Cranial Nerve Purposes

Cranial Nerve I: Olfactory (Sensory)

Smell

-Cribriform plate of ethmoid bone

-Olfactory bulb

-Temporal Lobe

Cranial Nerve II: Optic (Sensory)

Vision

-Rods and cones

-Contralateral control

-Occipital Lobe

Cranial Nerve III: Oculomotor (Motor)

Move the eye

Detect where the eye is in space

-Amount of light we let in

-Shape of lens and size of pupil

Cranial Nerve VI: Trochlear (Motor)

Intorsion of eye

-Superior oblique muscle

Cranial Nerve V: Trigeminal (Both)

Sensation to face and chewing

-Somatosensory impulses from scalp, face, and mouth

-Chewing

-Muscle in middle ear

Cranial Nerve VI: Abducens (Motor)

Abduction of the eye

-Lateral rectus muscle

-Move eye laterally

Cranial Nerve VII: Facial Nerve (Both)

Taste and Facial Expressions

-Sensory impulses from anterior 2/3 of tongue

-Middle ear muscles

Cranial Nerve VIII: Vestibulocochlear (Sensory)

Hearing and Balance

-Cochlea to temporal lobe

-Otolith to pons and medulla

Cranial Nerve IX: Glossopharyngeal (Both)

Taste, BP, pH detection, motor

-Taste info from POSTERIOR 1/3 of tongue to parietal lobe

-Motor info to one muscle of pharynx

Cranial Nerve X: Vagus (Both)

Parasympathetic, Motor, Viscerosensory to thorax and abdomen

-Hunger, fullness, discomfort

-Somatomotor impulses for speech, swallowing, and coughing

-Visceromotor impulses to lungs, heart, respiratory, and GI tracts

Cranial Nerve XI: Accessory (Motor)

Move muscles of the neck

-Sternocleidomastoid muscle

-Trapezius muscle

Cranial Nerve XII: Hypoglossal (Motor)

Motor to tongue muscles

-Somatomotor impulses for speech, manipulation of food, and swallowing

-Partially controlled by Broca’s area