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anatomy & physiology > Week 7 - Central Nervous System > Flashcards

Week 7 - Central Nervous System Flashcards

1
Q

What are the brain regions?

A
  1. cerebral hemispheres (2 hemispheres)
  2. diencephalon
  3. brain stem
  4. cerebellum
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2
Q

Describe the cerebral hemispheres.

A
  • they are paired (left and right)
  • superior parts of the brain
  • include more than half of the brain mass
  • the surface is made of elevated ridges (gyri/gyrus) and grooves (sulci/sulcus)
  • fissures are deeper grooves
  • loves are named for the cranial bones that lie over them
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3
Q

What are the 3 main regions of the cerebral hemisphere?

A
  1. cortex is superficial gray matter
  2. white matter
  3. basal nuclei are deep pockets of gray matter
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4
Q

What is part of the cerebral hemispheres?

A
  • cortex: gray matter

- basal nuclei

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5
Q

What is part of the Diencephalon region?

A
  • thalamus
  • hypothalamus
  • limbic system — a functional system
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6
Q

What is part of the Cerebral hemispheres?

A
  • midbrain
  • pons
  • medulla oblongata
  • reticular fromation — a functional system
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7
Q

What is part of the Cerebellum?

A
  • cerebellum
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8
Q

Function of Cortex: gray matter

A
  • localizes and interprets sensory inputs
  • controls voluntary and skilled skeletal muscle activity
  • acts in intellectual and emotional processing
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9
Q

function of basal nulclei

A
  • subcortical motor centers help control skeletal muscle movements (figure 7.14)
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10
Q

function of thalamus*

A
  • relays sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex
  • relays impulses between cerebral motor cortex and lower motor centers
  • involved in memory
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11
Q

function of hypothalamus*

A
  • **KEYWORD - REGULATION
  • chief integration center of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system
  • regulates body temperature, food intake, water balance, and thirst
  • regulates HORMONAL OUTPUT of anterior pituitary gland and acts as an endocrine organ (producing ADH and oxytocin)
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12
Q

function of limbic system — a functional system

A
  • includes cerebral and diencephalon structures (e.g. hypothalamus and anterior thalamic nuclei)
  • mediates emotional response; involved in memory processing
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13
Q

anatomy of midbrain

A
  • contains visual and auditory reflex centers
  • contains subcortical motor centers
  • contains nuclei for cranial nerves III and IV
  • contains projection fibers (e.g. fibers of the pyramidal tracts)
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14
Q

anatomy of pons

A
  • relays information from the cerebrum to the cerebellum
  • cooperates with the medullary centers to control respiratory rate and depth (breathing)
  • contains nuclei of cranial nerves V-VII
  • contains projection fibers
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15
Q

anatomy of medulla oblongata

A
  • relays ascending sensory pathway impulses from skin and proprioceptors
  • contains nuclei controlling heart rate, blood vessel diameter, respiratory rate, vomiting, etc.
  • relays sensory information to the cerebellum
  • contains nuclei of cranial nerves VIII-XII
  • contains projection fibers
  • site of crossover pyramids
  • where the motor pathway crosses over
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16
Q

function of reticular formation — a functional system

A
  • RAS
  • maintains cerebral cortical alertness; filters our repetitive stimuli
  • helps regulate skeletal and visceral muscle activity
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17
Q

function of cerebellum

A
  • process information from the cerebral motor cortex, proprioceptors, and visual and equilibrium pathways
  • provides “instructions” to the cerebral motor cortex and subcortical motor centers, resulting in smooth, coordinated skeletal muscle movements
  • responsible for proper balance and posture
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18
Q

What is the primary somatic sensory area (cerebral cortex)?

A
  • located in parietal lobe posterior to central sulcus
  • receives impulses from the body’s sensory receptors
    —– pain, temperature, light touch (except for special senses)
  • sensory homunculus is a spatial map
    left side of the primary somatic sensory area receives impulses from right side (vice versa)
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19
Q

Cerebral areas involved in special senses

A
  • visual area (occipital lobe)
  • auditory area (temporal lobe)
  • olfactory area (temporal lobe)
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20
Q

What is the primary motor area (cerebral cortex)?

A
  • located anterior to the central sulcus in the frontal lobe
  • allows us to consciously move skeletal muscles
  • motor neurons form pyramidal (corticospinal) tract, which descends to spinal cord
  • motor homunculus is a spatial map
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21
Q

What is the Broca’s area / motor speech area (cerebral cortex)?

A
  • involved in our ability to speak

- usually in left hemisphere

22
Q

Other specialized areas in the cerebral cortex

A
  • anterior association area (frontal lobe)
  • posterior association area (posterior cortex)
  • speech area (for sounding out words)
23
Q

Describe Cerebral white matter

A
  • composed of fiber tracts deep to the gray matter
  • corpus callosum connects hemispheres
  • tracts, such as the corpus callosum, are known as “commissures”
  • association fiber tracts connect areas within a hemisphere
  • projection fiber tracts connect the cerebrum with lower CNS centers
24
Q

Describe Basal nuclei

A
  • “islands” of gray matter buried within the white matter of the cerebrum
  • regulate voluntary motor activities by modifying instructions sent to skeletal muscles by the primary motor cortext
25
Q

Describe Diencephalon

A
  • sits on top of the brain step

- enclosed by the cerebral hemispheres

26
Q

What 3 structures is the Diencephalon made of?

A
  1. thalamus
  2. hypothalamus
  3. epithalamus
27
Q

describe diencephalon: thalamus

A
  • encloses the third ventricle
  • relay station for sensory impulses passing upward to the cerebral cortex
  • transfers impulses to the correct part of the cortex for localization and interpretation
28
Q

describe diencephalon: hypothalamus

A
  • makes up the floor of the diencephalon
  • important autonomic nervous system center
  • – regulates body temperate
  • – regulates water balance
  • – regulates metabolism
  • houses the limbic center for emotions
  • regulates the nearby pituitary gland
  • houses mammillary bodies for olfaction (smell)
29
Q

describe diencephalon: epithalamus

A
  • forms the rood of the third ventricle
  • houses the pineal body (an endocrine gland)
  • includes the choroid plexus (forms cerebrospinal fluid)
30
Q

What is the brain stem?

A

attaches to the spinal cord

31
Q

What are the brain stem?

A
  1. midbrain
  2. pons
  3. medulla oblongata
32
Q

describe midbrain

A
  • extends from the mammilary bodies to the pons inferiorly
  • cerebral aqueduct (tiny canal) connects the third and fourth ventricles
  • two bulging fiber tracts, cerebral peduncles, convey ascending and descending impulses
  • four rounded protrusions, corpora quadrigemina, are visual and auditory reflex centers
33
Q

describe pons

A
  • rounded structure protruding just below the midbrain
  • mostly composed of fiber tracts
  • includes nuclei involved in the control of breathing
34
Q

describe: medulla oblongata

A
  • the most inferior part of the brain stem that merges into the spinal cord
  • includes important fiber tracts
  • contains important centers that control:
  • – heart rate
  • – blood pressure
  • – breathing
  • – swallowing
  • – vomiting
  • fourth ventricle lies posterior to pons and medulla
35
Q

What is reticular formation?

A
  • diffuse of gray matter along the brain stem
  • involved in motor control of visceral organs
  • reticular activating system (RAS)
  • —- plays a role in awake/sleep cycles and consciouness
  • —- filter for incoming sensory information
36
Q

describe the cerebrum

A
  • two hemispheres with convoluted surfaces
  • outer cortex of gray matter and inner region of white matter
  • controls balance
  • provides precise timing for skeletal muscle activity and coordination of body movements
37
Q

What protects the central nervous system (CNS)?

A
  • meninges
  • cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
  • blood-brain barrier
38
Q

What are the 3 Meninges?

A
  1. dura mater
  2. arachnoid mater
  3. pia mater
39
Q

What is the dura mater?

A
  • outermost leathery layer
  • double-layered external covering
    —– periosteum => attached to the inner surface of the skull/bone
    — dural venous sinuses (open space) => collect venous blood
    — subdural space
    —– meningeal layer => outer covering of the brain
  • folds inward in several areas
    (falx cerebri and tentorium cerebelli)
40
Q

What is the Arachnoid mater?

A
  • middle layer
  • weblike (spider webs) extensions span the subarachnoid space to attach it to the pia mater
  • subarachnoid space is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
  • arachnoid granulations protrude through the dura mater and absorb cerebrospinal fluid into the venous blood
41
Q

What is the Pia mater?

A
  • internal layer

- clings to the surface of the brain and spinal cord

42
Q

What is the Cerebrospinal fluid?

A
  • similar to blood plasma in composition
  • formed continually by the choroid plexuses
  • —- choroid plexus => capillaries in the ventricles of the brain
  • CSF forms a watery cushion to protect the brain and spinal cord
  • circulated in the arachnoid space, ventricles, and central canal of the spinal cord
  • clear, colourless fluid in the brain and spinal cord
  • produced by the choroid plexus of the ventricles
  • absorbed into the dural sinuses via the arachnoid granulations
  • similar in composition to plasma, but with LESS protein
  • should NOT contain red blood cells
  • protects the brain from trauma
  • helps the brain float (so the weight of the brain doesn’t cut blood supply to neurons in the lower part of the brain)
43
Q

What is the Cerebrospinal fluid circulation?

A
  1. CSF is produced by the choroid plexus of each ventricle
  2. CSF flows through the ventricles and into the subarachnoid space via the median and later apertures. Some CSF flows through the central canal of the spinal cord
  3. CSF flows through the subarachnoid space
  4. CSF is absorbed into the dural venous sinuses via the arachnoid villi
44
Q

What is the blood-brain barrier?

A
  • includes the least permeable capillaries of the body
  • capillaries allow water, glucose, and amino acids to pass through the capillary walls
  • excludes many potentially harmful substances from entering the brain (wastes, urea, toxins, drugs)
  • useless as a barrier against some substances
  • does not keep out respiratory gases and lipid-soluble molecules (alcohol, nicotine, and anesthetics)
  • neuroglial cells called “astrocytes” contribute to the barrier
45
Q

Anatomy of the Spinal cord?

A
  • extends from the foramen magnum of the skull to the first or second lumbar vertebra
  • 3 layers of meninges end farther down
  • **meninges don’t end where the spinal cord ends
  • “cauda equina” => a collection of spinal nerves at the inferior end of the vertebral canal
  • provides a two-way conduction pathway to and from the brain
  • 31 PAIRS of spinal nerves arise from the spinal cord (part of PNS)
  • **spinal nerves are NOT part of the CNS
46
Q

What is the Gray matter of the spinal cord and spinal roots?

A
  • internal gray matter is mostly cell bodies
  • dorsal (posterior) horns house interneurons
  • —- receive information from sensory neurons in the dorsal root; cell bodies housed in dorsal root ganglion
  • anterior (ventral) horns house motor neurons of the somatic (voluntary) nervous system
  • —- send information out ventral root
  • gray matter surrounds the central canal, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid
  • organized in HORNS
47
Q

What is the white matter of the spinal cord?

A
  • organized in COLUMNS
  • composed of myelinated fiber tracts
  • three regions: dorsal, lateral, ventral columns
  • sensory (afferent) tracts conduct impulses toward the brain
  • motor (efferent) tracts carry impulses from brain to skeletal muscles
48
Q

What does R.A.S. stand for?

A

Reticular
Activating
System

49
Q

What is the R.A.S.?

A
  • a group of neurons within the reticular formation
  • have a role in consciousness and the sleep/wake cycle
  • filter sensory input coming from the spinal cord
50
Q

Where is the R.A.S?

A

in the brain stem

51
Q

What are meninges?

A

connective tissue membrane

52
Q

Functions of the spinal cord

A
  • reflex centre

- two-way conduction pathway to and from the brain

anatomy & physiology (9 decks)

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