Topic 8: The Central, Peripheral, and Autonomic Nervous System

What is included in the CNS?

The brain and spinal cord

What is included in the Peripheral NS?

Somatic Nerves and ganglia

What is included in the Autonomic Nervous System?

Visceral Nerves

What are the four parts of the brain?

Brain stem, Diencephalon, Cerebellum, and Cerebrum

What are the 4 functions of the brain stem?

Passageway for nervous tissue tracts connecting to the brain dn spinal cord, innervates face and head, produce automatic survival behaviors, integrates auditory and visual reflexes

What are the 3 paired structures of gray matter in the diencephalon?

Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Epithalamus

What is the thalamus?

It is the processes and relays info to the cerebrum

What is the hypothalamus?

It is the visceral control center, and regulates body temperature, sleep, emotions, motivations and hormones

What is the Epithalamus?

Additional hormonal control

What is the Cerebellum?

It is a pair of cauliflower-like hemispheres

What are the functions of the cerebellum?

Smooth and coordinate body movements directed by other brain regions that are involved in motor memory, and helps regulate and maintain posture and equilibrium

What are the 4 external regions of the Cerebrum?

Frontal lobe, Parietal lobe, Occipital lobe, Temporal lobe

What is the frontal lobe in control of?

Voluntary movement and planning, eye movement, speech production, conscious decision making, and emotional responses

What is the parietal lobe in control of?

Sensory processing, spatial awareness, and understanding speech

What is the temporal lobe in control of?

Processing of auditory and olfactory info (hearing and smell)

What is the Occipital lobe in control of?

Processing of visual information

What are ventricles?

They are expansions of the brain’s central cavity

What are ventricles filled with?

Cerebrospinal fluid and lined with ependymal cells

Is it true that gray matter is generally found interiorly of the brain, and it surrounds external white matter?

True

What is the cerebral cortex?

It is where within the cerebrum, it consists of an additional external layer of gray matter

What protects the brain?

The skull, Meninges, and Cerebrospinal fluid

What are meninges?

It is surrounding CT membranes

What is the blood brain barrier?

It is a form of protection for the brain by making sure no internal harm substances are carried within the blood

What are three CT membranes that are meninges?

Dura mater, Arachnoid mater, and Pia mater

What is the function of the Dura mater?

Cover and protect CNS

What is the function of the Arachnoid mater?

Encloses and protect blood vessels of the CNS

What is the function of the Pia mater?

It contains cerebrospinal fluid

What is the blood brain barrier?

This is reduced permeability of brain capillaries

How does the spinal cord of the CNS function?

Extending spinal nerves out to innervate the body, Forms ascending and descending of white matter, through sensory and motor integration in gray matter represents a major center for reflexes in the CNS

In the spinal cord, what are spinal nerves?

It is parried ventral and dorsal roots that extend from spinal cord and merge

What is the dorsal root?

They are bulbous collections of sensory neuron cell bodies

In the PNS the human brain must also be fed with what?

calories, nutrients, and sensory information

What are two peripherals sensory receptors?

Free nerve endings, and complete receptor cells

What are free nerve endings (of sensory neurons)?

They monitor most types of general sense info (touch, pain, pressure, temp, and proprioception)

What are complete receptor cells?

They are either epithelial cells or small neurons that transfer sense to sensory neurons. They monitor most types of special sense info (taste, vision, hearing, equilibrium)

How are receptors grouped?

Location or type of stimulus

What are a few locations of receptors?

Exteroceptors, Interoceptors, Proprioceptors

What are a few stimulus types of receptors?

Mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, Chemoreceptors, Photoreceptors, Nociceptors

What are Exteroceptors?

They sense external environment stimuli

What are Interoceptors?

They sense internal stimuli from viscera

What are proprioceptors?

They sense stretching of skeletal muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments

What are Mechanoreceptors?

They sense touch, pressure, stretching, and vibrations

What are thermoreceptors?

They sense temperature

What are chemoreceptors?

They sense chemical compounds (taste or smell)

What are photoreceptors?

They sense light

What are Nociceptors?

They sense pain from tissue damage

What is the Autonomic Nervous System?

It is the system of motor neurons innervating smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands of the body

Is the Autonomic Nervous system Involuntary or voluntary?

involuntary

What are the two divisions of the ANS?

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

What is the Sympathetic division?

It mobilizes the body during extreme situations such as fear, exercise, or rage'; “fight-or flight” responses

What is the parasympathetic division?

It enables the body to unwind and relax; “housekeeping activities”

What are Visceral Sensory Neurons?

They send distresses signals to the brain

What is referred pain?

It is pain that feels like parts of the outer body are in pain