Module 5

Question 1

What does grey matter in the brain consist of?

Answer 1

Unmyelinated somas, dendrites, and axons.

Question 2

What does the white matter in the brain consist of?

Answer 2

Mainly myelinated axons.

Question 3

What does the dorsal root in the spinal cord do?

Answer 3

Carries sensory (afferent) information to the CNS.

Question 4

What does the ventral root of the spinal cord do?

Answer 4

Carries motor (efferent) information to muscles and glands.

Question 5

What are ascending tracts?

Answer 5

Groups of neurons in the spinal cord that carry information towards the brain.

Question 6

What are descending tracts?

Answer 6

Groups of neurons in the spinal cord that carry information away from the brain.

Question 7

Nuclei vs ganglia

Answer 7

Nuclei: a cluster of neuronal cell bodies in the CNS.
Ganglia: a cluster of neuronal cell bodies in the PNS.

Question 8

What does a spinal reflex do?

Answer 8

Initiates a response without input from the brain.

Question 9

What are the 6 major divisions of the brain?

Answer 9

1. cerebrum
2. cerebellum
3. diencephalon
4. medulla
5. midbrain
6. pons

Question 10

What does the brainstem do? What runs through it?

Answer 10

Carries sensory and motor information for the head and neck.

Ascending and descending tracts run through it.

Question 11

What is the brainstem involved in?

Answer 11

Arousal and sleep, muscle tone and stretch reflexes, coordination of breathing, blood pressure regulation, and modulation of pain.

Question 12

What makes up the medulla?

Answer 12

White matter contain all ascending somatosensory tracts and descending corticospinal tracts.

Question 13

What does the medulla control?

Answer 13

Many involuntary functions: including the cardiovascular centre and the medullary respiratory centre.
Vomiting, swallowing, coughing, sneezing, and hiccuping.

Question 14

What does the pons contain?

Answer 14

Nuclei and tracts

Question 15

What are the functions of the pons?

Answer 15

Relays information between the cerebellum and cerebrum and assists the medulla in the coordination of breathing.

Question 16

Where is the midbrain located? What does it contain?

Answer 16

Midbrain is the junction between the lower brainstem and the diencephalon.
It contains nuclei and tracts.

Question 17

What are the functions of the midbrain?

Answer 17

Primary function is controlling eye movement, also relays auditory and visual reflexes (being startled).

Question 18

Where is reticular formation located? What is it made up of?

Answer 18

Extended throughout the brainstem: small clusters of neuronal cell bodies interspersed among tracts.

Question 19

What is reticular formation important in?

Answer 19

Consciousness, arousal, attention, and alertness.

Question 20

When is the reticular formation inactivated? What can happen if it is damaged?

Answer 20

Inactivated during sleep.

Damage can induce coma.

Question 21

What does the cerebellum do?

Answer 21

Processes sensory information and coordinates the execution of movement, as well as sends feedback signals to motor areas of the cerebral cortex.
Regulates posture and balance.

Question 22

Where is the diencephalon located?

Answer 22

Lies between the brainstem and cerebrum.

Question 23

What are the two primary structures of the diencephalon?

Answer 23

The thalamus and hypothalamus.

Question 24

What are the two endocrine structures of the diencephalon?

Answer 24

The pineal gland and pituitary.

Question 25

What is the purpose of the thalamus?

Answer 25

Receives sensory information from the optic tract, ears, spinal cord, and motor information from the cerebellum and projects information to the cerebrum for processing.

Question 26

What is the function of the pineal gland?

Answer 26

Cyclically releases melatonin involved in sleep/wake

Question 27

What is the hypothalamus the centre of? What does it influence?

Answer 27

Centre for homeostasis. | Influences autonomic and endocrine functions.

Question 28

What are the main functions of the hypothalamus?

Answer 28

- helps maintain blood glucose concentrations. - maintains body temperature - controls body osmolarity - controls food intake

Question 29

What is the pituitary gland?

Answer 29

Endocrine output of the hypothalamus

Question 30

Posterior pituitary vs anterior pituitary

Answer 30

Posterior: neural tissue Anterior: endocrine tissue

Question 31

What is the cerebrum composed of?

Answer 31

Grey matter which includes: cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, and limbic system.

Question 32

How is the cerebrum divided?

Answer 32

Two hemispheres divided into four lobes, connected by corpus callosum.

Question 33

What are the three types of nuclei in the basal ganglia?

Answer 33

- globus pallidus - putamen - caudate nucleus

Question 34

What is the major job of the basal ganglia?

Answer 34

Regulating the initiation and termination of movement.

Question 35

What does the limbic system play a primary role in?

Answer 35

A range of emotions, including pain, pleasure, docility, affection, and anger. Also believed to play a role in learning and memory.

Question 36

What are the three major components of the limbic system?

Answer 36

1. cingulate gyrus 2. amygdala 3. hippocampus

Question 37

What is the cerebral cortex?

Answer 37

The outermost layer of the cerebrum. It is the integrating centre for the CNS.

Question 38

What are the three specializations of the cerebral cortex?

Answer 38

1. sensory areas (translate sensory input into perception) 2. motor areas (direct skeletal muscle movement) 3. association areas (integrate information from sensory and motor areas and help direct voluntary behaviours)

Question 39

What is involved in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum?

Answer 39

Skeletal muscle movement: - primary motor cortex - motor association area (premotor cortex) prefrontal association area (involved in planning)

Question 40

What is involved in the parietal lobe of the cerebrum?

Answer 40

- primary somatic sensory cortex | - sensory association area

Question 41

What is involved in the occipital lobe of the cerebrum?

Answer 41

- visual association area | - visual cortex

Question 42

What is involved in the temporal lobe of the cerebrum?

Answer 42

- auditory complex | - auditory association area