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