Neuroanatomy

Question 1

Name and describe the major divisions of the nervous system:

Answer 1

CNS, PNS, Autonomic Nervous System, Somatic Nervous System

CNS (brain and spinal cord)

PNS (sensory and motor communication)

—>autonomic (involuntary, regulates internal organs)
—> sympathetic (fight or flight)
—> parasympathetic (rest and regenerate)

—>somatic (voluntary, hot plate hand withdraw)

Question 2

Name the two components of the autonomic nervous system and describe some of the responses each one creates, e.g., sympathetic nervous system mobilizes energy and prepares the body to react in times of potential threat (“fight-or-flight response”, doing
things like increasing heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure; slowing digestion; etc.

Answer 2

x

Question 3

Understand all of the directional signposts in the brain and be able to identify them on a
diagram

e.g., ventral, dorsal, rostral, caudal, anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, lateral, medial, sagittal, midsagittal, axial/horizontal, coronal

Answer 3

x

Question 4

ventral

Answer 4

x

Question 5

dorsal

Answer 5

x

Question 6

rostral

Answer 6

x

Question 7

caudal

Answer 7

x

Question 8

anterior

Answer 8

x

Question 9

posterior

Answer 9

x

Question 10

superior

Answer 10

x

Question 11

inferior

Answer 11

x

Question 12

lateral

Answer 12

x

Question 13

medial

Answer 13

x

Question 14

sagittal

Answer 14

x

Question 15

midsagittal

Answer 15

x

Question 16

axial/horizontal

Answer 16

x

Question 17

coronal

Answer 17

x

Question 18

Identify the names and be able to point out on a diagram all of the layers of protection for the brain: skull, dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater

Answer 18

x

Question 19

Describe the functions of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and broadly identify where the ventricular system is in the brain

Answer 19

x

Question 20

Describe the blood brain barrier and the function it serves

Answer 20

x

Question 21

Identify on a diagram: cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem and constituent areas (midbrain, pons, medulla), spinal cord, thalamus, hypothalamus, pituitary gland, frontal
lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, central sulcus, precentral gyrus (primary motor cortex), postcentral gyrus (primary somatosensory cortex), corpus callosum

Answer 21

x

Question 22

Broadly describe how the primary somatosensory cortex and the primary motor cortex are organized (don’t need specifics here – just getting at the idea that there are different regions dedicated to different areas of the body and they’re mapped out in a specific way and larger areas of the brain are devoted to areas where we need more sensitivity or motor control, e.g., hands and fingers, mouth)

Answer 22

x

Question 23

Describe some functions of the basal ganglia

Answer 23

x

Question 24

Describe the limbic system, particularly some of its key components, especially the hippocampus, amygdala (be able to describe some of the functions of both of those structures)

Answer 24

x

Question 25

Define and identify gyri and sulci and broadly describe why the brain is folded this way

Answer 25

x

Question 26

Know which transmitter the dorsal raphe nuclei is the main source of

Answer 26

x

Question 27

Know which transmitter the substantia nigra is the main source of

Answer 27

x

Question 28

Describe a role of the periaqueductal gray matter

Answer 28

x

Question 29

Describe some functions of the cerebellum

Answer 29

x

Question 30

Describe some functions of the hypothalamus

Answer 30

x

Question 31

Define homeostasis, endocrine glands, hormones (you do not need to know the individual names of hormones!)

Answer 31

x

Question 32

Identify on a diagram and describe the role of the corpus callosum and what it consists of

Answer 32

x

Question 33

Explain how cerebrospinal fluid can be used diagnostically to tell us important things about the health and functioning of the brain

Answer 33

x

Question 34

Describe how human brains differ from, say, mouse brains and why

Answer 34

x

Question 35

Reason through what happened in that Radiolab episode when the student took a dopamine antagonist to relieve nausea: What did she experience? What do her symptoms tell us about what area was affected and why?

Answer 35

x

Question 36

Describe what we mean when we say the hypothalamus generates an alarm signal.

Answer 36

x

Question 37

Describe the relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland

Answer 37

x

Question 38

Describe what happened with Mary Lou Jepsen after she had to have surgery to remove a tumor, which left her without a functioning pituitary gland

Answer 38

x

Question 39

Describe what happens in sleep paralysis

Answer 39

x

Question 40

Describe in detail what we think of as the first endocrinology experiment: What were the methods and findings? What is the significance of these findings?

Answer 40

x

Question 41

Explain why the thalamus might be thought of as a switchboard operator – but also why that analogy may undersell its role a little bit

Answer 41

x

Question 42

Describe what happens in the case of “split brain,” i.e., when the corpus callosum is severed

Answer 42

x

Question 43

Explain what Nancy Kanwisher means when she likens the brain to a Swiss Army knife. What does this describe about the organization of the brain and the relationship between structure and function

Answer 43

x

Question 44

CNS

Answer 44

central nervous system- brain and spinal cord

Question 45

PNS

Answer 45

peripheral nervous system- the receptors and nerves that are found throughout the body, outside the brain and spinal cord

Question 46

Autonomic nervous system:

Answer 46

directs the activity of internal, or visceral, organs; part of PNS

Question 47

somatic nervous system

Answer 47

detects information about the external world and uses it to guide the body's movements via the body's musculature

Question 48

layers of protection for the brain

Answer 48

dura mater (attached to skull), arachnoid mater (spongy spider webby middle layer), pia mater (like saran wrap on the brain)

Question 49

functions of cerebrospinal fluid

Answer 49

keeps the brain buoyant Absorbs shock Delivers nutrients Clears waste Spinal taps can be used to assess the health of the brain

Question 50

Where is the ventricular system in the brain?

Answer 50

Four ventricles • Lateral ventricles: at the center of each hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, inside the white matter • Third ventricle: along the midline of the brain between the left and right thalamus • Fourth ventricle: a small triangular structure tucked between the brainstem and the cerebellum

Question 51

basal ganglia

Answer 51

facilitate motor control | Simple movements, complex movements, eye movements

Question 52

hippocampus

Answer 52

key area for learning and memory. But also: spatial navigation, prospection, etc.

Question 53

dorsal raphe nuclei

Answer 53

main source of serotonin

Question 54

substantia nigra

Answer 54

main source of dopamine

Question 55

periaqueductal gray matter

Answer 55

important in pain moderation

Question 56

hypothalamus

Answer 56

Very important in maintaining homeostasis

Question 57

Describe the relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland

Answer 57

The hypothalamus tells the pituitary gland what hormones it should release, then the pituitary gland physically does it

Question 58

forward inference

Answer 58

(Nancy Kanwisher's study example) o Assign an activity and then look at what "lights up" to see what is involved in the process o Problems: correlation based; not o "Have two or more conditions that differ in some hypothesized mental process that you're interested in. Compare them and find regions showing difference in activation between those conditions. Infer that these regions are involved in that mental process."

Question 59

What's wrong with love your iPhone article?

Answer 59

o Reasoning backwards from brain activity o fMRI: "it reasons backwards from the presence of brain activation to the engagement of a particular cognitive function." o it's only really appropriate to use with big data