PHRM 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Cerebral Hemisphere, Cerebral Cortex, Spinal Cord
Document Summary
Main areas: spinal cord, medulla, pons, midbrain, diencephalon, cerebral hemispheres. The brain is divided into three broader areas: forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain. Provides motor control of the limbs and trunk. Receives and processes sensory information from the skin, joints, and muscles. Provides motor control for head muscles (via cranial motor nuclei) Receives sensory information from the skin and head muscles. Contains other nuclei for special senses ( hearing, balance, taste ) Medulla oblongata contains nuclei linked to autonomic fxn (breathing, heart, bp control) Pons (linked to cerebellum) conveys information on movement and position of the body. Midbrain controls many sensory and motor fxn, coordination of visual/auditory reflexes. Thalamus processes sensory information, relays to cerebral cortex. Hypothalamus involved in autonomic, endocrine, visceral function. Impulse propagation is initiated in the cell body near the axon hillock. Action potential propagates down the axon to invade the axon terminal that results in transmitter release. Axon terminal makes synaptic contact with target neurons.