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Questions and Answers
What is the primary function of the thalamus in the brain?
Which structure is primarily responsible for regulating breathing and heartbeat?
Which of the following best describes the role of the hypothalamus?
What is the primary function of lower motor neurons?
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What does the term 'dermatome' refer to?
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In what way do the right and left hemispheres of the brain differ in function?
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What happens to individuals who undergo corpus callosum removal, commonly referred to as split-brain patients?
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Which structure in the midbrain is specifically associated with controlling eye movements?
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Which part of the nervous system is responsible for voluntary movements?
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What is the main function of the amygdala in the brain?
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Which lobes of the brain are primarily involved in auditory processing?
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What is the role of the sympathetic nervous system?
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Which structure is primarily involved in memory formation and spatial navigation?
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Which of the following structures is part of the hindbrain?
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What does the primary visual cortex analyze?
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Which lobe is responsible for planning and decision-making?
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Study Notes
Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Consists of the brain and spinal cord
- Processes information and dictates responses (including reflexes)
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Connects the CNS to limbs and organs
- Facilitates communication between the brain and the rest of the body
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
- Controls voluntary movements
- Connects the CNS to skin, muscles, and joints through nerves
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
- Regulates automatic functions like heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate
- Divided into two systems: sympathetic and parasympathetic
Sympathetic Nervous System
- Activates the body, often referred to as "fight or flight"
Parasympathetic Nervous System
- Calms the body, often referred to as "rest and digest"
Major Structures of the Brain
- Divided into three key regions: forebrain (telencephalon, diencephalon), midbrain, and hindbrain
- Circumvolutions: patterns of the brain (lines) - High circumvolutions = more neurons packed
Forebrain - Telencephalon - "Brain in Front"
- Responsible for complex functions like reasoning, emotion, and sensory processing
- Includes the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes
Frontal Lobes
- Planning and decision-making
- Contains Broca's area for speech production
- Primary Motor cortex/precentral gyrus: Body movement
- Mirror neurons: Neurons that are activated when watching or performing something
Parietal Lobes
- Primary somatosensory cortex / postcentral gyrus: Processes sensory information including touch and proprioception
- Homunculus: a map of the body in terms of sensations
- Proprioception: knowing where things are based on the position of your body/limbs
Temporal Lobes
- Primary auditory cortex: Processes pitch, loudness, and sound waves
- Wernicke's area: Understanding language
- Auditory processing and language comprehension
- Memory and recognition of objects
Occipital Lobes
- Primary visual cortex
- Ocular dominance columns: Analyzing lines (direction, shape, orientation)
Subcortical Structures of the Forebrain/Telencephalon
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Basal ganglia:
- Nuclei: VTA, substantia nigra, dorsal striatum
- Movement regulation and habit learning (muscle memory)
- Parkinson's disease: Death of neurons in the substantia nigra
-
Hippocampus:
- Memory formation and spatial navigation
- Place cells: neurons that fire when you are at a specific location
-
Amygdala:
- Processes emotions and is linked to emotional memory
Diencephalon Structures
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Thalamus:
- Relay station for sensory information (except smell which goes directly to olfactory bulb)
- Processes four senses
- Role in sleep regulation and movement
-
Hypothalamus:
- Regulates body functions to maintain stability
- Maintains homeostasis
- Controls temperature, hunger, thirst, and other vital bodily functions
The Midbrain
-
Tectum: Attention
- Superior colliculus: (Optic tectum): Controls eye movements
- Inferior colliculus: Processes auditory information
-
Tegmentum: Movement and reward
- Houses VTA and substantia nigra (which are also part of the basal ganglia)
The Hindbrain
- Cerebellum: Movement and thought coordination, learning automatic reflexes
-
Pons:
- Relay station between the cortex and cerebellum
- Involved in consciousness, sleep, respiration, and arousal
- Medulla: Regulates breathing and heartbeat
The Spinal Cord
- Carries messages between the brain and body
- Can operate independently for reflex actions
- Composed of 33 segments: 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 3 coccygeal
- Dermatome: An area of skin connected to a spinal nerve
- Dorsal nerve roots: Sensory nerve fibers enter the spine and travel to the brain (ascending fibers)
- Ventral nerve roots: Motor nerve fibers exit the spine and travel from the brain to the body (descending fibers)
- Upper Motor neurons: carry information to the brain
- Lower Motor neurons: Carry information to the muscles
- Paraplegia: Damage to the lower parts of the spinal cord
- Quadriplegia: Damage to the upper parts of the spinal cord
Levels of Protection for the Brain
-
Meninges: 3 protective membranes
- Pia mater, arachnoid mater, and dura mater - These membranes envelop the brain and spinal cord
- Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF): Cushions the brain and spinal cord
- Blood-Brain Barrier: Barrier that blocks or slows certain substances from entering the brain and only allows small molecules to enter
Hemispheres
- Corpus callousm: a thick bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain
-
Hemispheric Asymmetry: Each hemisphere is associated with different functions
- Right hemisphere: Creativity, looking at the broader picture
- Left hemisphere: Analytical
- Cerebral Dominance: Hemisphere that contains the language area is considered the dominant one.
- Split-Brain Patients: Individuals who have undergone corpus callosum removal
The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Part of the nervous system that is located outside of the central nervous system
- Somatic nervous system: Responsible for movement and sensory information (sensory neurons)
- Autonomic nervous system: Controls involuntary functions like heart rate, digestion, and respiration
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Description
Test your understanding of the central and peripheral nervous systems, including the somatic and autonomic systems. This quiz covers the major structures of the brain and their functions, helping you to grasp the intricacies of human nervous system anatomy and physiology.
