CSAD 234: Cranial Nerves and Brain Structures - Vocabulary Flashcards

Fifty vocabulary-style flashcards covering brain regions, limbic system components, the cranial nerves and their functions, sensory/motor pathways, and key clinical terms from the notes.

Frontal lobe

Lobe responsible for motor function, problem solving, memory, executive function; contains Broca’s area (speech production) in the left hemisphere.

Parietal lobe

Lobe involved in touch, proprioception, spatial awareness; associated with writing and body awareness.

Temporal lobe

Lobe responsible for hearing and language comprehension; contains Wernicke’s area.

Occipital lobe

Lobe responsible for vision; contains the primary visual cortex.

Insula

Lobe involved in visceral sensations and autonomic control; role in fight-or-flight and self-awareness.

Midbrain

Part of the brainstem involved in motor functions and auditory/visual responses.

Pons

Brainstem structure associated with sleep, respiration, and posture.

Medulla oblongata

Brainstem region controlling heart rate, blood pressure, and autonomic functions.

Cerebellum

Structure responsible for balance, coordination, and posture.

Brainstem

Connects brain to spinal cord; manages autonomic and basic life functions; consists of midbrain, pons, and medulla.

Limbic system

Emotion and memory system; includes thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, basal ganglia, and hippocampus.

Thalamus

Relays sensory information to the cortex and integrates signals.

Hypothalamus

Autonomic control center; maintains homeostasis (temperature, hunger, thirst).

Amygdala

Emotion processing and memory formation; involved in fear responses.

Basal ganglia

Group of nuclei that regulate movement and motor control.

Hippocampus

Structure essential for memory formation and spatial navigation.

Corpus callosum

Large white-matter tract that connects the two cerebral hemispheres.

Wernicke’s area

Region for language comprehension located in the temporal lobe.

Broca’s area

Region for expressive language production (left inferior frontal gyrus; BA 44-45).

Primary motor cortex

Cortex area that initiates voluntary motor movements.

Primary auditory cortex

Cortex area in the temporal lobe responsible for processing sound.

Primary visual cortex

Cortex area in the occipital lobe responsible for basic visual processing.

Anosognosia

Loss of awareness of one’s own deficits or body parts.

Agraphia

Difficulty or inability to write.

Prosopagnosia

Difficulty recognizing familiar faces.

Cortical blindness

Blindness caused by damage to the primary visual cortex despite intact eyes.

Visual field deficit

Loss or impairment of part of the visual field due to brain injury.

Brodmann’s areas 44 and 45

Cytoarchitectural regions corresponding to Broca’s area, involved in speech production.

Olfactory nerve (I)

Cranial nerve responsible for the sense of smell.

Optic nerve (II)

Cranial nerve responsible for vision.

Oculomotor nerve (III)

Cranial nerve that controls most eye muscles and pupillary reflexes.

Trochlear nerve (IV)

Cranial nerve that innervates the superior oblique muscle; enables downward/inward eye movement.

Trigeminal nerve (V)

Cranial nerve that is mixed: sensation of the face and muscles of mastication.

Abducens nerve (VI)

Cranial nerve that abducts the eye via the lateral rectus muscle.

Facial nerve (VII)

Cranial nerve that is mixed: controls facial expression and taste on the anterior tongue; parasympathetic to glands.

Vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII)

Cranial nerve responsible for hearing and balance.

Glossopharyngeal nerve (IX)

Cranial nerve providing taste/posterior tongue sensation and pharyngeal functions; mixed.

Vagus nerve (X)

Cranial nerve with motor and sensory roles in the pharynx, larynx, thorax, and abdomen; major parasympathetic pathway.

Accessory nerve (XI)

Cranial nerve (from spinal cord) that innervates trapezius and sternocleidomastoid; mainly motor.

Hypoglossal nerve (XII)

Cranial nerve that controls tongue movements.

Chorda tympani

Branch of VII that carries taste from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue; runs through the middle ear.

Lingual nerve

Branch of V3 that provides general sensation from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue.

Nucleus Solitarius

Brainstem sensory nucleus for visceral sensation and taste from several cranial nerves.

Nucleus Ambiguus

Brainstem motor nucleus for pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles.

Dorsal motor nucleus of Vagus

Parasympathetic nucleus of X that supplies visceral organs in the thorax and abdomen.

Edinger-Westphal nucleus

Parasympathetic nucleus associated with pupil constriction and accommodation (CN III).

Superior Salivatory Nucleus

Parasympathetic nucleus contributing to salivation (cranial nerves VII and IX pathways).

Weber test

Hearing test using a tuning fork to compare bone conduction vs air conduction.

Rinne test

Hearing test comparing air conduction to bone conduction to assess conduction and nerve function.

Snellen chart

Standard eye chart used to measure visual acuity.

Visual field test

Assessment of the entire scope of vision to identify deficits in peripheral vision.

Pupillary reflex

Response of the pupil to light (direct and consensual) indicating optic and oculomotor function.

Gag reflex

Involuntary contraction of the back of the throat when stimulated; tests IX and X function.

Jaw muscles

Muscles involved in chewing; innervated by CN V (trigeminal nerve) motor fibers.

Facial expression muscles

Muscles innervated by CN VII responsible for facial movements and expressions.

Corneal reflex

Blink reflex in response to corneal stimulation, testing CN V and CN VII pathways.

Tongue protrusion

Test of hypoglossal nerve function; tongue must protrude straight.

Shoulder shrug

Test of accessory nerve (CN XI) function via trapezius and sternocleidomastoid strength.

Nerve crossover redundancy

Fact that two or more cranial nerves may innervate the same structure, complicating lesion effects.

Parotid gland innervation

Parasympathetic innervation of the parotid gland via IX (glossopharyngeal) and VII (facial) pathways.

Balance and gaze control

Neural coordination involving CN III, CN IV, CN VI and vestibular system for stable eye and head movements.

Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR)

Reflex that stabilizes gaze during head movement via CN III, IV, VI and vestibular input.

Taste pathways (anterior tongue)

Taste sensation carried by chorda tympani (CN VII) from the anterior two-thirds of the tongue.

Taste pathways (posterior tongue)

Taste sensation carried by glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) from the posterior tongue.

Autonomic nervous system

Involuntary nervous system regulating internal organs, blood vessels, and glands.

Parasympathetic division

Rest-and-digest branch of the autonomic nervous system reducing metabolic activity and promoting digestion.

Sympathetic division

Fight-or-flight branch of the autonomic nervous system preparing the body for action.

Homeostasis

Dynamic balance maintained by autonomic and endocrine systems to regulate internal conditions.