TEAS A&P Neurological System

Nervous System

Body’s command center made of your brain, spinal card, and nerves that send highly complex sensory information to different parts of the body

Central Nervous System

Made of the brain and spinal cord for processing, and regulating motor response and mechanics

Peripheral Nervous System

Everything outside of the brain and spinal cord connecting the CNS to the rest of the body

What are the three main regions of the brain?

Forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain

Regions of the Hindbrain

Cerebellum, Pons, and medulla

Medulla Oblongata

Medulla Manages; regulates breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate

Pons

Pons Passes; Transmits signals between forebrain and cerebellum

Cerebellum

Cerebellum Coordinates; Coordinates movement, balance and posture

Cerebrum

Higher cognitive function, memory, balance and posture

Brainstem

controls involuntary actions like breathing and heart rate

Midbrain

Maintain alertness, sleep/wake cycle, and motor activities

Regions of the forebrain/cerebrum

left and right hemisphere

Grey Matter

where information is integrated and processed

White Matter

Signal Highway; rapid transmission of signals from one area of the brain to another

Frontal Lobe

Responsible for high-level thinking, executive function, personality, planning, decision-making, and voluntary movement. It also contains the Broca’s area for speech production.

Parietal Lobe

Interprets sensory information, including touch, temperature, pain, and pressure. It is critical for spatial awareness, navigation, and integrating sensations from the body.

Temporal Lobe

Involved in processing auditory information (hearing), storing long-term memories, and interpreting emotions. The Wernicke’s area here is crucial for understanding language

Occipital Lobe

Primary visual processing center, managing visual input from the eyes, including color, shape, distance, and depth perception

Limbic Area

Often called the emotional brain, it manages emotion, motivation, and memory

Two Main Parts of the PNS

Somatic and Autonomic

Autonomic Nervous System

Manage involuntary activities like internal temp, GI functions, excretory and endocrine system and cardiac muscle activity

Somatic Nervous System

controls voluntary actions; skeletal muscles

Sympathetic Nervous System

“fight-or-flight”, increase HR, increase RR, slow digestion

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Rest and digest; maintain homeostasis, decrease HR, digestion occurs

Neurons

specialized cells of the nervous system that transmit information throughout the body using electrical and chemical signals

Cell Body

contains nucleus maintains the cells life

Dendrites

branched structures that receive messages from other neurons

Axon

A long, thin fiber that transmits signals (action potentials) away from the soma

Myelin Sheath

A protective coating on some axons that speeds up signal transmission

Synapse

The junction where signals are transmitted from one neuron to another via neurotransmitters

Glial Cells

Support cells that maintain chemical balance, form myelin, and protect neurons

Afferent

Sensory neurons that carry messages towards the CNS

Efferent Neurons

Motor neurons that carry messages away from the CNS

Mechanoreceptors

touch and pressure

Chemoreceptors

taste and smell

Photoreceptors

light

Thermoreceptors

temperature