Nervous System

What is the nervous system responsible for?

coordinating all the activity in the body

What two sections can the nervous system be subdivided into?

Central Nervous System (CNS); brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS); cranial nerves and spinal nerves)

What are the two basic types of cells in nervous tissue?

Neurons and neuroglial cells

Neurons

have three basic parts:

dendrites, cell body, and axon

Dendrites

highly branched projections that receive impulses

Nerve Cell Body

contains the nucleus and other organelles

Axon

the single projection from the nerve cell body that conducts the electrical impulse towards its destination

Synapse

the point at which the axon of one neuron meets the dendrite of the next neuron

Neurotransmitter

chemical messengers that cross the synaptic gaps between neurons

What type of matter does the CNS contain?

Grey and white matter

Brain

coordinates most body activities, center for all thought, memory, judgements, and emotions

What are the four sections of the brain?

cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon, and brainstem

Gyri

ridges of the brain

Sulci

shallow grooves

Frontal Lobe

most anterior, controls motor function

parietal lobe

most superior, interprets language

Occipital Lobe

most posterior, controls vision and visual processing

Temporal Lobe

left and right, controls hearing and smell

What does the diencephalon consist of?

thalamus and hypothalamus

Thalamus

controls pain perception and impulses

hypothalamus

controls body temperature, appetite, sleep, sexual desire, and emotions,

controls the autonomic nervous system

What is the spinal cords function?

to provide a pathway for impulses travelling to and from the brain

cerebrospinal fluid

Fluid in the space between the meninges that acts as a shock absorber that protects the central nervous system.

meninges

three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord

moving from external to internal what are the mengines

dura mater, subdural space, arachnoid layer, subarachnoid space, pia mater - the innermost membrane and is applied directly to the surface of the brain and spinal cord

PNS

contains 12 cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves

Nerves

a group or bundle of axon fibers located outsid ethe central nervous system

afferent neurons

also called sensory neurons carry information from sensory receptor

efferent neurons

also called motor neurons, carry out activity instructions from the CNS to muscles or glands out in the body

parasympathetic

rest and digest - decreased alertness, slow breathing, decreased heart rates

sympathetic

fight or flight -

increased alertness, dilated pupils, increased breathing, increased heart rate,

somatic nervous system

voluntary movements

autonomic nervous system

involuntary movements

(sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems)

somatic nerves

serve the skin and skeletal muscles and are mainly involves with the conscious and voluntary activites of the body

AD

alzheimer's disease

LP

lumbar puncture

CSF

cerebrospinal fluid

CVA

cerebrovascular accident (stroke)

TBI

traumatic brain injury

TIA

transient ischemic attack (mini stroke)