Term
|
Definition
| neurons lying entirely inside the Central Nervous System |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Also known as sensory neurones, these are specialised to send impulses towards the CNS away from the peripheral system |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| These nerve cells carry signals from the CNS to the cells in the peripheral system |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The brainstem is the connection between the rest of the brain and the rest of the central nervous system. This part of the brain was the first to be found in the evolutionary chain, though has developed over time and via evolution to develop into the two other components. It is primarily concerned with life support and basic functions such as movement, thus meaning that more advanced processes are left to the more evolved areas of the brain, as explained below. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| - Consisting of two hemispheres, the cerebellum is primarily concerned with movement and works in partnership with the brainstem area of the brain and focuses on the well being and functionality of muscles. The structure can be found below the occipital lobe and adjacent to the brainstem |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The forebrain lies above the brainstem and cerebellum and is the most advanced in evolutionary terms. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A section of the brain found next to the thalamus that is involved in many regulatory functions such as osmoregulation and thermoregulation. The hypothalamus has a degree of control over the pituitary gland, another part of the brain situated next to it, and also controls sleeping patterns, eating and drinking and speech. The hypothalamus is also responsible for the secretion of ADH (Anti-Diuretic Hormone) via its neurosecretory cells |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain, and the part responsible for intelligence and creativity, and also involved in memory. The 'grey matter' of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, the centre that receives information from the thalamus and all the other lower centres in the brain. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Part of the cerebrum, this part of the brain deals with almost all of the higher functions of an intelligent being. It is this part of brain that deals with the masses of information incoming from the periphery nervous system, furiously instructing the brain of what is going on inside its body and the external environment. It is this part that translates our nervous impulses into understandable quantifiable feelings and thoughts. So important is the cerebral cortex that it is sub-divided into 4 parts, explained below |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| - Found at the front of the head, near the temples and forehead, the frontal lobe is essential to many of the advanced functions of an evolved brain. It deals with voluntary muscle movements and deals with more intricate matters such as thought and speech |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Situated behind the frontal lobe, this section deals with spatial awareness in the external environment and acts as a receptor area to deal with signals associated with tough. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The temporal lobes are situated in parallel with the ears, they serve the ears by interpreting audio signals received from the auditory canal |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This is the smallest of the four lobe components of the cerebrum, and is responsible in interpreting nerve signals from the eye at the back of the brain |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| is a substance that forms the myelin sheath associated with nerve cells |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This sheath is a layer of phospholipids that increases the conductivity of the electrical messages that are sent through the cell. Diseases such as multiple sclerosis are a result in a lack of this myelin sheath, with the resultant effect being that the conductivity of signals is much slower severely decreasing the effectiveness of the nervous system in sufferers. In total, there are 43 main nerves that branch of the CNS to the peripheral nervous system (the peripheral system is the nervous system outside the CNS. These are the efferent neurones that carry signals away from the CNS to the peripheral system. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The somatic fibres are responsible for the voluntary movement of our body, i.e. movement that you consciously thought about doing. |
|
|
Term
The Autonomic Nervous System |
|
Definition
The autonomic nervous system incorporates all the impulses that are done involuntarily, and are usually associated with essential functions such as breathing, heartbeat etc. However this type of system can further be broken down into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems which keep one another in check in a form of negative feedback such as the release of insulin and glucagon in sugar control of the blood. All of the actions executed by the autonomic nervous system are unconsciously done. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| - A type of brain damage affecting communication capabilities in the organism. This can range from the inability to construct a sentence either in voice or on paper, to the inability to recognise speech itself. This sort of damage focuses on the frontal lobe area of the brain |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This is where the information collated on one half of the brain is rejected and therefore the sufferer can only operate with one eye, because the part of the brain receiving visual information from the other eye is not functioning properly. In some cases, sufferers may only be able to paint half a painting or eat one half of a plate of food as they are unaware of the information about the other half of the environment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Or retrograde amnesia, this sort of damage affects the memory, caused by degeneration / damage in the frontal lobe. Sufferers have memory blanks when relating to past experiences in their life |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This unusual sort of brain damage is where sufferers still have the complete ability to see around them (unlike visual neglect), though cannot relate their surroundings in a quantifiable way, i.e. they fail to recognise a familiar surrounding, person or object, due to a malfunction in recalling past events involving the surrounding, person or object |
|
|
