Week 5- A Walk Through the Brain Flashcards
What makes up the Central Nervous System?
The Brain and The Spinal Cord
What makes up the Peripheral Nervous System?
Nerves that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body
There are two types of Nervous System:
Central Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System
The Peripheral Nervous System is made up of two sub-systems:
Somatic System
Autonomic System
Function of the Somatic System
This connects the central nervous system to the voluntary muscles: muscles we have control over like moving your arm or leg.
Function of the autonomic system
Connects the central nervous system to the involuntary muscles and glands: all those things you don’t have conscious control over such as the beating of your heart.
The autonomic system is branched into two, which includes;
Sympathetic Nervous System
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Function of the Sympathetic Nervous System
prepares you for action! This system mobilizes the body’s resources during stress and emergencies, e.g. heart beats during a confrontation.
Function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System
says to the body “Whoa, calm down…” This system brings the heightened bodily responses back to normal following an emergency, e.g. your heart rate slows down once the fight is over.
The Spinal Cord
-An extension of the brain
-the spinal cord can act without help from the brain to protect us from injury.
- The spinal cord transmits messages between the brain and the peripheral nervous system. This is how messages from the brain can be sent to the muscles, the glands and other parts of the body
- Protected by bone and spinal fluid, it serves as a shock absorber.
The brainstem consists of:
The pons, the medulla, and the reticular formation
Brainstem: Pons
Plays a role in the body movement and exerts an influence on sleep and dreaming.
Brainstem: Medulla
The medulla controls the heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure, coughing and swallowing.
Brainstem: Reticular Formation
-Plays a crucial role in arousal and attention.
-Screens the messages entering the brain which blocks or send some messages to the brain center for processing.
-Determines how alert we are, which can make us doze off when it slows down or jolt us back into consciousness.
Functions of the Cerebellum
-To execute smooth, skilled movements and regulate muscle tone and posture.
-Enables you to walk in a straight line or touch the tip of your nose.
Thalamus
-Pain goes directly to the thalamus except the sense of smell.
For example, if you hear a song playing, the thalamus sends signals on to an auditory area. Or, if you feel a pin prick it send signals on to a somatosensory area.
What structure of the brain registers the sense of smell
The Olfactory bulb
Function of the Limbic System
-Controls basic emotions and drives
-Memory formation
-Instincts
Three main structures in the limbic system are the:
hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus
Hypothalamus
-Regulates hunger, thirst, sexual behaviour and emotional behaviour
-Regulates internal body temperature, starting the process that causes us to perspire when we are too hot and to shiver when we are too cold.
-Maintains nearly all of our bodily functions.
Amygdala
-Responsible for evaluating sensory information and instantly assessing danger or threat.
-Involved in learned fear responses and helps us avoid danger.
-Allows us recognize facial expressions and understand emotional tones of voice.
Hippocampus
-Essential In the formation of memories
-Allows us to navigate through space, by creating mental maps of places we have been.
Social emotional agnosia
a disorder where brain injury or damage causes an inability to recognize facial expressions.
Medulla Oblongata
Houses breathing control centers, and an area which generates breathing rhythm
Ventricles
Cleans up after the brain
Cerebrum
-Determines our personality and level of intelligence
-Interpreting sensory information: planning and organization
Hemispheres
The cerebrum is divided into 2 separate halves
-The Left side handles most language functions and is specialized for maths and logic.
-The Right side processes music, interpretes emotional messages conveyed by tone of voice and gestures.
Frontal Lobes
-Largest lobes in the brain
-Responsible for higher order thinking, like evaluation or analysis and impulse regulation
-Strong correlation between frontal lobe damage and stroke, or depression and anxiety, suggesting that frontal lobe play a role in emotional regulation too.
The frontal cortex and love
-The prefrontal cortex, which is at the very front of the frontal lobe, is our brain’s reasoning, command, and control center.
-When we experience love, this area of the brain shuts down a bit.
Temporal Lobe
Involved in the reception and interpretation of auditory stimulation
Parietal Lobe
Involved in the reception and processing of touch stimuli
Occipital Lobe
Involved in the reception and interpretation of visual information
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
-System responsible for our hormones
While these chemicals stimulate the functions in the body, they are different from neurotransmitters.
Pituitary Gland
-Controls by the hypothalamus and releases hormones that turn on the other glands.
-Responsible for body growth and the release of oxytocin, which is responsible for lactation, orgasm, initiation of labour and feelings of trust and comfort.
Another name for Oxytocin
‘love hormone’ and the ‘cuddle hormone’
Gonads
-Reproductive glands
-Responsible for secondary sex characteristics like pubic hair, breasts in female.
