Central nervous system

Question 1

What constitutes the central nervous system?

Answer 1

Brain and spinal cord

Question 2

Within which structures do the brain and spinal cord lie?

Answer 2

Skull and vertebral canal

Question 3

What are meninges?

Answer 3

Set of 3 membranes that encase the brain and spinal cord, separating them from the walls of their bony cases (skull and vertebral canal). Cerebrospinal fluid is located between the layers.

Question 4

What are the 3 meninges from superficial to deep?

Answer 4

Dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater

Question 5

What are the segments of the spinal cord?

Answer 5

Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar, Sacral, Coccygeal

Question 6

What does white matter contain?

Answer 6

Myelinated axons

Question 7

What does grey matter contain?

Answer 7

Neuronal cell bodies

Question 8

What is the name of the posterior part of the grey matter in the spinal cord?

Answer 8

Dorsal horn

Question 9

What does the dorsal horn contain?

Answer 9

First order afferent neuron terminals and the cell bodies of second order sensory neurons.

Question 10

What is the name of the anterior part of the grey matter in the spinal cord?

Answer 10

Ventral horn

Question 11

What does the ventral horn contain?

Answer 11

Cell bodies of motor / efferent neurons

Question 12

How do sensory / afferent neurons enter the dorsal horn?

Answer 12

Via dorsal root

Question 13

How do motor / efferent neurons leave the ventral horn?

Answer 13

Via the ventral root

Question 14

What are spinal cord tracts?

Answer 14

Neural pathways found within the spinal cord white matter. Ascending tracts convey information from the periphery to the brain while descending tracts carry information from the brain to the periphery.

Question 15

Which regions of the spinal cord have a proportionally greater amount of grey matter?

Answer 15

Cervical and lumbar regions

Question 16

Why do cervical and lumbar regions have a greater amount of grey matter?

Answer 16

Due to the innervation of the upper and lower limbs (grey matter contains cell bodies of second-order somatic afferent neurons and somatic efferent neurons - innervate skeletal muscle).

Question 17

Why do cervical and thoracic regions have relatively more white matter than lumbar and sacral regions?

Answer 17

All information to/from the entire body must travel through the cervical region while only information of the lower limbs passes through the sacral region.

Question 18

Neurons in the reflex pathway

Answer 18

(stimulus), sensory, interneuron, motor neuron, (muscle -> response)

Question 19

Where are interneurons found?

Answer 19

In the spinal cord and brain stem (involved in reflexes)

Question 20

Organisation of grey and white matter in the spinal cord

Answer 20

Grey matter on the inside, white matter on the outside (stains used may stain myelin, causing opposite appearance)

Question 21

Organisation of grey and white matter in the brain

Answer 21

Grey matter on the outside (cerebral cortex), white matter on the inside (distributes information outwards)

Question 22

What are the divisions of the forebrain?

Answer 22

Cerebrum and diencephalon

Question 23

Function of the cerebrum

Answer 23

language, memory, perceptions, emotions. Sensory and motor functions

Question 24

What are the parts of the diencephalon?

Answer 24

Thalamus and hypothalamus

Question 25

Function of the thalamus

Answer 25

sensory processing

Question 26

Function of the hypothalamus

Answer 26

Homeostasis (e.g. thermoregulation), emotional responses (e.g. stress), motivation, hormone production and association with pituitary gland, circadian rhythm

Question 27

Parts of the brainstem

Answer 27

midbrain and part of hindbrain (pons and medulla oblongata)

Question 28

Function of midbrain

Answer 28

visual and auditory reflexes, pain control

Question 29

Divisions of the hindbrain

Answer 29

pons, medulla oblongata, cerebellum

Question 30

Function of the medulla oblongata

Answer 30

Vital centre regulating breathing, heart rate and blood vessels

Question 31

Function of cerebellum

Answer 31

controls balance and posture

Question 32

What forms the cerebral cortex?

Answer 32

Grey matter

Question 33

What is the name of the brain structure made of white matter?

Answer 33

Corpus callosum

Question 34

Where is pons found in the brain?

Answer 34

Between the medulla oblongata and the midbrain

Question 35

Lobes of the brain

Answer 35

frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital lobe (and insular and limbic lobes)

Question 36

Which lobe is subdivided into 2?

Answer 36

Temporal lobe

Question 37

Which lobe is in the anterior part of the brain?

Answer 37

Frontal lobe

Question 38

Which lobe is in the posterior part of the brain?

Answer 38

Occipital lobe

Question 39

Which lobe is posterior to the frontal lobe and superior to the temporal lobe?

Answer 39

Parietal lobe

Question 40

Which lobe is inferior to the parietal lobe?

Answer 40

temporal lobe

Question 41

What are the cortical sensory areas in the brain?

Answer 41

Auditory, somatosensory, gustatory, visual

Question 42

Where is the somatosensory area located?

Answer 42

anterior parietal lobe

Question 43

Where is the visual area located?

Answer 43

occipital lobe

Question 44

Function of somatosensory cortex

Answer 44

Processes all sensory information in the body

Question 45

Where is the auditory cortex located?

Answer 45

superior temporal lobe

Question 46

Where is the gustatory cortex located?

Answer 46

In the frontal and insular lobe

Question 47

What is the subcortical part of the brain?

Answer 47

islets of grey matter found beneath the cerebral cortex. Made up of the diencephalon, basal ganglia, pituitary gland, limbic structures