March 1, 2016 | Tags: Parkinson’s QACategories for this post are: Educational Material
Q: What is function of the cerebral hemispheres?
A. The cerebral hemispheres are responsible for facilitating our higher functions, and include: motor activity, perception, language, memory, and judgment.
Q: What is the function of the brainstem?
A: The brainstem is involved in maintaining our more basic functions, including: consciousness, breathing, swallowing, and eye movements.
Q: What structures are found in the peripheral nervous system?
A: The peripheral nervous system contains all the nerve roots, nerve plexuses, and peripheral nerves leaving the spinal cord.
Q: What different types of cells are found in the nervous system?
A: The brain is made up of billions of cells. Some of these provide structure, others support and more still that exist to protect. For the most part, the two major types of cells in the nervous system are glial cells and neurons.
Q: What are the functions of glial cells?
A: Some of the functions of glial cells include buffering of electrolytes, filling in scars in the brain, insulation of neurons and metabolism of some particular neurotransmitters.
Q: What are the functions of neurons?
A: Neurons are important for conveying information through transmission of impulses and neurotransmission.
Q: What structures of the neurons make them unique compared to normal cells?
A: Neurons have three major components: the cell body, axons and dendrites. The latter two are unique to neurons and can be visualized as tentacle-like projections. On one side, leaving the cell body, are axons carrying information forward in the form of electrical impulses. When these impulses reach the end of the axon they cause a release of chemicals signals, known as neurotransmitters, into the space between neurons. This space is known as a synapse. Once these neurotransmitters move through the synapse they bind to receptors on the receiving surface of the neighboring neuron known as the dendrite. Having accepted the signal, this neuron can pass it on down the line until it reaches its destination and—as an example—cause a muscle to contract.
