Nervous system

Question 1

structure of nervous system

Answer 1

Central Nervous System - the body’s master control unit
- Spinal cord: connects CNS to PNS
- Brain stem: connect brain to spinal cord
- Brain
Peripheral nervous system - the body’s link to the world
- Autonomic nervous system (involuntary):
-Parasympathicus (calming)
-Sympathicus (arousing, fight or flight)
- Somatic nervous system (sensory - motor command, voluntary movements)

Question 2

Brain parts

Answer 2

Forebrain
- Cerebrum (telencephalon)
  - Cerebral cortex
  - Limbic system
  - Basal ganglia
- Diencephalon
  - Thalamus
  - Hypothalamus
  - Mamillary bodies
Midbrain
 - Substantia nigra
 - Superior and inferior colliculi
Hindbrain
 - Cerebellum
 - Pons
 - Medulla oblongata

Question 3

Brain structure

Answer 3

The brain consists of a highly convoluted folded sheet of gray matter (the cerebral cortex), beneath which lies the white matter. In the center of the brain, beneath the bulk of the white matter fibers, lies another collection of gray matter structures (the subcortex). Brain also contains a number of hollow chambers termed ventricles. They are filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), carrying waste metabolites, transferring some messenger signals and providing a protective cushion for the brain.

Question 4

Cerebral Cortex function

Answer 4

Highest level of control 
Voluntary movements
Conscious perception
Highest cognitive functions: language, math, reading
Semantic memory
Auto-biographic memory

Question 5

Limbic system main function

Answer 5

Limbic system: a region of subcortex involved in relating the organism to its environment based on current needs and the present situation, and based on previous experience.

Question 6

Limbic system - Amygdala function

Answer 6

• involved in the detection and expression of emotional responses
• Control of fear, anxiety, agression

Question 7

Limbic system - hippocampus function

Answer 7

Spatial navigation
Episodic memory
Memory formation
Organization of thoughts
The brain’s RAM (rapid access memory) 
*can build new neuron, new memories of experiences
→ important for learning and memory

Question 8

Limbic system - mamilary bodies

Answer 8

2 round protrusions

Implicated in memory

Question 9

Limbic system - Olfactory bulbs

Answer 9

Under-surface oc the frontal lobs
Smell for the detecting environmentally salient stimuli e.g. food or other animals
Influence on mood and memory

Question 10

Forebrain - Thalamus

Answer 10

Gate keeper of the cerebral cortex
Relay station of sensory input to cerebral cortex
Thalamo-cortical loops (information goes both way from and to between thalamus and cerebral cortex) → important to attention mechanism

Question 11

Forebrain - basal ganglia

Answer 11

Basal ganglia: regions of the subcortical gray matter involved in aspects of motor control, skill learning and reward learning.
“Servo-mechanism” for cerebral cortex
Shortcuts from sensory association areas to motor control
Trained, complex input-output mappings e.g. driving car (new learning happened in cerebral cortex, trained, experienced → controlled by basal ganglia)
Model-free reinforcement learning

Question 12

Hindbrain - cerebellum

Answer 12

Cerebellum: structure attached to the hindbrain; important for dexterity and smooth execution of movement.
Temporal coordination of movements (and higher cognition function) e.g play piano
Error correction of movements
Learning of new motor skills
Extremely regular structure: climbing fibres, parallel fibres
Contains most neurons of the brain: 69 billion neurons from 86 billion neurons in total
Function is not completely clear → more research