The Nervous System

1. The Nervous System By: Casey Reiman, Tara Didonato, Kelly Blochlinger, Kaillie Winston, and Gisselle Medina

2. General Structure of the Brain Four Major Sections: • Brain Stem- consisting of the medulla, pons, and the midbrain • Diencephalon- consisting of the thalamus and the hypothalamus • Cerebrum-two hemispheres • Cerebellum

3. Structure Cont. Protection of Brain: • Cranial bones • Meninges- coverings that run continuously around the spinal cord and the brain • Cerebrospinal fluid

4. Brain Stem Medulla Oblongata: • Structure: The Medulla Oblongata is elongated, almost tubelike, as it stretches from the pons to the spinal cord. This structure allows for it to transfer nerve endings throughout the brain. • Functions: • respiration • blood pressure • cardiac function • bodily secretions • swallowing, reflexes • heart rate • general homeostasis

5. Brain Stem Cont. Pons: • Functions: • path for information between the cerebrum and the cerebellum • interprets dreams • senses arousal • management of involuntary breathing pattern • Structure: A bunch of nerve fibers in a lump.

6. Diencephalon • Thalamus: Function: A relay station for sensory impulses to the cerebral cortex from the spinal cord, brain stem, cerebellum, and parts of the cerebrum. • Hypothalamus: Function: Controls Homeostasis. • Structure: Both contain a lot of nuclei.

7. Limbic System The Limbic System: the “emotional brain” located deeply within the cerebrum. • Thalamus- sensory and motor information • Hypothalamus- functions related to homeostasis, emotions, hunger, thirst, circadian rhythms, autonomic nervous system, and  pituitary gland. • Amygdala- memory, emotion, and fear. • Hippocampus- learning and memory; converts short term memory to long term memory. • Corpus Callosum- a bundle of axons that connects the two hemispheres of the brain and transmits information from one side to the other.

8. Cerebrum The four lobes and functions: • Frontal lobe- motor planning. Reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving. • Parietal lobe- somatosensory. Movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli, memory. • Occipital lobe- visual processing. • Temporal lobe-auditory and olfactory. Perception and recognition of auditory stimuli and speech. Structure: • Largest part of brain • “wrinkled” • Divided into left and right hemispheres- connected by corpus callosum

10. Cerebellum Function: • Responsible for unconscious movement • Works with brain stem- negative feedback loop Structure: • At the base of the cerebrum connected to the brain stem.

11. Cerebellar Injuries Injuries to the Cerebellum: injuries can result from alcohol abuse, tumors, multiple sclerosis, stroke or cerebral palsy. • Ataxia- affects coordination, eye movements, and speech • Cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome- impairment in speech and visual spacing; depression, blunted emotions, psychosis.

12. Neurons Types of Neurons: • Sensory neurons • Interneuorns • Motor neurons Connections: • Sensory Neurons sense a change and they send messages to the interneurons. The interneurons send signals to the brain for processing and then brain sends information back to the interneurons. The interneurons stimulate the motor neurons which deal with the change.

13. Spinal Cord Function- • conveys sensory impulses from the periphery to the brain and to conduct motor impulses from the brain to the periphery. • provides a mean of integrating reflexes.

14. Head Injuries The most common ones are Concussion and Traumatic Brain injuries. • Concussion- caused by a blow to the head that shakes the brain. -Treatment: rest mentally and physically • Traumatic Brain injuries- caused by a violent blow to the head or something that pierces the skull. -Treatment: requires assistance of a doctor

15. Brain Abscesses Cause: An abscess is caused by infection in the brain, which most commonly comes from another part of the body. Definition- the oozing of pus within the brain. Symptoms: • -Fever • -Headache • -inability to speak • -inability to sense • -inability to move • -loss of coordination

17. Diseases of the Brain • Alzheimer’s Disease-Damages nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain involved in memory, learning, language and reasoning • Stroke- blood vessels carrying oxygen and other nutrients to the brain become blocked or suddenly burst. • Parkinson’s Disease- A malfunction in the nervous system affects communication between the brain and the muscles.

18. Experimental Treatments: • Example: An experimental treatment took place for Parkinson’s Disease in 2008 as doctors attempted to use gene therapy to improve motor and sensory activity in the brain. This experiment targeted the corpus collasum, which controls motor and sensory activity.

19. Works Cited: • http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-pons.htm • http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cerebrum • http://faculty.stcc.edu/AandP/AP/AP1pages/nervssys/unit13/cerebrum.htm • http://www.innovateus.net/health/what-medulla-oblongata • http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Structure1.html • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000783.htm • http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ataxia/DS00910/DSECTION=symptoms • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15377747 • http://www.csuchico.edu/~pmccaffrey/syllabi/CMSD%20320/362unit7.html • http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Structure1.html#limbic • http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/p/cerebrum.htm • http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/kinser/Structure1.html • http://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/courses/1010/mangels/neuro/neurotutorial.html • http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111574/anatomy_cerebrum.htm • http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/reward/cells.html • http://biology.about.com/od/anatomy/p/diencephalon.htm • http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/cells.html • http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/N/Neurons.html • http://www.pdf.org/en/science_news/release/pr_1366412808 • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001787/ • Tortora, Gerard J., and Nicholas Peter Anagnostakos. "The Brain and the Cranial Nerves." Principles of Anatomy and Physiology, Third Edition. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1981. 326-45. Print.