Anatomy and Physiology

Introduction The human nervous system is made up of two main components: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) The CNS is composed of the !rain" the cranial nerves" and the spinal cord The PNS is made up of the nerves that e#it from the spinal cord at various levels of the spinal column as well as their tri!utaries The autonomic nervous system (divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system) is also considered to !e a part of the PNS and it controlls the !ody$s many vegetative (non%voluntary) functions

&rain The human !rain serves many important functions ranging from imagination" memory" speech" and lim! movements to secretion hormones and control of various organs within the !ody These functions are controlled !y many distinct parts that serve specific and important tas's These components and their functions are listed !elow

Brain Cells: The !rain is made up of two types of cells: neurons (yellow cells in the image !elow) and glial cells (pin' and purple cells in the image !elow) Neurons are responsi!le for all of the functions that are attri!uted to the !rain while the glial cells are non%neuronal cells that provide support for neurons In an adult !rain" the predominant cell type is glial cells" which outnum!er neurons !y a!out () to * connections called synapses Neurons communicate with one another through

Meninges: The !ony covering around the !rain is called the cranium" which com!ines with the facial !ones to create the s'ull The !rain and spinal cord are covered !y a tissue 'nown as the meninges" which is made up of three layers: dura mater" arachnoid layer" and pia mater The dura mater is a whitish and nonelastic mem!rane which" on its outer surface" is attached to the

inside of the cranium This layer completely covers the !rain and the spinal cord and has two ma+or folds in the !rain" that are called the fal# and the tentorium The fal# separates the right and left halves of the !rain while the tentorium separates the upper and lower parts of the !rain The arachnoid layer is a thin mem!rane that covers the entire !rain and is positioned !etween the dura mater and the pia mater" and for the most part does not follow the folds of the !rain The pia mater" which is attached to the surface of the entire !rain" follows the folds of the !rain and has many !lood vessels that reach deep into the !rain The space !etween the arachnoid layer and the pia mater is called the su!arachnoid space and it contains the cere!rospinal fluid

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF): CS, is a clear fluid that surrounds the !rain and spinal cord" and helps to cushion these structures from in+ury This fluid is constantly made !y structures deep within the !rain called the choroid ple#us which is housed inside spaces within the !rain called ventricles" after which it circulates through channels around the spinal cord and !rain where is it finally rea!sor!ed If the delicate !alance !etween production and a!sorption of CS, is disrupted" then !ac'up of this fluid within the system of ventricles can cause hydrocephalus

Ventricles: &rain ventricles are a system of four cavities" which are connected !y a series of tu!es and holes and direct the flow ofCS, within the !rain These cavities are the lateral ventricles (right and left)" which communicate with the third ventricle in the center of the !rain through an opening called the interventricular foramen This ventricle is connected to the fourth ventricle through a long tu!e called the Cere!ral A-ueduct CS, then e#its the ventricular system through several holes in the wall of the fourth ventricle (median and lateral apertures) after which it flow around the !rain and spinal cord

Brainstem: The !rainstem is the lower e#tension of the !rain which connects the !rain to the spinal cord" and acts mainly as a relay station !etween the !ody and the !rain It also controls various other functions" such as wa'efulness" sleep patterns" and attention. and is the source for ten of the twelve cranial nerves It is made up of three structures: the mid!rain" pons and medulla o!longata The mid!rain is inovolved in eye motion while the pons coordinates eye and facial movements" facial sensation" hearing" and !alance The medulla o!longata controls

vegetative functions such as !reathing" !lood pressure" and heart rate as well as swallowing

Thalamus: The thalamus is a structure that is located a!ove the !rainstem and it serves as a relay station for nearly all messages that travel from the cere!ral corte# to the rest of the !ody/!rain and vice versa As such" pro!lems within the thalamus can cause significant

symptoms with regard to a variety of functions" including movement" sensation" and coordination The thalamus also functions as an important component of the pathways within the !rain that control pain sensation" attention" and wa'efulness

Cerebellum: The cere!ellum is located at the lower !ac' of the !rain !eneath the occipital lo!es and is separated from them !y thetentorium This part of the !rain is responsi!le for

maintaining !alance and coordinating movements A!normalities in either side of the cere!ellum produce symptoms on the same side of the !ody

Cerebrum: The cere!rum forms the ma+or portion of the !rain" and is divided into the right and left cere!ral hemispheres These hemispheres are separated !y a groove called the great longitudinal fissure and are +oined at the !ottom of this fissure !y a struture called the corpus callosum which allows communication !etween the two sides of the !rain The surface of the cere!rum contains !illions of neurons and glia that together form the cere!ral corte# (!rain surface)" also 'nown as 0gray matter 0 The surface of the cere!ral corte# appears wrin'led with small grooves that are called sulci and !ulges !etween the grooves that are called gyri &eneath the cere!ral corte# are connecting fi!ers that interconnect the neurons and form a white%colored area called the 0white matter 0

The Right Brain According to the left%!rain" right%!rain

Images Intuition Creativity

dominance theory" the right side of the !rain is !est at e#pressive and creative tas's Some of the a!ilities that are popularly associated with the right side of the !rain include:

The Left Brain The left%side of the !rain is considered to !e adept at tas's that involve logic" language and analytical thin'ing The left%!rain is often descri!ed as !eing !etter at:

1ecogni2ing faces 3#pressing emotions 4usic 1eading emotions Color

5anguage 5ogic Critical thin'ing Num!ers

1easoning

Lobes: Several large grooves (fissures) separate each side of the !rain into four distinct regions called lo!es: frontal" temporal" parietal" and occipital 3ach hemisphere has one of each of these lo!es" which generally control function on the opposite side of the !ody The different portions of each lo!e and the four different lo!es communicate and function together through very comple# relationships" !ut each one also has its own uni-ue characteristics The frontal lo!es are

responsi!le for voluntary movement" speech" intellectual and !ehavioral functions" memory" intelligence" concentration" temper and personality The parietal lo!e processes signals received from other areas of the !rain (such as vision" hearing" motor" sensory and memory) and uses it to give meaning to o!+ects The occipital lo!e is responsi!le for processing visual information The temporal lo!e is involved in visual memory and allows for recognition of o!+ects and peoples$ faces" as well as ver!al memory which allows for remem!ering and understanding language

Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is a structure that communicates with the pituitary gland in order to manage hormone secretions as well as controlling functions such as eating" drin'ing" se#ual !ehavior" sleep" !ody temperature" and emotions

Pituitary Gland: The pituitary gland is a small structure that is attached to the !ase of the !rain in an area called the sella turcica This gland controls the secretion of several hormones which regulate growth and development" function of various organs ('idneys" !reasts" and uterus)" and the function of other glands (thyroid gland" gonads" and the adrenal glands)

Basal Ganglia: The !asal ganglia are clusters of nerve cells around the thalamus which are heavily connected to the cells of the cere!ral corte# The !asal ganglia are associated with a variety of functions" including voluntary movement" procedural learning" eye movements" and cognitive/emotional functions The various components of the !asal ganglia include caudate nucleus" putamen" glo!us pallidus" su!stantia nigra" and su!thalamic nucleus 6iseases affecting these parts can cause a num!er of neurological conditions" including Par'inson$s disease and 7untington$s disease

Cranial Ner es: There are *8 pairs of nerves that originate from the !rain itself" as compared to spinal nerves that initiate in the spinal cord These nerves are responsi!le for specific activities and are named and num!ered as follows:

Cranial nerve I (9lfactory nerve) Cranial nerve II (9ptic nerve) Cranial nerve III (9culomotor nerve) Cranial nerve I: (Trochlear nerve) Cranial nerve : (Trigeminal nerve) Cranial nerve :I (A!ducens nerve) Cranial nerve :II (,acial nerve) sensation Cranial nerve :III (:esti!ulocochlear nerve) Cranial nerve I; (<lossopharyngeal nerve) Cranial nerve ; (:agus nerve) Cranial nerve ;I (Spinal accessory nerve) Cranial nerve ;II (7ypoglossal nerve)

Smell :ision 3ye movements and opening of the eyelid 3ye movements ,acial sensation and +aw movement 3ye movements 3yelid closing" facial e#pression and taste

7earing and sense of !alance Taste sensation and swallowing 7eart rate" swallowing" and taste sensation Control of nec' and shoulder muscles Tongue movement

Pineal Gland: The pineal gland is an outgrowth from the !ac' portion of the third ventricle" and has some role in se#ual maturation" although the e#act function of the pineal gland in humans is unclear

Anatomy of the &rain: &rain 6ivisions The fore!rain is responsi!le for a variety of functions including receiving and processing sensory information" thin'ing" perceiving" producing and understanding language" and controlling motor function There are two ma+or divisions of fore!rain: the diencephalon and the telencephalon The diencephalon contains structures such as the thalamus and hypothalamus which are responsi!le for such functions as motor control" relaying sensory information" and controlling autonomic functions The telencephalon contains the largest part of the !rain" the cere!rum 4ost of the actual information processing in the !rain ta'es place in the cere!ral corte#

The mid!rain and the hind!rain together ma'e up the !rainstem The mid!rain is the portion of

the !rainstem that connects the hind!rain and the fore!rain This region of the !rain is involved in auditory and visual responses as well as motor function

The hind!rain e#tends from the spinal cord and is composed of the metencephalon and myelencephalon The metencephalon contains structures such as the pons and cere!ellum

These regions assists in maintaining !alance and e-uili!rium" movement coordination" and the conduction of sensory information The myelencephalon is composed of the medulla

o!longata which is responsi!le for controlling such autonomic functions as !reathing" heart rate" and digestion

The lim!ic system is a set of evolutionarily primitive !rain structures located on top of the !rainstem and !uried under the corte# 5im!ic system structures are involved in many of our emotions and motivations" particularly those that are related to survival Such emotions include fear" anger" and emotions related to se#ual !ehavior The lim!ic system is also involved in feelings of pleasure that are related to our survival" such as those e#perienced from eating and se#

Certain structures of the lim!ic system are involved in memory as well Two large lim!ic system structures" the amygdala and hippocampus play important roles in memory The amygdala is responsi!le for determining what memories are stored and where the memories are stored in the !rain It is thought that this determination is !ased on how huge an emotional response an event invo'es The hippocampus sends memories out to the appropriate part of the cere!ral

hemisphere for long%term storage and retrieves them when necessary 6amage to this area of the !rain may result in an ina!ility to form new memories

Part of the fore!rain 'nown as the diencephalon is also included in the lim!ic system The diencephalon is located !eneath the cere!ral hemispheres and contains the thalamus and hypothalamus The thalamus is involved in sensory perception and regulation of motor functions (i e " movement) It connects areas of the cere!ral corte# that are involved in sensory perception and movement with other parts of the !rain and spinal cord that also have a role in sensation and movement The hypothalamus is a very small !ut important component of the diencephalon It plays a ma+or role in regulating hormones" the pituitary gland" !ody temperature" the adrenal glands" and many other vital activities

Limbic System Structures

Amygdala % almond shaped mass of nuclei involved in emotional responses" hormonal secretions" and memory

Cingulate <yrus % a fold in the !rain involved with sensory input concerning emotions and the regulation of aggressive !ehavior

,orni# % an arching" fi!rous !and of nerve fi!ers that connect the hippocampus to the hypothalamus

7ippocampus % a tiny nu! that acts as a memory inde#er %% sending memories out to the appropriate part of the cere!ral hemisphere for long%term storage and retrieving them when necessary

7ypothalamus % a!out the si2e of a pearl" this structure directs a multitude of important functions It wa'es you up in the morning" and gets the adrenaline flowing The hypothalamus is also an important emotional center" controlling the molecules that ma'e you feel e#hilarated" angry" or unhappy

9lfactory Corte# % receives sensory information from the olfactory !ul! and is involved in the identification of odors

Thalamus % a large" dual lo!ed mass of grey matter cells that relay sensory signals to and from the spinal cord and the cere!rum