Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System
• Neuroanatomy is the anatomy of the nervous system. • Refers to the study of the various parts of the nervous system and their respective function(s). • The nervous system consists of many substructures, each comprised of many neurons.
Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System
• Terms used to describe location when referring to the nervous system include: – Ventral: toward the stomach – Dorsal: toward the back – Anterior: toward the front end – Posterior: toward the back end – Lateral: toward the side – Medial: toward the midline
Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System
• The Nervous System is comprised of two major subsystems: 1. The Central Nervous …show more content…
– Pons. – Cerebellum. • Located at the posterior portion of the brain • Hindbrain structures, the midbrain and other central structures of the brain combine and make up the brain stem.
Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System
• The medulla: – Located just above the spinal cord and could be regarded as an enlarged extension of the spinal cord. – responsible for vital reflexes such as breathing, heart rate, vomiting, salivation, coughing and sneezing. • Cranial nerves allow the medulla to control sensations from the head, muscle movements in the head, and many parasympathetic outputs to the organs.
Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous System
• Pons – lies on each side of the medulla (ventral and anterior). – along with the medulla, contains the reticular formation and raphe system. – works in conjunction to increase arousal and readiness of other parts of the brain.
Structure of the Vertebrate Nervous …show more content…
– Transcranial magnetic stimulation: the application of intense magnetic fields to temporarily inactivate neurons.
Research Methods
• Brain Stimulation techniques assume stimulation of certain areas should increase activity. – Researchers observe the corresponding change in behaviour as a particular region is stimulated. – Example: transcranial magnetic stimulation – Limitation is that many interconnected structures are responsible for certain behaviours
Research Methods
• Research has not supported that a larger brain is correlated with higher intelligence. • Brain-to-body ratio research has some limited validity. • Moderate correlation exists between IQ and brain size (.3) • Amount of grey and white matter may also play a role. • IQ is correlated with amount of grey matter.
Research Methods
• Greater resemblance among twins for both brain size and IQ. • For monozygotic twins, the size of one twin’s brain correlates significantly with the other twin’s IQ. • Therefore, whatever genes that control brain also relate to IQ.
Research