[Week 3] The Nervous System

Question 1

Afferent nerves

Answer 1

Nerves that carry messages to the brain or spinal cord.

Question 2

Agnosias

Answer 2

Due to damage of Wernicke’s area. An inability to recognize objects

Question 3

Aphasia

Answer 3

Due to damage of the Broca’s area. An inability to produce or understand words.

Question 4

Arcuate fasciculus

Answer 4

A fiber tract that connects Wernicke’s and Broca’s speech areas.

Question 5

Autonomic nervous system

Answer 5

A part of the peripheral nervous system that connects to glands and smooth muscles. Consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.

Question 6

Broca’s area

Answer 6

An area in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. Implicated in language production.

Question 7

Central sulcus

Answer 7

The major fissure that divides the frontal and the parietal lobes.

Question 8

Cerebellum

Answer 8

A nervous system structure behind and below the cerebrum. Controls motor movement coordination

Question 9

Cerebrum

Answer 9

Consists of left and right hemispheres that sit at the top of the nervous system and engages in a variety of higher-order functions.

Question 10

Cingulate gyrus

Answer 10

part of limbic system, involved in processing emotions and behavior regulation

Question 11

Computerized axial tomography

Answer 11

A noninvasive brain-scanning procedure that uses X-ray absorption around the head.

Question 12

Ectoderm

Answer 12

The outermost layer of a developing fetus.

Question 13

Efferent nerves

Answer 13

Nerves that carry messages from the brain to glands and organs in the periphery.

Question 14

Electroencephalography

Answer 14

A technique that is used to measure gross electrical activity of the brain by placing electrodes on the scalp.

Question 15

Event-related potentials

Answer 15

A physiological measure of large electrical change in the brain produced by sensory stimulation or motor responses.

Question 16

Forebrain

Answer 16

A part of the nervous system that contains the cerebral hemispheres

Question 17

Frontal lobe

Answer 17

The most forward region (close to forehead) of the cerebral hemispheres.

Question 18

Functional magnetic resonance imaging

Answer 18

(or fMRI) A noninvasive brain-imaging technique that registers changes in blood flow in the brain during a given task (also see magnetic resonance imaging).

Question 19

Globus pallidus

Answer 19

A nucleus of the basal ganglia.

Question 20

Gray matter

Answer 20

cortex of cerebrum

Question 21

Gyrus

Answer 21

(plural form, gyri) A bulge that is raised between or among fissures of the convoluted brain.

Question 22

Hippocampus

Answer 22

(plural form, hippocampi) A nucleus inside (medial) the temporal lobe implicated in learning and memory.

Question 23

Homo habilis

Answer 23

A human ancestor

Question 24

Homo sapiens

Answer 24

Modern man

Question 25

Hypothalamus

Answer 25

Part of the diencephalon. Regulates biological drives with pituitary gland.

Question 26

Immunocytochemistry

Answer 26

A method of staining tissue including the brain

Question 27

Lateral geniculate nucleus

Answer 27

a relay center in the thalamus for the visual pathway

Question 28

Lateral sulcus

Answer 28

The major fissure that delineates the temporal lobe below the frontal and the parietal lobes.

Question 29

Lesion studies

Answer 29

A surgical method in which a part of the animal brain is removed to study its effects on behavior or function.

Question 30

Limbic system

Answer 30

A loosely defined network of nuclei in the brain involved with learning and emotion.

Question 31

Magnetic resonance imaging

Answer 31

Or MRI is a brain imaging noninvasive technique that uses magnetic energy to generate brain images (also see fMRI).

Question 32

Magnification factor

Answer 32

Cortical space projected by an area of sensory input (e.g., mm of cortex per degree of visual field).

Question 33

Medulla oblongata

Answer 33

An area just above the spinal cord that processes breathing

Question 34

Neural crest

Answer 34

group of embryonic cells that are pinched off during the formation of the neural tube

Question 35

Neural induction

Answer 35

A process that causes the formation of the neural tube.

Question 36

Neuroblasts

Answer 36

an embryonic cell from which nerve fibers originate

Question 37

Neuroepithelium

Answer 37

The lining of the neural tube.

Question 38

Occipital lobe

Answer 38

The back part of the cerebrum

Question 39

Parasympathetic nervous system

Answer 39

A division of the autonomic nervous system that is slower than its counterpart—that is, the sympathetic nervous system—and works in opposition to it. Generally engaged in “rest and digest” functions.

Question 40

Parietal lobe

Answer 40

The primary somatosensory (sense) cortex Body sensations (e.g., touch, pain, skin temperature) Damage affects spatial attention (can identify what an object is, but not where it is)

Question 41

Pons

Answer 41

A bridge that connects the cerebral cortex with the medulla

Question 42

Positron Emission Tomography

Answer 42

(or PET) An invasive procedure that captures brain images with positron emissions from the brain after the individual has been injected with radio-labeled isotopes.

Question 43

Primary Motor Cortex

Answer 43

A strip of cortex just in front of the central sulcus that is involved with motor control.

Question 44

Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Answer 44

A strip of cerebral tissue just behind the central sulcus engaged in sensory reception of bodily sensations.

Question 45

Rostrocaudal

Answer 45

A front-back plane used to identify anatomical structures in the body and the brain.

Question 46

Somatic nervous system

Answer 46

the part of the peripheral nervous system associated with the voluntary control of body movements via skeletal muscles

Question 47

Spina bifida

Answer 47

A developmental disease of the spinal cord

Question 48

Sulcus

Answer 48

a groove or furrow, especially one on the surface of the brain.

Question 49

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 49

A division of the autonomic nervous system | "FIGHT OR FLIGHT"

Question 50

Temporal lobe

Answer 50

An area of the cerebrum that lies below the lateral sulcus; it contains auditory and olfactory (smell) projection regions.

Question 51

Thalamus

Answer 51

A part of the diencephalon that works as a gateway for incoming and outgoing information.

Question 52

Transduction

Answer 52

A process in which physical energy converts into neural energy.

Question 53

Wernicke’s area

Answer 53

A language area in the temporal lobe where linguistic information is comprehended (Also see Broca’s area).

Question 54

White matter

Answer 54

Regions of the nervous system that represent the axons of the nerve cells; whitish in color because of myelination of the nerve cells.

Question 55

Working memory

Answer 55

Short transitory memory processed in the hippocampus.