The Brain 1 Flashcards
what is the CNS made up of?
brain + spinal cord
what are the the layers of the meninges?
dura mater
arachnoid mater
pia mater
what are afferent and efferent pathways?
afferent = sensory
efferent = motor
what are the four lobes of the brain?
occipital lobe
temporal lobe
parietal lobe
frontal lobe
what is the function of the occipital lobe?
vision
what is the function of the temporal lobe?
hearing + amygdala and hippocampus (limbic system)
what is the function of the parietal lobe?
somatic sensation
what is the function of the frontal lobe?
motor function
is the association cortex motor or sensory?
both - they integrate sensory and motor involved in speech and language, music and math, cognition
what is the prefrontal cortex important for?
cognition - thought and reasoning/judgement
it has important neural connections to the limbic system
what is CSF?
cerebrospinal fluid is formed in the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle and circulates within the ventricles and sub-arachnoid space
what is the function of CSF?
- bathes the brain and spinal cord
- protection
- nutrition for brain tissue
- blood-brain barrier
list the brain regions involved in movement control?
- cerebral cortex
- thalamus
- basal nuclei
- cerebellum
- red nucleus
- reticular formation
- vestibular nucleus
- lower motor neuron
what is the motor cortex?
primary motor cortex is located in frontal lobe, initiates voluntary movement of skeletal muscle on the opposite side of body
what in the premotor cortex involved in?
coordinating learned activities
what is the area of the frontal lobe that allows the movements necessary for speech?
Broca’s Speech Centre
what is the function of the corticospinal tract?
anterior and lateral upper motor neuron pathways originate and pyramidal cells in the primary motor cortex
axons descend internal capsule - cross over in medulla - down spinal cord - synapse with cell bodies of LMN
what is decussation?
the crossing over of axons which means that the right motor cortex controls the left side skeletal muscle
what happened if the corticospinal tract gets damaged?
because these neurones initiate voluntary movement - damage can result in the effected skeletal muscles on the opposite side of the body - hemiparesis
differentiate between the upper and lower motor neurons
UMN stimulates LMN through corticospinal tract, either facilitates or inhibits LMN - LMN cell body located in spinal cord from where the axon travels out directly to the skeletal muscle stimulating it to contract
what does is mean to have a big area of representation on the motor homunculus?
it is for areas of the body (e.g. face and hands) which require fine skilled dexterous movement with fine motor skills
