Overview of the Nervous System Flashcards
What is a microcircuit?
A collection of connected, localized neurons
They process specific kinds of information and do specific kinds of tasks
What is a neural network?
A collection of many microcircuits that create a “macro circuit”, which is a neural network
Corticocortical Connections are
Connections between two cortical regions
Neural Systems
the way that neural networks are organized
Two major divisions of the nervous system are
Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous System
What is the autonomic nervous system?
A component of the peripheral nervous system made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
What does the sympathetic system do?
It uses norepinephrine to increase heart rate, divert blood from the digestive tract to the somatic musculature, and prepares the body for action (fight or flight)
What does the parasympathetic system do?
It uses acetylcholine to slow down the heart rate, stimulate digestion, and helps the body with functions to help itself, such as rest and digest
What is the order of the meninges that line the brain and spinal cord?
OUTER TO INNER
Dura Mater
Arachnoid Mater/Membrane
Subarachnoid Space
Pia Mater
Which level of the meninges is filled with cerebrospinal fluid?
The subarachnoid space
How many ventricles are there in the brain?
Four that are interconnected
What is the choroid plexus?
A system of specialized cells and capillaries in the walls of the ventricles that produce CSF from blood plasma
What are the arachnoid villi?
protrusions into the venous system in the Sagittal sinus that reabsorb CSF in the brain
What is a commissure?
When axons project from one cerebral hemisphere to the other in bundles
Biggest example is the Corpus Callosum
