Neuro - A&P

• brain and spinal cord
• responsible for interpreting incoming sensory info and issuing instructions

somatic (voluntary) and automatic (involuntary) nervous systems

basic cell of the nervous system

impulses TO cell body

impulses FROM cell body

• junction where nerve impulses move from one neuron to another
• assisted by neurotransmitters

sensory - carry impulses from skin/muscles to CNS

motor - carry impulses from CNS to muscles/glands

• fatty white substance that covers axons
• no myelin sheathing in brain

• generates nerve cells in PNS
• none in CNS

• support cells for neurons
• produce CSF
• can cause gliomas (brain tumors)

junction between ends of large myelinated nerve fiber and skeletal muscle

neurotransmitter that speeds transmission of impulses

neurotransmitter that deactivates acetylcholine

neurotransmitter regulates mood, dreaming, arousal from sleep

neurotransmitter that affects motor function to depress neuron speed (also effects mood)

neurotransmitter that induces sleep and affects mood, sensory perception, and temperature

brain

• largest portion of the brain
• four lobes:
• --frontal
• --parietal - top
• --occipital - back
• --temporal - sides

connects left and right hemispheres of the cerebrum

travel from motor cortex to spine

tracts do not meet with spine / only affect brain tissue

• located deep within brain
• responsible for fine motor movements of hands and lower extremities

• high level cognitive functions
• memory
• voluntary movement (opposite side of body)
• respirations, GI, BP
• speech

• paralysis
• memory loss
• inflexible thinking
• mood changes
• difficulty with problem solving
• inability to express language

responsible for interpretive areas of speech

• vision / touch
• integration of different senses

• inability to multitask
• inability to write (agraphia)
• inability to read (alexia)
• diffuiculty with math (dyscalculia)
• lack of eye hand coordination

primarily responsible for vision

• visual field cuts
• difficulty identifying colors
• drawing, reading, writing

• hearing
• memory
• some vision

• difficulty understanding words
• increased interest in sexual behavior
• aggressive behavior

involved in the understanding of written and spoken language

• contains hypothalamus / thalamus
• lies beneath the cerebrum

controls body temp, fluid balance, appetite, certain emotions, sympathetic/parasympathetic systems, and pituitary

• lies above the hypothalamus
• relays sensory impulses
• interprets pain, light tough, pressure

• coordinates voluntary movement
• maintains balance, equilibrium, and muscle tone
• semicircular calans send messages to cerebellum

• loss of fine motor control / walking
• vertigo
• slurred speech

• connects spinal cord to cerebrum
• 3 parts:
• --midbrain
• --pons
• --medulla oblongata

• motor movement
• relays impulses
• auditory/visual reflexes

• connects midbrain to medulla
• controls respirations

controls heartbeat, breathing rhythm, swallowing, coughing, sneezing, vomiting, hiccups, BP

• decreased vital capacity (breathing)
• dysphagia
• autonomic nervous system activation
• sleep / alertness disruption
• balance

• dura mater
• arachnoid membrane
• pia mater

• epidural - above dural layer
• subdural - below dural layer
• subarachnoid - below arachnoid layer

more dangerous because epidural layer is supplied by middle meningeal artery (not a vein)

• four cavities in the brain
• contain choroid plexus - manufactures CSF
• cushions brain
• provides nutrients / removes waste
• contanes glucose, urea, salts

• circulates in a closed system (brain and spinal cord)
• damage that drains CSF causes build up on the brain (hydrocephalus)

• brain uses 20% of O2 and 750ml/min of blood
• arterial blood supplied through internal carotids / vertebral arteries
• travels through circle of Willis
• drains via jugulars

• 17-18" cord
• extends from brainstem to 2nd lumbar vertebra
• conducts impulses to/from brain
• controls reflex actions

each spinal cord nerve root innervates a specific area of the body

• motor nerves
• sensory nerves
• ganglia outside brain
• spinal nerves (31 pairs)
• cranial nerves (12 pairs)
• autonomic nervous system

• 31 pairs
• mixed (sensory, motor, both)
• named and numbered by corresponding vertebra

• 12 pairs
• attach to brainstem
• conduct impulses between head, neck, and brain except Vagus (thoracic and abdominal cavities)

• maintains homeostasis
• sympathetic & parasympathetic

• fight or flight
• increased HR, BP, adrenal secretions

• known as catecholamines
• epinephrine
• norepinephrine
• dopamine

meds that mimic sympathetic nervous system

slows system (opposite of sympathetic)

acetylcholine

drugs that mimic parasympathetic nervous system