The Central Nervous System

Four general considerations of cerebral cortex

1. Contains three types of functional areas 2. Each hemisphere is concerned with contralateral (opposite) side of body 3. Lateralization (specialization) of cortical function can occur in only one hemisphere 4. Conscious behavior involves entire cortex in one way or another

Cerebellum

A large structure of the hindbrain that controls fine motor skills.

Ventricle are filled with

CSF and lined by ependymal cell (neuroglial cells)

Midbrain nuclei

Corpora quadrigemina Substantia nigra Red nucleus

Right hemisphere

Visual-spatial skills, intuition, emotion, and artistic and musical skills

Pons

a brain structure that relays information from the cerebellum to the rest of the brain

Hypothalamus

a neural structure lying below the thalamus; directs eating, drinking, body temperature; helps govern the endocrine system via the pituitary gland, and is linked to emotion

Thalamus

acts as a relay center and directs sensory impulses to the cerebrum

Somatotopy

all muscles of body can be mapped to area on primary motor cortex

Parts of association area

anterior association area, posterior association area, limbic association area

Association areas

areas of the cerebral cortex that are composed of neurons that help provide sense and meaning to information registered in the cortex

Inferior colliculi

auditory reflexes

Insular bone

buried under portions of temporal, parietal, and frontal lobes

Major sulci that divide lobes

central sulcus, parieto-occipital sulcus, lateral sulcus

Three basic regions of the cerebral hemispheres

cerebral cortex, white matter, basal nuclei

Four regions of the brain

cerebrum, diencephalon, brainstem, cerebellum

Nuclei

clusters of nonmyelinated cell bodies in the CNS

Infundibulum

connects hypothalamus to pituitary gland

Sensory areas

conscious awareness of sensation

Cerebral peduncles

contain pyramidal motor tracts

Epithalamus

contains the pineal gland

Left hemisphere

controls language, math, and logic

Front eye field

controls voluntary movement of the eyes

Fissures

deep grooves in the brain

Cerebral cortex

executive suite of brain

Pyramidal tract

formed from long axons that project down spinal cord

Five lobes of the cerebrum

frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, occipital lobe, insula

Substantia nigra

functionally linked to basal nuclei

Pryamidal cells

large neurons that allow conscious control of precise, skilled skeletal muscle movement

Ventricles

Fluid-filled chambers that are continuous to one another and to central canal of spinal cord

Motor areas

Located in frontal lobe, motor areas act to control voluntary movement

Primary motor cortex

located in the precentral gyrus of the frontal lobe

Brain stem

midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata

Three openings connect fourth ventricle

Paired lateral apertures and median aperture

Broca's area

Present in one hemisphere (usually the left) Motor speech area that directs muscles of speech production

Cognitive function of cerebellum

Role in thinking, language, and emotion May compare actual with expected output and adjust accordingly

Three types of functional areas of cerebral cortex

motor areas, sensory areas, association areas

Cerebral cortex function

Site of conscious mind: awareness, sensory perception, voluntary motor initiation, communication, memory storage, understanding

White matter

myelinated and nonmyelinated axons

Corpus callosum

myelinated axons that connect the right and left cerebral hemispheres

Mammillary bodies

paired anterior nuclei that act as olfactory relay stations

Eight main sensory areas

primary somatosensory cortex, somatosensory association cortex, visual areas, auditory areas, vestibular cortex, olfactory cortex, gustatory cortex, and visceral sensory area

Choroid plexus

produces CSF found in all of the ventricles

Medulla oblongata function

regulating vital function (breathing, digestion, heart rate)

Red nucleus of midbrain

relay for limb flexion

Gyri

ridges of the brain

Pineal gland

secretes melatonin

Transverse fissure

separates cerebrum and cerebellum

Longitudinal fissure

separates left and right hemispheres

Sulci

shallow grooves that separate gyri

Gray matter

short, nonmyelinated neurons and cell bodies

Corpora quadrigemina of midbrain

superior and inferior colliculi

Diencephalon

thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus

Premotor cortex

the region controlling learned motor skills.

Superior colliculi

visual reflexes