The Brain 1

Question 1

what is the CNS made up of?

Answer 1

brain + spinal cord

Question 2

what are the the layers of the meninges?

Answer 2

dura mater
arachnoid mater
pia mater

Question 3

what are afferent and efferent pathways?

Answer 3

afferent = sensory
efferent = motor

Question 4

what are the four lobes of the brain?

Answer 4

occipital lobe
temporal lobe
parietal lobe
frontal lobe

Question 5

what is the function of the occipital lobe?

Answer 5

vision

Question 6

what is the function of the temporal lobe?

Answer 6

hearing + amygdala and hippocampus (limbic system)

Question 7

what is the function of the parietal lobe?

Answer 7

somatic sensation

Question 8

what is the function of the frontal lobe?

Answer 8

motor function

Question 9

is the association cortex motor or sensory?

Answer 9

both - they integrate sensory and motor involved in speech and language, music and math, cognition

Question 10

what is the prefrontal cortex important for?

Answer 10

cognition - thought and reasoning/judgement
it has important neural connections to the limbic system

Question 11

what is CSF?

Answer 11

cerebrospinal fluid is formed in the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle and circulates within the ventricles and sub-arachnoid space

Question 12

what is the function of CSF?

Answer 12

• bathes the brain and spinal cord
• protection
• nutrition for brain tissue
• blood-brain barrier

Question 13

list the brain regions involved in movement control?

Answer 13

• cerebral cortex
• thalamus
• basal nuclei
• cerebellum
• red nucleus
• reticular formation
• vestibular nucleus
• lower motor neuron

Question 14

what is the motor cortex?

Answer 14

primary motor cortex is located in frontal lobe, initiates voluntary movement of skeletal muscle on the opposite side of body

Question 15

what in the premotor cortex involved in?

Answer 15

coordinating learned activities

Question 16

what is the area of the frontal lobe that allows the movements necessary for speech?

Answer 16

Broca’s Speech Centre

Question 17

what is the function of the corticospinal tract?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what is decussation?

Answer 18

the crossing over of axons which means that the right motor cortex controls the left side skeletal muscle

Question 19

what happened if the corticospinal tract gets damaged?

Answer 19

because these neurones initiate voluntary movement - damage can result in the effected skeletal muscles on the opposite side of the body - hemiparesis

Question 20

differentiate between the upper and lower motor neurons

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what does is mean to have a big area of representation on the motor homunculus?

Answer 21

it is for areas of the body (e.g. face and hands) which require fine skilled dexterous movement with fine motor skills