Neuroanatomy Foundations

What is the difference between gray matter and white matter?

Gray matter contains mainly cell bodies and dendrites and integrates messages. White matter contains myelinated axons that send signals.

What are the six lobes of each cerebral hemisphere?

Frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital, limbic, and insular.

What is the function of the cerebral cortex?

It processes sensory and motor information and is involved in memory, language, reasoning, and other higher-level functions

What is the difference between a gyrus, sulcus, and fissure?

A gyrus is a rounded elevation, a sulcus is a groove, and a fissure is a particularly deep sulcus.

What is the function of the corpus callosum?

It is a dense band of neurons that connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres.

What are the major functions of the frontal lobe?

Attention, short-term memory, planning/organization, critical thinking, decision-making, personality, and voluntary movement.

What are the major functions of the parietal lobe?

Tactile processing, proprioception, spatial orientation, visual processing for reading/writing/math, and visually guided motor skills

What are the major functions of the temporal lobe?

Auditory processing, language expression/comprehension, and visual processing involved in recalling faces, names, places, and objects.

What is the primary function of the occipital lobe?

Visual processing.

What are the major structures included in the limbic/diencephalon system listed in the lecture?

Thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus/pineal gland, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and amygdala.

What are the major functions of the thalamus?

Motor planning/control for complex movement, sensory integration, and activity/arousal in response to the environment.

What is the primary role of the hypothalamus?

Maintaining homeostasis, including temperature and metabolic rate, and regulating growth.

What does the hippocampus do?

Long-term memory, factual memory, learning, and emotional processing.

What are the functions of the basal ganglia?

Goal-oriented behavior, movement, and emotion.

What are the major functions of the amygdala?

Reward systems, motivation, and emotion

What are the major functions of the insula?

Basic emotions, interoceptive awareness, emotional/non-verbal processing, taste, pain sensation/processing, and emotional responses to vestibular input.

What are the major functions of the cerebellum?

Vestibular processing, muscle coordination, maintaining posture, and motor learning.

What three structures make up the brainstem?

Pons, medulla, and midbrain.

What does the ventral root carry?

Motor information.

What does the dorsal root carry?

Sensory information

What are some ways the brain can reorganize following damage?

It can form new connections, change connections at synapses, form new neurons, and reorganize existing connections so other areas take over functions.

Why is neuroplasticity especially important to occupational therapy?

OT rehabilitation can use experience and meaningful activities to help the brain reorganize and improve function following neurological injury or changes.

What is neurulation?

The developmental process in which the neural tube forms; the neural tube develops into the spinal cord.

What is anencephaly?

A neural tube defect in which the cerebrum does not fully develop because the cranial end of the neural tube remains open.

What causes spina bifida?

Failure of the inferior/caudal neuropore to close, resulting in a meningocele involving the spinal cord.

Which type of spina bifida is the most severe?

Myelomeningocele.

What is Arnold-Chiari malformation?

Compression of the brainstem and/or cerebellum into the foramen magnum.

What are some symptoms associated with Arnold-Chiari malformation?

Pain, dysphagia, sensory changes, apnea, weakness, nausea, dizziness, and balance problems

What is a tethered spinal cord?

The spinal cord adheres to the vertebra through fatty or scar tissue, creating increased mechanical stress as the person grows.

What symptoms can occur with a tethered spinal cord?

Sensory changes in the pelvis and legs and changes in bladder and bowel control.

What does "growing into deficit" mean?

Early damage may not be immediately obvious; problems become apparent when the damaged system fails to demonstrate the expected development for the child's age.

What are neural stem cells?

Undifferentiated precursor cells that can self-renew and differentiate into a variety of cell types.

Why are neural stem cells potentially important for rehabilitation?

They may eventually contribute to repairing or replacing nervous system cells and forming new connections following injury or disease.