Unit 1a: Intro and Neuroanatomy

Question 1

gyrus

Answer 1

a ‘ridge’ of cerebral cortex

Question 2

sulcus

Answer 2

a ‘valley’ of cerebral cortex

Question 3

cortical sheet

Answer 3

the outer, surface covering of cerebral cortex, composed of gray matter (neuron cell bodies)

Question 4

cerebellum

Answer 4

the small, highly ridged portion of brain that sits inferior to the cerebral cortex and posterior to the brainstem

Question 5

anterior

Answer 5

towards the front of the brain

Question 6

posterior

Answer 6

towards the back of the brain

Question 7

superior

Answer 7

towards the top of the brain

Question 8

inferior

Answer 8

towards the bottom of the brain

Question 9

lateral

Answer 9

the lateral view of the brain would show the surface of a cerebral hemisphere under the ears

Question 10

medial

Answer 10

the medial view of the brain would be the inner surface of a cerebral hemisphere

Question 11

dorsal

Answer 11

towards the top of the brain (towards the back surface of the body in the brainstem and spinal cord)

Question 12

ventral

Answer 12

towards the bottom of the brain (towards belly surface of the body in the brainstem and spinal cord)

Question 13

rostral

Answer 13

towards the front of the brain (towards the top surface of the body in the brainstem and spinal cord; rostral means “beak”

Question 14

caudal

Answer 14

towards the back of the brain (towards the bottom surface of the body in the brainstem and spinal cord; caudal means “tail”)

Question 15

sagittal

Answer 15

a vertical slice of the brain cut down the center, from anterior to posterior, giving a view from left or right

Question 16

coronal

Answer 16

a vertical slice of the brain cut from superior to inferior, giving a view from the front or back of the brain

Question 17

axial

Answer 17

a horizontal slice of the brain cut from left to right, giving a view from the top or bottom of the brain

Question 18

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Answer 18

is composed of the brain and spinal cord

Question 19

Peripheral nervous system (ANS)

Answer 19

a subdivision of the PNS that controls visceral functions; includes parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.

Question 20

Cranial nerves

Answer 20

a set of 12 specialized nerves that act as the PNS (motor control and sensory info) to the head and neck

Question 21

Meninges

Answer 21

the three protective layers of tissue between the brain and the skull

Question 22

Dura mater

Answer 22

the durable, leathery outer protective layer of the meninges

Question 23

Arachnoid matter

Answer 23

the spider web-like middle protective layer of the meninges that is filled with cerebral spinal fluid

Question 24

Pia mater

Answer 24

the thin, shiny, inner protective layer of the meninges that “shrink- wraps” the brain

Question 25

Frontal lobe

Answer 25

the anterior portion of cerebral cortex, involved in emotion, cognition, and executive control

Question 26

Parietal lobe

Answer 26

the superior posterior portion of cerebral cortex, superior to the occipital and temporal lobes, posterior to the frontal lobe

Question 27

Temporal lobe

Answer 27

the inferior portion of cerebral cortex, anterior to the occipital lobe and inferior to the others

Question 28

Occipital lobe

Answer 28

the posterior portion of cerebral cortex, primarily involved in vision processing

Question 29

Central sulcus

Answer 29

the sulcus dividing the frontal and parietal lobes, surrounded on each side by motor and sensory cortex

Question 30

Lateral fissure

Answer 30

the gap that divides the temporal from the frontal and parietal lobes; a fissure is another name for a larger sulcus

Question 31

Parieto-occipital sulcus

Answer 31

the sulcus that divides the parietal and occipital lobes

Question 32

Pre-occipital notch

Answer 32

the notch that serves as the bottom point of the imaginary dividing line between the temporal and occipital lobes; the top of the parieto-occipital sulcus is the top point

Question 33

Brodmann's Areas

Answer 33

50 cytoarchitectural areas defined by neuroanatomist Brodmann according to cell size, cell density, number and thickness of cortical layers, and density of myelinated axons; numbering system is becoming less common as neuroimaging measurements take over tissue histology

Question 34

Gray matter

Answer 34

outer 'bark' of the cerebral cortex composed of neuronal cell bodies; this is where computations happen; much of cortex consists of six layers

Question 35

White matter

Answer 35

inner region of cerebral cortex composed of the axons of the neurons with cell bodies in the gray matter; can be thought of as the 'wiring' connection different regions of gray matter

Question 36

Neuron

Answer 36

the basic cell in the brain that processes and transmits information in the form of electrical and chemical signals

Question 37

Dendrite

Answer 37

the branched portion of a neuron which receives inputs from synapses with other cells and sends small depolarizations towards the cell body

Question 38

Cell body

Answer 38

the "main" portion of a cell that contains the nucleus, mitochondria, and other organelles necessary for the cell to survive

Question 39

Axon hillock

Answer 39

the base of the axon, where it meets the cell body of the neuron; action potentials are initiated here

Question 40

Axon

Answer 40

the long cell structure that carries depolarization (action potentials) away from the cell body of a neuron to the synapse

Question 41

Node of Ranvier

Answer 41

the small gaps between myelin sheaths in myelinated axons involved in fast action potential propagation down the axon

Question 42

synapse

Answer 42

the region/space which information flows across from one neuron to another neuron; space between neurons can be called the synaptic cleft

Question 43

Axon terminal

Answer 43

the very end of a branch of a neuron’s axon, specialized to release neurotransmitters from vesicles into the synapse in response to an action potential

Question 44

Glial cell

Answer 44

surround neurons in CNS and PNS and provide myelination as well as other support for them; most abundant cell types in CNS. Types differ between CNS and PNS - CNS: oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells, microglia; PNS: satellite cells, Schwann cells

Question 45

Myelin sheath

Answer 45

a layer of protective tissue wrapped around axons of neurons to hasten the transmission of action potentials

Question 46

Neuronal communication

Answer 46

includes electrical conduction (action potential) along the axon and chemical transmission via neurotransmitter release at the synapse

Question 47

Corpus callosum

Answer 47

the main connection of white matter that is integral for communication between the two cerebral hemispheres