Chapter 4 Anatomy of the Nervous System

1. Chapter 4Anatomy of the Nervous System

2. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • Terms used to describe location when referring to the nervous system include: • Ventral • Dorsal • Anterior • Posterior • Lateral • Medial

3. More terms… • Lateral • Medial • Proximal • Distal • Ipsilateral • Contralateral • Coronal plane • Sagittal plane • Horizontal plane

4. More terms… • Lamina • Column • Tract • Nerve • Ganglion • Gyrus (pl. gyri) • Sulcus (pl. sulci) • Fissure

5. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The Nervous System is comprised of two major subsystems: • The Central Nervous System (CNS) • The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

6. Fig. 4-1, p. 82

7. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The Central Nervous System consists of: • Brain • Spinal Chord

8. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • Spinal cord • Bell-Magendie law • Dorsal root ganglia

9. Fig. 4-3, p. 84

10. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The spinal cord is comprised of: • grey matter • white matter

11. Fig. 4-4, p. 85

12. Fig. 4-5, p. 85

13. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) is comprised of the: • Somatic Nervous System • Autonomic Nervous System

14. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The Somatic Nervous System consists of motor and sensory nerves

15. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • Autonomic nervous system • Can be divided into two subsystems: • The Sympathetic Nervous System. • The Parasympathetic Nervous System.

16. Fig. 4-6, p. 86

17. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The brain can be divided into three major divisions: • Hindbrain. • Midbrain. • Forebrain.

18. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The Hindbrain consists of the: • Medulla. • Pons. • Cerebellum. • Located at the posterior portion of the brain • Contain cranial nerve nuclei • Hindbrain structures, the midbrain and other central structures of the brain combine and make up the brain stem.

19. Fig. 4-8, p. 88

20. Table 4-4, p. 88

21. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The midbrain is comprised of the following structures: • Tectum – roof of the midbrain • Superior colliculus &inferior colliculus– swellings on each side of the tectum and routes for sensory information • Tegmentum- the intermediate level of the midbrain • Substantia nigra - gives rise to the dopamine-containing pathway

22. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The forebrain is the most anterior and prominent part of the mammalian brain and consists of two cerebral hemispheres • Consists of the outer cortex and subcortical regions. • outer portion is known as the “cerebral cortex”. • Receives sensory information and controls motor movement from the opposite (contralateral) side of the body.

23. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • Subcortical regions are structures of the brain that lie underneath the cortex. • Subcortical structures of the forebrain include: • Thalamus • Basal Ganglia

24. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • The limbic system consists of a number of other interlinked structures that form a border around the brainstem. • Includes the olfactory bulb, hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala, and cingulate gyrus of the cerebral cortex • associated with motivation, emotion, drives and aggression.

25. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System • Thalamus and the hypothalamus together form the “diencephalon”. • Hypothalamus • Thalamus • Pituitary gland • Basal Ganglia • Basal forebrain • nucleus basalis • Hippocampus

26. Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System--Ventricles • The central canal • The ventricles • Cerebrospinal fluid

27. The Cerebral Cortex • The cerebral cortex is the most prominent part of the mammalian brain and consists of the cellular layers on the outer surface of the brain.

28. Fig. 4-18, p. 96

29. The Cerebral Cortex • Organization of the Cerebral Cortex: • Contains up to six distinct laminae • Also divided into columns. • Divided into four lobes: occipital, parietal, temporal, and frontal.

30. Fig. 4-21, p. 97

31. The Cerebral Cortex • The four lobes of the cerebral cortex include the following: • Occipital lobe • Parietal lobe • Temporal lobe • Frontal lobe

32. Fig. 4-23, p. 99

33. Fig. 4-24, p. 99

34. Fig. 4-25, p. 100

35. The Cerebral Cortex • The binding problem…

36. Research Methods • Main categories of research methods to study the brain include those that attempt to: • Correlate brain anatomy with behavior. • Record brain activity during behavior. • Examine the effects of brain damage. • Examine the effects of stimulating particular parts of the brain.

37. Research Methods • Correlating brain activity with behavior can involve the identifying of peculiar behaviors and looking for abnormal brain structures or function. • These abnormal brain structures can be identified using: • Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT scan). • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

38. Fig. 4-29, p. 106

39. Fig. 4-30, p. 107

40. Research Methods • Recording brain activity involves using a variety of noninvasive methods including: • Electroencephalograph (EEG) • Positron-emission tomography (PET) • Regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) • Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

41. Research Methods • Examining the effects of damage to the brain is done using laboratory animals and includes: • Lesion techniques • Ablation techniques

42. Research Methods • Other research methods used to inhibit particular brain structures include: • Gene-knockout approach • Transcranial magnetic stimulation