Chapter 12 The Central Nervous System

Flashcards based on lecture notes about the Central Nervous System.

What are the functions of the central nervous system (CNS)?

Movement, interpreting sensory information, maintaining homeostasis, and functions relating to the mind.

What are the three categories of nervous system functions?

Motor, sensory, and integrative.

What are the four divisions of the brain?

Cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum, and brainstem.

What are the responsibilities of the cerebrum?

Learning, memory, personality, cognition, language, and conscience. Also sensation and movement.

What are the responsibilities of the diencephalon?

Processing, integrating, and relaying information, homeostatic functions, regulation of movement, and biological rhythms.

What are the responsibilities of the cerebellum?

Planning and coordination of movement.

What are the responsibilities of the brainstem?

Basic involuntary homeostatic functions, control of certain reflexes, monitoring movement, and integrating and relaying information.

What are neurons in the frontal lobes responsible for?

Planning and executing movement and complex mental functions such as behavior, conscience, and personality.

What are neurons in the parietal lobes responsible for?

Processing and integrating sensory information and function in attention.

What are the neurons in the temporal lobes involved in?

Hearing, language, memory, and emotions.

What do the neurons in the occipital lobes process?

All information related to vision.

What functions are neurons in the insulas thought to be involved in?

Functions related to taste and viscera (internal organs).

What is the function of the primary motor cortex?

Plan and execute movement.

What are the functions of the primary sensory cortices?

Receive and process sensory input.

What type of somatic sensory information do the two main somatosensory areas deal with?

Information about temperature, touch, vibration, pressure, stretch, and joint position.

Where is the primary somatosensory area (S1) located?

The postcentral gyrus of the parietal lobe.

Where is the somatosensory association cortex (S2) located?

Posterior to S1.

Where is the primary visual cortex located?

Posterior end occipital lobe.

What is the function of the primary visual cortex?

It is the first area to receive visual input.

What is the function of the visual association area?

It processes color, object movement, and depth.

Where is the primary auditory cortex located?

Superior temporal lobe.

What type of information is received by the primary auditory cortex?

Auditory information.

Where is the information received primary auditory cortex transferred?

Input is then transferred to the nearby auditory association cortex and other multimodal association areas for further processing.

Where is taste information processed?

Gustatory cortex, which is scattered throughout both the insula and the parietal lobes.

Where are the vestibular areas located?

Parietal and temporal lobes.

What information do the vestibular areas deal with?

Equilibrium and positional sensations.

Where is smell information processed?

Olfactory cortex.

Summarize the functions of the prefrontal cortex

Modulating behavior, personality, learning and memory, and an individual’s personality state.

Summarize the functions of the parietal and temporal association areas

Integration of sensory information, language, maintaining attention, recognition, and spatial awareness.

What is the function of the limbic system?

The limbic system is involved in memory, learning, emotion, and behavior.

Summarize the roles of the pons

Regulation of movement, breathing, reflexes, and complex functions associated with sleep and arousal.

What are the main two systems dedicated to maintaining homeostasis?

Nervous system and endocrine system.

What two structures of the CNS are concerned directly with the maintenance of homeostasis?

Specific nuclei of the brainstem reticular formation and the hypothalamus.

What is sleep?

Sleep is defined as a reversible and normal suspension of consciousness.

List some cognitive functions.

Cognitive functions include processing and responding to complex external stimuli, recognizing related stimuli, processing internal stimuli and planning appropriate responses to stimuli. Cognitive processes are responsible for social and moral behavior, intelligence, thoughts, problem-solving skills, language, and personality..

Define language

Language refers to the ability to comprehend and produce words through speaking, writing, and/or signing, and to assign and recognize the symbolic meaning of a word correctly.

Describe the arachnoid granulations?

Arachnoid granulations or villi are small bundles of arachnoid that project superficially through the meningeal dura into the dura sinuses where they allow for the return of CSF back to the bloodstream.

Summarize the general pathway for the formation, circulation, and reabsorption of CSF

Fluid and electrolytes leak out of the capillaries of the choroid plexuses into the ECF of the ventricles. Escaped fluid and electrolytes are taken up into the ependymal cells then secreted into the ventricles as CSF. CSF circulates through and around the brain and spinal cord in the subarachnoid space assisted by the movement of ciliated ependymal cells. Some CSF is reabsorbed into the blood in the dural sinuses via the arachnoid granulations where it is reunited with venous blood.

What makes the blood brain barrier unique?

Tight junctions and astrocytes.

What is effectively prevented from crossing the blood brain barrier in any significant amount?

Most large, polar molecules

What makes the spinal meninges different?

The spinal cord dura has only one layer and the pia mater has some structural enhancements.

What is perception?

A conscious awareness of the sensation.

What happens when the CNS has received all the different sensory inputs from various parts of the brain?

The CNS integrates them into a single perception.

Generalize the structures and role of the basal nuclei in voluntary movement.

Three collections of cell bodies make up the basal nuclei: the caudate nucleus, the globus pallidus, and the putamen. Complicated interconnections form a circuit between the basal nuclei and other structures of the brain.