brain and spinal cord - FOREBRAIN

major structures of the forebrain

• cerebrum: higher mental functions

• thalamus: relay station

• hypothalamus and pituitary gland: hormones and growth

what cranial nerves does the forebrain give rise to?

CN I and II

describe the midbrain and the CN it gives rise to

• connects forebrain and hindbrain

• motor and sensory pathway tracks

• CN III and IV

major structures of the hindbrain

• cerebellum: motor control and balance

• pons: motor, sensory, hearing, equilibrium

• medulla: heart rate, blood pressure, autonomics, motor, etc

together, the pons and medulla regulate

respiration

which three structures make the brain stem?

the pons, medulla, and midbrain

which CN do the pons and medulla give rise to?

PONS: CN V - VIII

MEDULLA: CN IX - XII

what connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain?

The corpus callosum - high concentration of commissural fibers

five lobes of the cerebrum

1. frontal

2. parietal

3. temporal

4. occipital

5. insular

frontal lobe

• decision making - problem solving - complex thought - planning

• voluntary movement: PRECENTRAL GYRUS

  • aka '“primary motor cortex”

  • anterior to central sulcus

parietal lobe

• somatosensory processing, language processing

  • POST CENTRAL GYRUS

  • aka “primary somatosensory cortex”

  • posterior to central sulcus

describe how the primary motor cortex works

• descending tracts originate in the primary motor cortex/precentral gyrus

• sends impulses down the spine

• neurons synapse in ventral horn

describe how the somatosensory cortex works

• neurons with somatosensory information deliver impulses to the cortex (postcentral gyrus)

• done via white matter ascending tracts

• relayed via the thalamus

temporal lobe cortexes and the nerves that bring info

1. auditory cortex: receive and analyze hearing

   1. DONE BY CN VIII (vestibulocochlear nerve; cochlear branch does hearing, vestibular branch does acceleration)

2. olfactory cortex: processing of olfactory impulses

   1. DONE BY CN I

occipital lobe cortex and nerve that gives info

visual cortex: processing, recognition, visual memory

DONE BY CN II

insular lobe main cortex

gustatory cortex

• taste processing

• integrates sensory input from smell, taste, and visceral sensations in gut

DONE BY CN VII and IX (glossopharyngeal does posterior 1/3, facial nerve does anterior 2/3

thalamus

relay station for ALL senses EXCEPT smell

somatosensory information of the face is done by what cranial nerve?

cranial nerve V (Trigeminal nerve)

hypothalamus

controls release of pituitary hormones

pituitary gland

• sits in pituitary fossa of sphenoid bone

• regulation of growth, BP, sex drive, labor, lactation, etc…

describe the two parts of the pituitary

Posterior pituitary:

• downgrowth of hypothalamus

• neural tissue; continuous

anterior pituitary

• glandular tissue

• NO neural connection

• hypothalamus communicates via blood stream