Lec 1: CNS Flashcards by Jeff Lattman

What does the CNS consist of?
What are it’s responsibilities?

Brain & spinal cord
managing sensory data and motor commands

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What is the role of visceral sensory receptors?

monitor internal organs

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What is the role of somatic sensory receptors?

provide position, touch, pressure, pain, and temperature sensations

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What is the role of special sensory receptors?

provide sensations of smell, taste, vision, balance, and hearing

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what does the sensory division of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) do?

brings information to the CNS from receptors in peripheral tissues and organs

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Define the peripheral nervous system

all neural tissue outside the CNS

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what does the somatic nervous system (SNS) control?

skeletal muscle contractions

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what clear, colorless substance surrounds the brain?

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

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what is the function of CSF?

acts as a cushion and acts as the brain’s lymphatic system

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how do immune cells enter CSF?

the Choroid Plexus

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where does the CSF reside?

in the subarachnoid space

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Underneath the skull, we have 3 layers of the brain, list them in order of going further into brain (DAP)

dura mater
arachnoid mater
pia mater

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what procedure can be performed if there is a suspected dysfunction in the CSF?

lumbar puncture (spinal tap)

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where on the spine do we inject the needle to collect CSF?

between L3 and L4 from the thecal sac

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what are the functions of the forebrain? what is it associated with?

it is associated with the highest level intellectual functions such as thinking, planning, problem solving, and speech

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T/F not every person has the corpus callosum

True

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what is the largest part of the brain called?

Cerebrum

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what is the outer layer of the cerebrum called?

cerebral cortex

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the cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, what are they? (FPOT)

Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe

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what are the main function(s) of the frontal lobe? (DAPPy duck)

attention, planning, decision-making, personality

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what are the main function(s) of the parietal lobe?

Integrates information from the senses (speech, taste, reading…)

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what are the main function(s) of the occipital lobe?

Vision

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what are the main function(s) of the temporal lobe? (ELM St)

Emotion, language, memory from smell and hearing

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what does the Amygdala do?

governs emotions, self preservation

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what does hippocampal formation do?

forms new memories

what two structures make up the diencephalon?

thalamus and hypothalamus

what does the thalamus do?

acts as a relay station for almost all sensory information coming from the periphery to the brain, regulates higher brain centers

what does the hypothalamus do?

main region for internal regulatory systems, stress reactions, emotion and motivation

the hypothalamus receives information from the __________ and regulates:

autonomic nervous system body temp, sleep, circadian and sexual cycles

the hypothalamus sends hormonal signals to the rest of the body via?

the pituitary gland

describe the function of the midbrain

coordinates visual and auditory input from sense organs (such as eye movements, blinking, triggers startle reflex to sounds), helps control unwanted movements

what three structures comprise the hindbrain?

medulla, pons, and hindbrain

what does the medulla do?

controls heart rate, respiration and blood pressure, and swallowing

what does the pons do?

co-ordinates breathing and posture, receives info and decides where to send it controls sleep, awakening cycles, and dream impulses

what does the hindbrain do?

controls body temp, simple reflexes (like coughing and sneezing) and digestion

what is the second largest part of the brain called?

the cerebellum

what does the cerebellum do?

-coordinates and integrates voluntary movement, posture, balance resulting in fluid motion -spatial and temporal perception, adaptation to unexpected things -disturbances: balance, speech, motor coordination, fine motor coordination

what is the role of the spinal cord?

receive sensory info from, and sends motor info to body

role of nociceptors

detect pain

role of mecanoreceptors

detect pressure, touch, movement, vibration, tension

role of proprioceptors

"receptors for self", continuous info about body position and limbs in space

which specialized receptor is a major site for opioid receptors?

nociceptors

entry into the brain is inhibited by two barriers, what are they?

-physical barrier composed of endothelial cells with tight junctions -active efflux pumps in endothelial cells, known as ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters

the paracellular aqueous pathway for entry into brain transports?

water-soluble agents through tight junctions

the transcellular lipophilic pathway for entry into brain transports?

lipid-soluble agents through endothelium

transport protein entry into brain transports?

glucose, amino acids, nucleosides through endotheluim

the receptor-mediated transcytosis for entry into brain transports?

insulin, transferrin through endothelium

the adsorptive transcytosis for entry into brain transports?

albumin and other plasma proteins through endothelium

glia are support cells for neurons, what are the four main types?

astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia (immune cell), and ependymal cells (epithelial cells that line ventricles)

T/F both oligodendrocytes and astrocytes help form the BBB

False, only astrocytes

what is an important function of oligodendrocytes within the CNS in regards to axons?

they wrap myelin sheaths around axons

where doe neurons communicate with each other?

at synapses

some neurotransmitters (NTs) are excitatory (+) and bind at synapses on postsynaptic cells, what is their function?

to create an action potential

what role do myelin sheaths play that surround axons?

they increase the speed of transmission of action potentials

what voltage is considered "at rest" in the axon?

-70 mV

what voltage is considered the threshold at which an action potential is triggered?

-55 mV

Explain step-by-step the occurrence of an action potential

1. A stimulus triggers an increased voltage 2. Depolarization occurs once the threshold is reached causing Na+ ions to flow into axon 3. Repolarization occurs causing K+ ions to flow out of axon 4. Hyperpolarization occurs to increase the voltage back to resting state

explain the divergent pathway of neurons (diversify)

one presynaptic neuron branches to affect a larger number of postsynaptic neurons

explain the convergent pathway of neurons (simplify)

many presynaptic neurons converge to influence a small number of postsynaptic neurons

what is usually required to trigger an action potential?

1000s of synapses

what do inhibitory postsynaptic potentials do?

decrease the likelihood or prevent an excitatory postsynaptic potential from reaching threshold