NSCI 320 Exam 2

What are the two divisions of the central nervous system?

1. Brian 2. Spinal Cord

What is the Dorsal Raphe Nuclei? ie: what is it, what do the neurons do, and what is it critical for

1. Collection of serotonin secreting neurons in the medial aspects of the brainstem 2. Projects to a large surface of the CNS 3. Critical for mood regulation

What is the reticular activating system? ie: what is it, what do the neurons do, and what is it critical for

1. Column of scattered nuclei that extends from the medulla to the pons 2. Neurons project to the entire cortex and secrete acetylcholine and norepinephrine 3. Critical for arousal

What are the structures that make up the refraction apparatus?

1. Cornea 2. Iris 3. Pupils 4. Lens

Four types of Nerves in the Nervous System

1. Cranial 2. Peripheral 3. Central 4. Autonomic

Six sections of the brain

1. Diencephalon 2. Telencephalon 3.Mesencephalon 4.Metencephalon 5. Myelencephalon

Four Spacial Nomenclatures

1. Dorsal-ventral 2. Medial-lateral 3. Anterior-posterior 4. Rostral-caudal

What are the four membranes of the Central Nervous System?

1. Dura matter 2. Arachnoid 3. Subarachnoid 4. Pia matter

What are the four lobes within the cerebral cortex?

1. Frontal Lobe 2. Temporal Lobe 3. Occipital Lobe 4. Parietal Lobe

What is the locus Coeruleus? ie: what is it, what do the neurons do, and what is it critical for

1. Major source of norepinephrine in the brain 2. Projects to brainstem and spinal cord as well 3. Critical for arousal, emotional regulation and attentional performance

What are the three sets of clusters in the Basal Forebrain Cholinergic System?

1. Nucleus basalis 2. Diagonal bands of broca 3. Medial septum

What is the Ventral Tegmental Area? ie: what is it, what do the neurons do, and what is it critical for

1. Small cluster of neurons in the brain stem 2. Secretes dopamine in the ventral striatum 3. Critical for reward

What is the process that allows the CNS to be conceptualized as an input - output system?

1. Takes in information and generates it 2. Receives afferent input from the body and internal organs 3. Generates a pattern of neural activity to have an effect (ex: Contraction of striated muscle Contraction of smooth muscle Secretion of hormones or chemicals from glands)

Three circuits in the brain: PC

1. Trisynaptic circuit of the hippocampus 2. Motor circuit 3. Basal Ganglia Circuit

What is a global circuit?

A diffuse projection from neurons that terminate in many brain regions

What is the path circuit?

A specific path of information flow that defines a group of neurons at a particular point in time and space

What is single unit activity?

A way of measuring neural activity, measures the activity of a single neuron or groups of neurons

What do particle properties of light allow?

Allow for signal transduction

What is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?

Applies a strong magnet field across the head of a person, aligns all the protons and protons are then misaligned with a strong radio frequency pulse. As the protons go back into alignment, they emit energy in the form of a wave which can be measured and is directly proportional to the density of the tissue of the brain

What are secondary aspects of the visual system?

Aspects of the visual system that helps put visual information together

What are these clusters critical for?

Attention and learning/memory

What does the inferior colliculi do?

Auditory processing

What are two measures of single unit activity are used over brain regions?

Blood flow and oxygen flow

What makes up the basal ganglia?

Caudate, putamen, globus pallidus

What is the cerebellum in the met-encephalon comprised of ?

Cerebellar cortex

What brain structures make up the Telencephalon?

Cerebral cortex, Limbic system, Basal Ganglia

What is Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy? (MRS)

Chemicals such as glutamate and GABA are surrounded by protons, when they are stimulated in a magnetic field they emit radio frequency energy as a complex. This energy can be used to quantify the amount of neurotransmitter present

What is the Basal Forebrain Cholinergic System?

Clusters of chlorogenic secreting neurons in the base of the forebrain

What are Dorsal Raphe Nuceli?

Clusters of neurons in the medial aspects of the brain stem

What do particle properties of light do?

Converts light energy into electrophysiological impulses.

Where do cranial go?

Cranial nerves go from your brain to your eyes, mouth, ears, and other parts of your head

What is the Locu coeruleus critical for?

Critical for attention learning and memory, emotion and arousal

What is the cerebellum critical for?

Critical for smooth motor control and motor learning

What is the GC path process?

DG > CA3 > CA1

What are two gross measures of activity of many neurons?

EEG and MEG

What effects do the neurotransmitters in the path circuits and global circuits have on the brain?

Enhance responsivity of the neuron to stimulation, increases the signal/noise ratio

Cerebellum is also associated with...

Eye-blink conditioning

What does the red nucleus do?

Facial muscular contraction

What initially breaks down visual information?

Ganglion neurons and the lateral geniculate nucleus

What is hue?

How long the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation is

What does the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system do?

Increased muscle contraction, increased grandular activity, increased energy metabolism

What is the tectum made up of?

Inferior colliculi, superior colliculi, tegmentum

What does the medial septum do?

Innervates hippocampus

What do the diagonal bands of broca do?

Innervates the hippocampus and medial cortical regions

What is the hypothalamus involved in?

Involved in arousal and emotional responding

What is the Locu Coeruleus?

It is a small cluster of neurons that secrete norepinephrine

What does the limbic system do in the CNS?

It is the emotional system in the central nervous system

What occurs at the cornea?

Light Refraction

What is the nucleus basalis?

Major source of acetylcholine in the cortex

What makes up the limbic system?

Mammillary bodies, fornix, hippocampus, and amygdala

What are the steps in the fear conditioning circuit?

Medial geniculate body, lateral amygdala, central nucleus of the amygdala, fear

What cortical regions receive sensory input from the thalamus?

Medial geniculate nucleus and lateral geniculate nucleus

What does the Parasympathetic branch of the nervous system do?

Muscle relaxation, decreased glandular activity, decreased energy metabolism

How do path circuits and global circuits interact?

Neurotransmitters for GCs tend to have small inhibitory effects on the membrane potential of neurons

What does the periaqueductal gray do?

Pain processing

What are the two divisions of the Autonomic Nervous System?

Parasympathetic and Sympathetic

What are the two circuits in the brain?

Path Circuit and Global Circuit

What makes up the tegmentum?

Periaqueductal gray, reticular formation, red nucleus, substantia nigra

What are the neurotransmitters in the Sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system?

Preganglionic (acetylcholine) and postganglionic (norepinephrine)

What are the neurotransmitters in the Parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system?

Preganglionic (acetylcholine), postganglionic (acetylcholine)

What is does the Thalamus do?

Primary information processing area, includes non-relay stations such as the ventraolateral nucleus. Also it recieves most types of sensory input then relays this input to cortical regions

What are examples of secondary aspects of the visual system?

Primary visual cortex, associational visual cortices, different streams of visual processing

What does the Choroid do?

Provides nutrition to the eye, it contains blood vessels and takes away waste products

What is satration?

Refers to the mixture of different kinds of wavelengths being reflected from a surface

What are the components of a spinal reflex?

SR→SN→IN→MN

What two structures make up the eye?

Sclera and Chproid

What does the substantia nigra?

Secrete dopamine, motor control

What do dorsal raphe nuclei do?

Secrete serotonin and are critical for stabilizing mood

What does the Locu coeruleus do?

Secretes norepinephrine in the spinal cord and the brain

What does the fear conditioning circuit consist of?

Sensory input to the thalamus and sections of the amygdala

What does a short wavelength give/what does a long wavelength give?

Short wavelength gives purpleish color while long wavelength gives a reddish color

What is functional magnetic resonance imaging?

Similar to MRI, except magnetic field is more powerful and can detect small changes in magnetic property of hemoglobin as oxygen leaves and enters the tissue. An fMRI can be used to detect changes in neural activity.

What is the basal ganglia critical for?

Smooth motor control

What are the pupils?

Space created by iris through which light can enter

What is the basal ganglia circuit?

Substantia nigra in this system secretes dopamine in the putamen, which then projects to globus pallidus, thalamus, then the motor cortex

What brain structures make up the mesencephalon?

Tectum (within the tectum: inferior colliculi, superior colliculi, and tegmentum)

What brain structures make up the diencephalon?

Thalamus, ventraolateral nucleus, medial geniculate nucleus, lateral geniculate nucleus

What effects the brightness of a color?

The amount of electromagnetic radiation reflected by a surface

What is the central arousal system?

The central arousal system is a cluster of neurons in the brainstem and basal forebrain that have no particular circuitry. These clusters project to larger areas in the brain.

What is the pituitary gland/what is it critical for?

The pituitary gland is the interface between the brain and body, critical for control of glands in the body

What does the Sclera do?

The sclera is the outermost covering of the eye, protects the eye

What two bony coverings wrap the brain and the spinal cord in the central nervous system?

The skull for the brain, the spine for the spinal cord

What are the distinctions between the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system?

The sympathetic nervous system has a sympathetic ganglion chain, the parasympathetic does not. In the parasympathetic nervous system the cell bodies are close to target organs.

What does the iris do?

This is the pigmented muscle that controls the amount of light that enters the eye

What is the Autonomic Nervous System

This refers to a set of relay neurons that control smooth muscle, glands, and organs

What are the two shared spaces between the brain and the spinal cord?

Ventricular system in the brain, central canal in the spinal cord

What does the superior colliculi do?

Visual processing

What properties of light give it it's color?

Wave-like properties

What are the two characteristics of light?

Wave-like properties and Particle-like properties

What is computerized axial tomography?

X-rays are used to image the brain, gives a direct X-ray across the head of a human

What is cerebral spinal fluid produced by?

choroid plexus

What do the pons in the met-encephalon contain?

contain aspects of the reticular formation that is critical for arousal and sleep

Where do peripheral nerves go?

go from your spinal cord to your arms, hands, legs, and feet

Where do autonomic nerves go?

go from your spinal cord to your lungs, heart, stomach, intestines, bladder, and sex organs

What does the Eye do?

helps transduce electromagnetic information into a form that the brain is able to understand

What can we say about arousal in the medulla oblongata?

it is reticular formation

What is the function of the medulla oblongata?

nuclei critical for vital function such as breathing, regulating of heart beat, etc)

The met-encephalon is comprised of

pons, cerebellum, locu coeruleus, raphe nuclei

Where does the myencephalon comprise?

the Medualla Oblongata

Where do central nerves go?

your brain and spinal cord