Nervous System
When your brain sends a motor output to your biceps brachii muscle to flex your elbow, what pathway is the message being sent through? Afferent or efferent?
Efferent pathway
What are the four major parts of the brain?
Brain stem
Cerebellum
Diencephalon
Cerebrum
What is the function of Wernicke's area?
Understanding the meaning of words both spoken and written as well as selecting correct words to express one's thoughts.
What is the difference between sensation and perception?
Sensation results in raw information from your sensory neurons.
Perception results in meaning of the sensory information.
Define referred pain.
Pain from one part of the body is perceived as coming from another part of the body.
Visceral (organ) pain
What are the two subdivisions of the motor (efferent) division of the peripheral nervous system?
Somatic and autonomic
What is the overall function of the association areas of the cerebral cortex?
To integrate diverse information and relate that information to past experiences.
What sense does the gustatory cortex receive?
Taste
At what level of the CNS do we become consciously aware of impulses and their specific sensations?
Spinal cord
Brain stem
Cerebral cortex
Cerebral cortex
What is the function of CN I?
Olfactory nerve
Carries afferent impulses for sense of smell.
Which neuroglia of the CNS forms the myeline sheath around the axons of neurons?
Oligodendrocytes
Define lateralization in relation to the cerebral cortex.
The tendency for specific neural functions (i.e., speech) to be specialized to one cerebral hemisphere (side of the brain).
What is the blood brain barrier (BBB)? What does it do?
Protective mechanism to maintain a very stable environment for neurons of the brain (via CSF).
What is the difference between mechanoreceptors and baroreceptors?
Mechanoreceptors are sensory receptors located in the basal layer of the epidermis and respond to mechanical pressure and distortion.
Baroreceptors are stretch receptors located in the walls of blood vessels and the heart chambers and respond to the stretch caused by the presence of blood. (i.e., blood pressure)
Which cranial nerve innervates the digestive tract?
CN X: Vagus nerve
Which part of the neuron is the site for the initiation of action potentials?
Axon hillock
What is the function of the frontal eye field?
Controls voluntary movement of the eye.
What three structures make up the diencephalon?
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Epithalamus
Where are photoreceptors located?
In the retinas of the eyes.
Explain the patellar (stretch) reflex?
Tapping the patellar tendon excites the muscle spindles in the quadriceps muscle.
Afferent impulses travel to the spinal cord, where synapses occur with interneurons and motor neurons.
The motor neurons send activating impulses to the quadriceps causing it to contract, extending the knee.
What is the role of the presynaptic neuron in a synapse?
To release neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) that will cross the synaptic cleft and bind to the receptors on the postsynaptic neuron and cause a specific reaction to occur (i.e., excitatory or inhibitory).
Which area of the cerebral cortex integrates sensory information from the primary somatosensory cortex and produces an understanding and memory of the sensation?
Somatosensory association area
What are the three H's of the hypothalamus?
Hormones
Homeostasis
Histamine
Define the pain threshold.
The stimulus intensity at which we perceive pain.
Which nerve arising from the brachial plexus innervates the deltoid muscle and the shoulder joint?
Axillary nerve