Brain Regions and Cranial Nerves
This region is responsible for the regulation of basic life-sustaining functions such as heart rate and breathing.
What is the medulla oblongata.
This type of sensory receptor is specialized for detecting temperature changes and is part of the general senses.
This division of the nervous system is responsible for voluntary control of skeletal muscles.
What is the somatic nervous system?
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
This brain structure is responsible for regulating emotions, long-term memory, and arousal.
What is the hippocampus?
The hypothalamus is involved in controlling several homeostatic functions, including temperature regulation, hunger, and circadian rhythms. This structure is part of which larger brain region?
What is the diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus)?
In the visual pathway, light is first detected by photoreceptors located in this structure of the eye.
What is the retina. BONUS: What are the two main types and their functions?
This reflex involves the automatic contraction of a muscle in response to its own stretch, such as when the patellar tendon is tapped.
What is the stretch reflex?
This neurotransmitter is primarily released by parasympathetic neurons at their synapses and is involved in lowering heart rate.
What is acetylcholine? BONUS: Acetylcholine is also integral in what bodily function?
The somatic nervous system processes information through two pathways: the sensory (afferent) pathway and this motor (efferent) pathway.
What is the corticospinal pathway?
This cranial nerve is responsible for transmitting sensory information from the inner ear and plays a key role in hearing and balance.
What is the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)?
This process of converting a sensory stimulus into an electrical signal that can be interpreted by the nervous system is known as...
What is transduction? BONUS: Differentiate between transmission and transduction.
This type of reflex occurs when sensory input leads to a quick withdrawal of a body part in response to a painful stimulus.
What is the flexor (withdrawal) reflex?
What is autonomic tone?
This type of brain wave, seen in an electroencephalogram (EEG), is typically associated with deep sleep or unconscious states.
What are delta waves?
This brain region is divided into two hemispheres and is responsible for higher functions such as reasoning, planning, and voluntary motor control.
What is the cerebrum? BONUS: differentiate between the cerebrum and cerebellum.
This tract in the spinal cord carries proprioceptive information to the brain, such as the position of muscles and joints.
Proprioception: allows us to perceive where our body parts are without having to look at them.
What is the dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway (aka just the dorsal column)?
This process by which the nervous system controls body movements, including coordination, balance, and posture, is known as...
What is motor control?
This type of receptor, found on target organs, responds to acetylcholine and is typically found in parasympathetic pathways.
What are muscarinic receptors?
The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information, which relies on the activity of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, is called...
What is memory?
This cranial nerve provides parasympathetic innervation to the heart, lungs, and digestive tract.
What is the vagus nerve (CN X).
In the somatosensory system, this part of the brain processes sensory information from the body, including touch, temperature, and pain.
What is the postcentral gyrus (somatosensory cortex)?
The pathway involving one synapse between the sensory neuron and the motor neuron is known as...
What is the monosynaptic reflex arc?
This is the primary difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous systems in terms of their pathways.
What is the presence of a ganglion in the autonomic nervous system?
This area of the brain is involved in interpreting sensory inputs and generating a conscious awareness of sensations, such as touch or pain.
What is the somatosensory cortex?