Week 1: Neuroanatomy Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Made up of the brain and the spinal cord
- Spinal Cord
- Brain Stem
- Cerebrum
- Cerebellum
Neurons
The brain is made of special cells called “neurons”. Specialized cells that generate impulses and transmit information.
Axons
Where electrical impulses from the neuron travel away to be received by other neurons. The long threadlike part of the nerve.
Gray Matter
Unmyelinated Neurons. **Composed of mostly the neuronal cell bodies. Grey matter on the surface of the brain is called myelin. The gray matter on the surface of the brain is called the cortex.
White Matter
Composed of axons surrounded by large quantities of myelin.
Myelin
a mixture of proteins and phospholipids forming a whitish insulating sheath around many nerve fibers, increasing the speed at which impulses are conducted.
Afferent
Carry sensory information from the skin and other organs to the central nervous system
Efferent
Carry information away from the central nervous system
Ganglia
Ganglia are clusters of nerve cell bodies found throughout the body. They are part of the peripheral nervous system and carry nerve signals to and from the central nervous system.
Interneurons
they connect spinal motor and sensory neurons. As well as transferring signals between sensory and motor neurons, interneurons can also communicate with each other, forming circuits of various complexity.
Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is a long, tube-like band of tissue. It connects your brain to your lower back. Your spinal cord carries nerve signals from your brain to your body and vice versa.
Brain Stem
the structure that connects the cerebrum of the brain to the spinal cord and cerebellum. It is composed of three sections in descending order: the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
Function: breathing, consciousness, blood pressure, heart rate, and sleep.
Cerebellum
Movement, balance, and coordination
Diencephalon
The diencephalon is made up of the thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus, and subthalamus. coordinating with the endocrine system to release hormones, relaying sensory and motor signals to the cerebral cortex, and regulating circadian rhythms
Thalamus
Process emotional and memory information, integrate different types of sensation (sight and touch), regulates consciousness and arousal, and attention.
