cogs 17 midterm 1 full ucsd

ipsi-lateral vs. contra-lateral

connecting to the SAME side vs. connecting to the OPPOSITE side

lateral vs. medial

towards the sides vs. towards the middle

ventral vs. dorsal

towards the stomach or bottom of the human head vs. towards the back or top of the human head

superior vs. inferior

a structure above another vs. one below another

coronal vs. sagittal vs. horizontal

planes through head as seen from the front vs. the side vs. above/below

diencephalon

division of the forebrain that ultimately becomes the thalamus, hypothalamus, and the eye

telencephalon

division of the forebrain that ultimately becomes the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, limbic system, etc.

medulla

hindbrain structure, controls vital reflexes

pons

hindbrain structure, acts as a bridge between hindbrain and higher centers

cerebellum

hindbrain structure, involved primarily with guided, timed movements

reticular formation

network of cells moving medially through hind and mid brain, involved in arousal

raphe system

core strip of cells through hind and mid brain, involved in sleep

tegmentum

midbrain structure involved in motor processes

tectum

midbrain structure involved in sensory processes, incldues superior (visual) and inferior (auditory) colliculi

hypothalamus

forebrain structure, oversees 4 Fs (fight, flight, feed, f*ck), temperature, clock; communicates with and through the endocrine system

pituitary gland

forebrain structure; "master gland," stimulated by hypothalamus

thalamus

forebrain structure, a principal stop along most sensory, motor and arousal pathways, projects to cortex

limbic system

a set of forebrain structures involved in motivation and emotional expression

hippocampus

Part of above system, involved in the formation of new memories

amygdala

part of above system, associated especially with anger and fear, also with recognizing emotions of others

cingulate gyrus

part of above system, re-entrant layer mediating between cortex and lower systems, especially for +/- evaluation

olfactory bulb

part of above system, receives smell info from olfactory receptors

basal ganglia

forebrain structure including caudate nucleus, putamen and globus pallidus, involved in organization of movement sequences

basal forebrain

forebrain structure including nucleus accumbens, involved in arousal of cortex, attention and reinforcement

cerebral cortex

forebrain structure, outer "bark" of brain, 6 layer, highly convoluted

occipital lobe

lobe of the cortex, posterior, primarily involved in visual processing including V1 (striate cortex)

temporal lobe

lobe of the cortex, lateral, primarily involved in auditory processing (e.g. A1 and Wernicke's) and higher visual (IT)

parietal lobe

lobe of the cortex posterior to the Central Sulcus, primarily involved in somatosensory and visuo-spatial mapping

frontal lobe

lobe of the cortex anterior to Central Sulcus, including motor and premotor areas (including Broca's and mirror Cells)

prefrontal cortex

most anterior part of above lobe, involved in self control, strategy, cultural rules, etc.

cranial nerves

12 pairs of sensory and motor nerves sending messages in and out of brain

spinal cord

part of the CNS other than the brain

dorsal root vs. ventral root

part of the spinal cord through which sensory info enters vs. from which motor info exits

spinal nerves

31 pairs of sensory and motor nerves sending messages in and out of the spinal cord

bell-magendie law

"law" governing directions of information flow in spinal cord

grey matter vs. white matter

areas of spinal cord or brain consisting of soma vs. myelinated axons

central canal

tube through core of spinal cord containing fluid

ventricles

four hollow chambers plus aqueducts in brain that produce the fluid that feeds, cleans, and cushions brain

cerebral spinal fluid

fluid produced by ventricles found within spinal cord and in covering surrounding CNS

meninges

three layered covering that surrounds CNS (dura mater, arachnoid space, and pia mater)

blood-brain barrier

semi-permeable barrier, controls what chemicals enter brain via closed gaps between capillary cells and barrier of astrocytes

somatic nervous system

the part of the PNS that is responsible for body's interaction with environment

autonomic nervous system

part of PNS responsible for assessing and maintaining the body's internal environment

sympathetic vs. parasympathetic

part of PNS that produces fight or flight response vs. that which facilitates relaxation and replenishment

parasympathetic rebound

extreme response of one PNS system to another from extreme activation of the other; leads to fainting, ulcers, voodoo death

neurons

cells in nervous system responsible for information transmission

glial cells

cells in nervous system responsible for support, feeding, recycling, development, etc.

ribosomes

organelles in a cell that are the site of protein production, crucial to much neural functioning

mitochondria

organelles in a cell that are the source of energy (ATP) to power active (rather than passive) functions in the cell

dendrites vs. axons

branches of a neuron that receive incoming messages vs. the ones that release outgoing messages

concentration vs. electrical gradient

difference in amount of a given chemical inside/outside cell vs. a difference in charge inside/outside cell

Na+, K+, Ca++, Cl-

symbols for 4 key chemical elements in neural functioning including 3 positive ions, 1 negative ion

resting potential

name for and amount of difference in charge inside/outside a cell in millivolts in a polarized cell ready to fire

sodium/potassium pump

energy-requiring pump that helps restore membrane potential after cell fire

action potential

a sequence of depolarization that moves along an axon, resulting in all or nothing release of NT

axon hillock

a section of axon where depolarization sequence begins

graded potential

a greater or lesser change in the polarity of a neuron that results in a greater or lesser release of NT

ionic vs. electrical conduction

propagation of info down an axon by way of chemical gates opening/closing vs. by flow of electrons

saltatory

jumping electrical conduction that occurs in myelinated axons

oligodendrocytes

glia cells wrapping around sections of an axon to insulate it and speed its information transmission

nodes of ranvier

gaps between myelin sheaths on an axon

multiple sclerosis

disease that destroys myelin, no ion gates under sheath so neurons cannot fire

refractory period

period following action potential during which cell can't fire

synapse

the event in which one cell releases NT and that NT affects another cell

synaptic cleft

the gap between cells across which NT passively floats

presynaptic vs. postsynaptic

the cell that releases the NT vs. the cell that receives the NT

presynaptic terminals

the end of the axon from which NT is released also called the "button" or "end bulb"

vesicles

packets of NT released by neuron

exocytes

the release of NT into cleft via its packet opening at a Fusion Pore in the cell's membrane

receptor site

area, usually on a dendrite, that is specialized for attachment of NT

excitatory vs. inhibitory potential

an increase vs. a decrease in a cell's likelihood of releasing neurotransmitter

hypo vs. hyper polarized

less polarized, less difference between inside of cell and outside of cell vs. more difference

summation

cumulative effect of the activity of multiple presynaptic cells; can be temporal or spatial

ionotropic vs. metabotropic

when NT has direct effect on ion channels in postsynaptic cell vs. indirect effects via internal metabolic processes

second messenger

chemical in postsynaptic cell involved in energy-requiring processes (including altering ion channels) triggered by NT

neurotransmitter vs. neuromodulator

chemicals released by presynaptic cells that directly affect local postsynaptic cells vs. ones that widely influence neural activity

agonist vs. antagonist

chemical that acts to facilitate vs. to reduce the effects of specific NTs

reuptake

process by which NTs or their components re-enter the presynaptic cell for re-use

esterase (AChE)

enzyme in cleft that breaks down acetylcholine

axonic synapse

synapses at a presynaptic terminal that reacts to NT from another cell, excitatory or inhibitory

ectoderm

outermost layer of cells in a new embryo; becomes nervous system and skin

neural plate

surface along back that thickens and hardens in embryo

neural tube

a pair of ridges all along the above that begin to curl towards each other

neural crest

outer surface of the above ridges that separate off and become the PNS

spina bifida

a pathological condition involving a failure of the edges to completely fuse, leading to birth defects or death

stem cells

the original type of cells in this area that undergo division to populate the nervous system

proliferation

general term for the production of new cells

symmetrical vs. asymmetrical division

cell division that produces two identical offspring vs. produces one identical and one new (neuron or glial) cell

migration

the movement of cells from their place of origin to their later position

radial (glia)

an early type of glial cell that extends its processes out like wheel spokes for developing neurons to move along

synaptogenesis

the process by which neurons form new connections

growth cone

the specialized tip of a growing axon that detects the chemicals that guide its path

guidepost cells

glia cells that are positioned to direct growing axons towards their target cells

neurotrophins

chemicals that attract/repel axon growth, help prevent cell death, and/or promote axonal branching

NGF (neural growth factor)

one type of the above, from muscles and organs, that promotes survival and growth of axons in the brain and sympathetic NS

apoptosis

cell death as determined by "suicide genes" that cause developing neurons to package their contents and destroy themselves

collateral sprouts

newly formed axonal branches that replace another at a synapse

dendritic branching

new outgrowths on, or subdividing of, the processes that receive NT, in response to an enriched environment, learning, etc

"cells that fire together, wire together"

a mnemonic for the rule that co-activated cells tend to be strengthened in their connectivity and out-compete neighboring cells

golgi, nissl, weigert

3 types of neuronal stains that are injected live, but then examined in brain tissue slices