CNS Flashcards
(21 cards)
Tentorium cerebelli
An extension of the dura mater that separates the cerebellum from the inferior portion of the occipital lobe.
Corpora Quadrigemina
Group name for the superior and inferior colliculi.
Cerebrum
-Higher mental functioning:
Learning, memory
Personality, cognition
Language, and conscience
-Also performs major roles in sensation and movement.
Diencephalon
Central core of the brain.
- Processing and integrating
- Relaying info to different parts of the brain
- Homeostatic functions
- Regulation of movement
- Biological rhythms
Cerebellum
Planning and execution of movement.
Brain stem
- Basic involuntary homeostatic functions.
- Control of certain reflexes
- Monitoring movements
- Integrating and relaying information to different parts of the nervous system.
Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area
- Broca: Premotor area responsible for the ability to produce speech sounds.
- Wernicke: Integrative speech Area responsible for the ability to understand language.
Functions of the Prefrontal Cortex
- Modulating behavior
- Personality
- Learning and memory
Functions of the Parietal and Temporal Association Areas
- Integration of sensory information
- Language
- Maintaining attention
- Recognition and spatial awareness
Association, Commissural, and Projection Fibers
ALL FOUND IN WHITE MATTER
- Association Fibers: Shortest axons, restricted to a single hemisphere. Connects gray matter together.
- Commissural Fibers: Connects the left and right hemispheres together.
- projection Fibers: Connects cerebral cortex of one hemisphere with other areas of the same hemisphere, as well as other parts of the brain and spinal cord.
Parts of the Diencephalon
- Thalamus: Gateway to the cerebral cortex. Processing center for incoming sensory and motor signals.
- Hypothalamus: Regulates the ANS, sleep/wake cycle, thirst & hunger, and body temperatures. Also is linked to the pituitary gland.
- Epithalamus: Most is the pineal gland which secretes melatonin.
Limbic System
- Includes the limbic love, hippocampus, amygdala, and pathways that connect each of these regions of gray matter with the rest of the brain.
- Involved in memory, learning, emotions, and behavior.
Reticular System
-Includes the brain stem and spinal cord.
-Involved in:
Sleep, pain transmission, and mood.
Homeostasis of breathing and blood pressure.
Serves motor functions.
Plays a role in sensation.
And the alertness and activity levels of the cerebral cortex.
layers of the Meninges
- Dura Mater
- Periosteal Dura
- Meningeal Dura - Subdural Space
- Arachnoid Mater
- Subarachnoid Space
- Pia Mater
Choroid Plexus
Made of ependymal cells and capillaries that create cerebrospinal fluid.
Three Regions Spinal Gray Matter
- Anterior(Ventral) Horn: Houses cell bodies of somatic motor neurons.
- Posterior(Dorsal) Horn: Houses cell bodies of interneurons that synapse with afferent neurons.
- Lateral Horn: Found only between the regions of T1 and L2 of the spinal cord. Contains cell bodies of the ANS.
White matter of the Spinal Cord
Arranged in columns of ascending and descending tracts.
General Somatic Senses
Refers to touch, stretch, joint position, pain, and temperature.
Special Senses in the CNS
- Vision
- Hearing
- Taste
- Smell
- Balance
The thalamus is the gateway entrance for these senses into the cerebral cortex, except for smell.
Planning and coordination of voluntary movements within the CNS involve what elements.
- Motor area of the cerebral cortex
- Basal Nuclei
- Cerebellum and Spinal Cord
- UMN, interneurons, and LMN
Structures and roles of the Basal Nuclei
- Caudate Nucleus and Putamen: When stimulated by the cortex and substantial nigra, it “inhibits the inhibitor” by silencing the globus pallidus so that movement can occur.
- Globus Pallidus: Inhibits unwanted movements by inhibiting motor Nuclei in the thalamus
- Substantia Nigra: Enhances the inhibition exerted on the globus pallidus.
