Nervous System Flashcards PHYSIO-O1

Primary Motor Cortex and Prefrontal Cortex

Primary Motor Cortex and Prefrontal Cortex

two cortices in the frontal lobe

Binding problem ( Large-scale Integration Problem )

This refers to how various areas combine to produce a unified experience such as eating and shaking something

Middle prefrontal cortex

Damage to this area can impair delayed-response tasks and emotional regulation.

Prefrontal lobotomy

Surgical disconnection of prefrontal cortex from the brain.

Frontal lobe

containing the primary motor cortex and the prefrontal cortex, extends from the central sulcus to the
anterior limit of the brain

Primary Motor Cortex (Precentral Gyrus)

The posterior portion of the frontal lobe that is specialized for the control of fine movements, such as moving a finger.

Prefrontal Cortex

Involved in higher-level functions (anterior portion).
This is important for planning actions, working memory, certain aspects of emotion, and decision making.

Walter Freeman

medical doctor, untrained in surgery, performed many procedures using crude techniques and nonhospital sites.

Posterior, Middle, & Anterior Prefrontal Cortex

3 major regions of Prefrontal cortex

Posterior prefrontal cortex

region in prefrontal cortex that primarily associated with movement control

Middle prefrontal cortex

region in prefrontal cortex that involved in working memory, cognitive control, and emotional reactions

Anterior prefrontal cortex

region in prefrontal cortex that critical for decision-making and evaluating outcomes

Prefrontal cortex

People with damage to this area have trouble on the delayed-response task, in which they see or hear something, and then have to respond to it after a delay.

Binding

this requires perceiving that two aspects of a
stimulus (such as sight and sound) occurred at the same
place at the same time.

ablation

the removal of a body part or the destruction of its function

lesion

broad medical term that refers to any abnormal change or damage in the structure or function of tissue, cells, or organs in the body

stereotaxic instrument

is a specialized device used in neuroscience and neurosurgery for precise targeting and manipulation of specific areas within the brain or other structures in the body.

sham lesion

refers to a simulated or fake injury or damage created in experimental settings for comparison purposes in scientific research.

electric lesion

crude technique that damage the axons passing through as well as the neurons itself

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

a treatment that involves placing a powerful pulsed magnet over a person's scalp, which alters neuronal activity in the brain

Optogenetics

is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by expression of light-sensitive ion channels, pumps or enzymes specifically in the target cells.

Electroencephalography (EEG)

records electrical activity of the brain through electrodes- ranging from just a few to a more than a hundred- attached to the scalp, useful for distinguishing between wakefulness and various stages of sleep, and also helps with diagnosing epilepsy.

evoked potentials

the same device used for an EEG can also record brain activity in response to a stimulus, in which case we call the result.

Magnotoencephalography (MEG)

measures the faint magnetic fields generated by brain activity, iIdentifies the approximate location of activity to within about a centimeter, and has excellent temporal resolution

Positrom emission tomography (PET)

Provides a high resolution image of activity in a living brain by recording the emission of radioactivity from injected chemicals (glucose).

cyclotron

a device that makes short half-life radioactive chemicals that are used for PET scans

functional magnetic resonance imaging

measures changes in blood flow to different parts of the brain while a person is engaged in specific tasks or activities. This allows researchers to see which areas of the brain are active during different mental processes, helping to understand brain function and behavior.

Forebrain

the most prominent part of the mammalian brain, consists of two cerebral hemispheres, one on the left and one on the right.

Cerebral Cortex

outer portion of the forebrain.

Amygdala

the most central for evaluating emotional information, specially with regards to fear.

Thalamus

pair of structures (left and right) in the center of the forebrain.

Hypothalamus

a small area near the base of the brain just ventral to the thalamus. It conveys messages to the pituitary gland, altering its release of hormones.

Pituitary Gland

an endocrine (hormone-producing) gland attached to the base of the hypothalamus. It synthesizes hormones that the blood carries to organs throughout the body.

Occipital lobe

the posterior (caudal) end of the cortex that is the main target for visual information.

corpus callosum and anterior commissure

neurons in each hemisphere communicate through neurons in the corresponding part of the other hemisphere through these 2 bundles of axons.

Laminae

layers of cell bodies that are parallel to the surface and separated from each other by layers of fibers.

Columns

cells in the cortex that are perpendicular to the laminae.

Basal Ganglia

a group of subcortical nuclei responsible primarily for motor control, as well as other roles such as motor learning, executive functions and behaviors, and emotions

Basal Forebrain

the site of a system of cholinergic neurons projecting to the entire cortical surface.

Hippocampus

a complex brain structure embedded deep into temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory.

The Ventricles

to pump blood out of the heart and into either systemic or pulmonary circulation

Parietal Lobe

this lobe receives and processes sensory input like touch, temperature, and pain. They're also crucial for body awareness and creating a mental map of our surroundings.

Temporal Lobe

Contribute to the regulation of emotions, the processing of sensory data, the retention and recall of memories, and the comprehension of language.

Hippocampus

Damage to this can cause memory loss, spatial navigation difficulties, and emotional instability.

Parietal lobe

Damage to this area can lead to significant deficits in sensory perception, spatial awareness, and higher cognitive functions related to attention, language, and motor skills.

Temporal lobe

Injury to this region can greatly disrupt cognitive abilities, language skills, memory formation, emotional regulation, and visual perception.

Phrenology (Franz Gall)

a process of relating skull anatomy to human behavior

Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT)

a noninvasive medical examination or procedure that uses specialized X-ray equipment to produce cross-sectional images of the body. It helps to detect tumors and other structural abnormalities.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

a type of diagnostic test that can create detailed images of nearly every structure and organ inside the body. It uses magnets and radio waves to produce images on a computer.

Central Nervous System (CNS)

this system consists of brain and spinal cord.

Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System

parts of Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

this connects the brain and the spinal cord to the rest

of the body.

dorsal root ganglia

The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are in clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord are called _____

Spinal Cord

• part of the CNS within the spinal column.

• communicates with all the sense organs and muscles except those of the head

• it is a segmented structure, and each segment has on both the left and right sides a sensory nerve and a motor nerve.

Autonomic Nervous System

It consists of neurons that receive information from and send commands to the heart, intestines, and other organs.

• Its two parts are the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System

Sympathetic Nervous System

a network of nerves that prepare the organs for vigorous activity, consists of chains of ganglia just to the left and right of the spinal cord’s central regions (the thoracic and lumbar areas).

• These ganglia are connected by axons to the spinal

  cord.

Sympathetic axons

These axons prepare the organs for “fight or flight"—increasing breathing and heart rate and decreasing digestive activity.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

sometimes called the “rest and digest” system, facilitates vegetative, nonemergency responses

• also known as the craniosacral system because it consists of the cranial nerves and nerves from the sacral spinal cord.

Hindbrain, Midbrain, and Forebrain

Brain's three major divisions

Hindbrain

posterior part of the brain, consists of the medulla, the pons, and the cerebellum.

brainstem

The medulla and pons, the midbrain, and certain central structures of the brain constitute the _____

Medulla (medulla oblongata)

this can be regarded as an enlarged extension of the spinal cord.

• Just as the lower parts of the body connect to the spinal cord via sensory and motor nerves

Cranial nerves

nerves that control vital reflexes such as breathing, heart rate, vomiting, salivation, coughing, and sneezing.

Pons

it lies anterior and ventral to the medulla. Like the medulla, it contains nuclei for several cranial nerves.

Cerebellum

a large hindbrain structure with many deep folds

• It has long been known for its contributions to the control of movement

• Some describe it as for “balance and coordination”.

Midbrain

starts in the middle of the brain, although in adult mammals it is dwarfed and surrounded by the forebrain.

• this is more prominent in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

superior colliculus and inferior colliculus

The swellings on each side of the tectum (roof of the midbrain) are _____

Tegmentum

lies under the tectum, which is the intermediate level of the midbrain.

Substantia nigra

gives rise to a dopamine-containing pathway that facilitates readiness for movement.

Horizontal, Sagittal, and Coronal (front)

three ways of taking a plane through the brain

dorsal–ventral axis

The ______ of the human brain is at a right angle to the dorsal–ventral axis of the spinal cord.

gray matter, white matter

• H-shaped (1) in the center of the spinal cord is densely packed with cell bodies and dendrites.

• Many neurons from the gray matter of the spinal cord send axons to the brain or other parts of the spinal cord through the (2), containing myelinated axons.