Neuroanatomy & General Structure/Function

Our nervous system is broken up into ____ and ____

• Central Nervous System

• Peripheral Nervous System

What is neuraxis?

An imaginary line that’s drawn through the CNS from the base of the spinal cord to the front of the brain.

What is frontal plane?

A slice that reveals the ventral and dorsal

What is sagittal plane?

A slice that reveals the left and right of something

What is transverse plane?

Horizontal slice of something

Within the PNS there are two systems, ____ and ___

• Somatic Nervous System

• Automatic Nervous System

What is the Somatic Nervous System responsible for?

Responsible for voluntary muscle movement

What is the automatic nervous system responsible for?

Responsible for automatically controlling certain organs in the body like the heart.

What part of the human head helps protect the brain?

• Skull

• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

• Meninges

• Blood-brain barrier

Where is cerebrospinal fluid found in?

CSF is found in the ventricles of the brain.

How does cerebrospinal fluid protect the brain?

CSF is surrounded around the brain and helps protect the brain from sudden impact injuries.

What is hydrocephaly?

Hydrocephaly is a condition where the ventricles of the brain are clogged, resulting in CSF fluid build up in the brain and the brain and skull to grow around the obstruction, leading to an abnormal skull structure.

Pressure could build up and cause brain damage.

What is a shunt?

A shunt is a tube that surgically connects the brain to the abdomen to let CSF drain and get repurposed.

What happened as a result of the Frenchmen’s shunt not working?

His lateral ventricle produced too much CSF, causing it to eat away at the brain to compensate for the amount of fluid held, leaving little cortex left.

He still lived a normal life.

How does meninges protect the brain?

Meninges are like padding for our brain and is located around the walls of the skull.

It also keeps your brain attached to your skull, protecting it from moving during momentum movements.

What layers make up the meninges?

“PAD”

• Pia mater (closest to brain)

• Arachnoid membrane

• Dura mater (thickest layer farthest from brain)

How does the blood-brain barrier protect the brain?

It prevents viruses, bacteria, and other harmful things from entering the brain.

What can pass the blood-brain barrier?

Oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, vitamins A, D, and drugs

What is the cortex?

The cortex is the outer surrounding layer of the brain and has grooves and bumps

What are the bumps of the brain called?

Gyrus (Gyri)

What are the grooves of the brain called?

Sucleus (suclei)

What is the occipital lobe responsible for?

• helps with vision by receiving visual information

• Codes visual information

What is the temporal lobe responsible for

• Codes auditory information

• Higher visual processing

What is the parietal lobe responsible for?

• Somatosensation (sensations happening on your body)

• Spatial awareness

What would happen if the parietal lobe was damaged?

You would have a difficult time figuring out where your body is

What is the frontal lobe responsible for?

• motor

• Planning (Emotion regulation)

• Higher reasoning

What is white matter?

White matter is caused by myelin and are made up of axons. They are responsible for moving information.

What is gray matter?

Gray matter is the soma and dendrites and is located located in the superficial cortex functional area (sensory, motor, and high order functions)