the Broca’s area. An inability to produce or understand words.
Arcuate fasciculus
A fiber tract that connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s speech areas.
Autonomic nervous system
A part of the peripheral nervous system that connects to glands and smooth muscles. Consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.
Broca’s area
An area in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. Implicated in language production.
Central sulcus
The major fissure that divides the frontal and the parietal lobes.
Cerebellum
A nervous system structure behind and below the cerebrum. Controls motor movement coordination
Cerebrum
Consists of left and right hemispheres that sit at the top of the nervous system and engages in a variety of higher-order functions.
Cingulate gyrus
part of limbic system, involved in processing emotions and behavior regulation
Computerized axial tomography
A noninvasive brain-scanning procedure that uses X-ray absorption around the head.
Ectoderm
The outermost layer of a developing fetus.
Efferent nerves
Nerves that carry messages from the brain to glands and organs in the periphery.
Electroencephalography
A technique that is used to measure gross electrical activity of the brain by placing electrodes on the scalp.
Event-related potentials
A physiological measure of large electrical change in the brain produced by sensory stimulation or motor responses.
Forebrain
A part of the nervous system that contains the cerebral hemispheres
Frontal lobe
The most forward region (close to forehead) of the cerebral hemispheres.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
(or fMRI) A noninvasive brain-imaging technique that registers changes in blood flow in the brain during a given task (also see magnetic resonance imaging).
Globus pallidus
A nucleus of the basal ganglia.
Gray matter
cortex of cerebrum
Gyrus
(plural form, gyri) A bulge that is raised between or among fissures of the convoluted brain.
Hippocampus
(plural form, hippocampi) A nucleus inside (medial) the temporal lobe implicated in learning and memory.
Homo habilis
A human ancestor
Homo sapiens
Modern man
Hypothalamus
Part of the diencephalon. Regulates biological drives with pituitary gland.
Immunocytochemistry
A method of staining tissue including the brain
Lateral geniculate nucleus
a relay center in the thalamus for the visual pathway
Lateral sulcus
The major fissure that delineates the temporal lobe below the frontal and the parietal lobes.
Lesion studies
A surgical method in which a part of the animal brain is removed to study its effects on behavior or function.
Limbic system
A loosely defined network of nuclei in the brain involved with learning and emotion.
Magnetic resonance imaging
Or MRI is a brain imaging noninvasive technique that uses magnetic energy to generate brain images (also see fMRI).
Magnification factor
Cortical space projected by an area of sensory input (e.g., mm of cortex per degree of visual field).
Medulla oblongata
An area just above the spinal cord that processes breathing
Neural crest
group of embryonic cells that are pinched off during the formation of the neural tube
Neural induction
A process that causes the formation of the neural tube.
Neuroblasts
an embryonic cell from which nerve fibers originate
Neuroepithelium
The lining of the neural tube.
Occipital lobe
The back part of the cerebrum
Parasympathetic nervous system
A division of the autonomic nervous system that is slower than its counterpart—that is, the sympathetic nervous system—and works in opposition to it. Generally engaged in “rest and digest” functions.
Parietal lobe
The primary somatosensory (sense) cortex
Body sensations (e.g., touch, pain, skin temperature)
Damage affects spatial attention (can identify what an object is, but not where it is)
Pons
A bridge that connects the cerebral cortex with the medulla
Positron Emission Tomography
(or PET) An invasive procedure that captures brain images with positron emissions from the brain after the individual has been injected with radio-labeled isotopes.
Primary Motor Cortex
A strip of cortex just in front of the central sulcus that is involved with motor control.
Primary Somatosensory Cortex
A strip of cerebral tissue just behind the central sulcus engaged in sensory reception of bodily sensations.
Rostrocaudal
A front-back plane used to identify anatomical structures in the body and the brain.
Somatic nervous system
the part of the peripheral nervous system associated with the voluntary control of body movements via skeletal muscles
Spina bifida
A developmental disease of the spinal cord
Sulcus
a groove or furrow, especially one on the surface of the brain.
Sympathetic nervous system
A division of the autonomic nervous system
“FIGHT OR FLIGHT”
Temporal lobe
An area of the cerebrum that lies below the lateral sulcus; it contains auditory and olfactory (smell) projection regions.
Thalamus
A part of the diencephalon that works as a gateway for incoming and outgoing information.
Transduction
A process in which physical energy converts into neural energy.
Wernicke’s area
A language area in the temporal lobe where linguistic information is comprehended (Also see Broca’s area).
White matter
Regions of the nervous system that represent the axons of the nerve cells; whitish in color because of myelination of the nerve cells.
Working memory
Short transitory memory processed in the hippocampus.
