BIOL 307 Human Physiology Chapter 9,10,11

Ventricles

hollow tubes that connect within the brain. within the tubes fluid can flow and act as a cushion

What is the difference between white matter and gray matter? Define the two

White Matter is mostly myelinated axons and contain very few neural cell bodies. While grey matter consist of unmyelinated nerve cell bodies, dendrites, and axons

Tract

Bundles of axons that connect different regions of the central nervous system

Meninges

Three layers of membrane that lie between the bones and tissues of the central nervous system

Cerebrospinal Fluid

A salty solution that is continuously secreted by the choroid plexus

Choroid Plexus

A specialized region on the walls of the ventricles

Spinal Nerve

Mixed nerves that interact directly with the spinal chord

What is the difference between the ascending tract and descending tract? Define them

The ascending tract takes sensory information to the brain.

The ascending tract is within the dorsal and external lateral portion of the brain.

The descending tract carry mostly motor signals from the brain to the chord.

Cranial Nerve

12 pairs of peripheral nerves that originate primarily from the brain stem

Recognize that most physiological variables have a…

circadian rhythm

What is the blue part?

Frontal lobe

What is the pink part?

Parietal Lobe

What is the green part?

Occipital Lobe

What is the yellow part?

Temporal Lobe

What is the blue stem?

Medulla

What is the red part?

Cerebellum

What is letter J (Blue circular organ)

Thalamus

What is letter B (Purple Space)

Hypothalamus

Transduction/ Transducer

The conversion of stimulus energy into information that can be processed by the nervous system.

An example of a transducer can be a receptor/ sensor that can convert a stimulus into an intracellular signal.

Proprioception

Awareness of body position in space and the relative location of body parts

Chemoreceptor

Chemical ligands that bind to a receptor

Mechanoreceptor

Response from various forms of mechanical energy. An example can be vibrations or pressure

Thermoreceptors

Respond to temperatures

Photoreceptors

Vision to respond to light

Olfaction

Sense of smell

Gustation

Sense of taste

Pupil

Opening where light can pass ( black part)

Iris

Colored ring of pigment

Lens

Focuses light upon the retina

Cornea

Transparent disk of tissue connected to the sclera ( white part)

Retina

Layers that contain photoreceptors

Recognize that the function of all sensory receptors is transduction of…

Environmental signals/energy into an electrical signal

What is the difference between somatic senses and special senses? Give examples for each.

Somatic senses deal with senses around the body. For example: Touch, Temperature, Itch, Pain.

Special senses deal with sense detected by the head region.

For example: Taste, Sight, Equilibrium, Smell, Hearing

For a given receptor cell…

Increased stimulus intensity is always coded as increased action potential frequency no matter what the sense

What are our 5 taste senses?

Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Umami

What changes in the eye to maintain and keep focus on objects?

The eye lens will change shape to keep focus on objects. This is also known as accommodation

What is the difference between rods and cones?

Rods are responsible for night vision when objects are seen in black and white. Rods focus when light levels are low.

Cones are responsible for vision during the day when there are multiple colors. Cones focus when light levels are high.

Somatic Motor Pathway

A neuron from the central nervous system that secretes acetylcholine at a nicotine receptor on the target skeletal muscle.

Autonomic

Self governing; Automatic; Involuntary

Sympathetic Branch

Division of the autonomic nervous system that deals with fight or flight responses

Parasympathetic Branch

Division of autonomic nervous system that deals with daily activities

Ganglion

A cluster of nerve cell bodies that lie outside of the central nervous system

What are the differences between the actions of the somatic motor and the autonomic systems?

The somatic motor system includes a singular neuron that projects it’s axons towards a skeletal muscle. The somatic pathways are always excitatory

The autonomic systems always involve two neurons, with two divisions, that act on multiple organs. The autonomic systems can be either excitatory or inhibitory.

Evey autonomic circuit is a chain of

Two neurons ending at a target tissue with the two neurons synapsing at a ganglion

Many different

receptor subtypes exist for autonomic neurotransmitters allowing to target specific tissues

Somatic Motor Pathways

are single neuron, exclusively excitatory pathways

Dorsal Root

Specialized to carry incoming sensory information

Ventral Root

Carries information from the CNS to muscles and glands

Dorsal Horn

Region of spinal cord that contains sensory nuclei

Ventral Horn

Regions of spinal cord that contain efferent nuclei

What is the difference between the sensory, motor, and association areas of the brain

Sensory areas receive sensory input and translate it into perception(awareness)

Motor areas direct skeletal muscle movement

Association areas integrate information from sensory and motor information and can direct voluntary behaviors

What are the three layers of the brain or meninges

Dura Mater- Thickest part of the membrane

Arachnoid Membrane- loosely tied to the inner membrane

Pia Mater- Inner membrane that adheres to the surface of the brain

The space between the arachnoid membrane and pia mater is called…

the subarachnoid space where cerebrospinal fluid circulates

How does CSF provide protection to the brain?

CSF provides physical protection to the brain by reducing the weight of the brain through buoyancy. This results in the brain putting immensely less pressure on blood vessels and nerves attached to the CNS

What is the blood brain barrier

Capillary and endothelial cells held together by tight junctions. Tight junctions have low permeability resulting in only hydrophobic or small uncharged polar molecules.

1 refers to

Dorsal Horn

2 refers to

Ventral Horn

3 refers to

Dorsal Root

4 refers to

Dorsal Root Ganglion

5 refers to

Ventral Root

Medulla Oblongata

Portion of the brain stem that controls involuntary functions such as breathing

Pons

Acts as a relay station for information transfer between the cerebellum and the cerebrum

Thalamus

Relays information going to and from higher brain centers

Hypothalamus

Contains centers for behavioral drive and plays a key role in body regulation

Corpus Callosum

Ensures the two hemispheres of the brain and communicating and cooperating

Basal Ganglia/nuclei

Nuclei surrounding the thalamus that help with planning movement

Primary Motor Cortex

Regions of the frontal lobe that coordinate skeletal movement

Limbic System

Serves as a link between primitive emotional responses and higher cognitive function