priate commands via the efferent nervous system to the heart

consciousness, emotions, creativity, and personality traits. All

and blood vessels to increase blood pressure to normal. Like-

neural activityfrom the most private thoughts to commands

wise, when informed that the body is overheated, the CNS

for motor activity, from enjoying a concert to retrieving memo-

promotes secretion of sweat, among other cooling responses.

ries from the distant pastis ultimately attributable to propa-

Evaporation of sweat helps cool the body to normal tempera-

gation of action potentials along individual nerve cells and

ture. Were it not for this processing and integrating ability of

chemical transmission between cells.

the CNS, maintaining homeostasis in an organism as complex

as a human would be impossible.

During evolutionary development, the nervous system has

become progressively more complex. Newer, more compli-

At the simplest level, the spinal cord integrates many basic

cated, and more sophisticated layers of the brain have been

protective and evacuative reflexes that do not require con-

piled on top of older, more primitive regions. Mechanisms for

scious participation, such as withdrawing from a painful stimu-

governing many basic activities necessary for survival are built

lus and emptying of the urinary bladder. In addition to serving

into the older parts of the brain. The newer, higher levels pro-

as a more complex integrating link between afferent input and

gressively modify, enhance, or nullify actions coordinated by

efferent output, the brain is responsible for the initiation of all

lower levels in a hierarchy of command; they also add new

voluntary movement; complex perceptual awareness of the

capabilities. Many of these higher neural activities are not

external environment; self-awareness; language; and abstract

aimed at maintaining life, but they add immeasurably to the

neural phenomena such as thinking, learning, remembering,

quality of being alive.

Review Exercises

Answers begin on p. A-26

Reviewing Terms and Facts

1. The major function of the CSF is to nourish the brain.
(True or false?)
2. In emergencies when O2 supplies are low, the brain can
perform anaerobic metabolism. (True or false?)
3. Stellate cells initially process sensory input to the cortex,
whereas pyramidal cells send fibers from the cortex to terminate on efferent motor neurons. (True or false?)
4. Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere brings about paralysis and loss of sensation on the left side of the body. (True or
false?)
5. The hands and structures associated with the mouth have a
disproportionately large share of representation in both the
sensory and the motor cortexes. (True or false?)
6. The left cerebral hemisphere specializes in artistic and musical ability, whereas the right side excels in verbal and analytical skills. (True or false?)
7. The specific function a particular cortical region will carry
out is permanently determined during embryonic development. (True or false?)
8. The amygdala is the brain area where long-term potentiation and memory consolidation take place. (True or false?)
9.
is a decreased responsiveness to an indifferent stimulus that is repeatedly presented.
10. The process of transferring and fixing short-term memory
traces into long-term memory stores is known as
.
11. Afferent fibers enter through the
root of the spinal
cord, and efferent fibers leave through the
root.

12. Using the answer code on the right, indicate which neurons are being described (a characteristic may apply to more
than one class of neurons):
1. have receptor at
(a) afferent neurons
peripheral endings
(b) efferent neurons
2. lie entirely within the CNS
(c) interneurons
3. lie primarily within the
peripheral nervous system
4. innervate muscles and glands
5. cell body is devoid of
presynaptic inputs
6. predominant type of neuron
7. responsible for thoughts,
emotions, memory, etc.
13. Match the following:
1. consists of nerves carrying
(a) somatic nervous
information between the system
periphery and the CNS
(b) autonomic nervous
2. consists of the brain and system
spinal cord
(c) central nervous
3. division of the peripheral system
nervous system that transmits (d) peripheral nervous
signals to the CNS system
4. division of the peripheral
(e) efferent division
nervous system that transmits (f) afferent division
signals from the CNS
5. supplies skeletal muscles
6. supplies smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle, and glands
The Central Nervous System 179

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Understanding Concepts
(Answers at www.cengagebrain.com)

1. Discuss the function of each of the following: astrocytes,

oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells, microglia, cranium, vertebral column, meninges, cerebrospinal fluid, and bloodbrain
barrier.
2. Compare the composition of white and gray matter.
3. Draw and label the major functional areas of the cerebral
cortex, indicating the functions attributable to each area.
4. Define cognition.
5. Describe the circumstances in which the default mode network is active.
6. Discuss the function of each of the following parts of the
brain: thalamus, hypothalamus, basal nuclei, limbic system,
cerebellum, and brain stem.
7. Define somesthetic sensations and proprioception.
8. Discuss the roles of Brocas area and Wernickes area in
language.
9. Compare short-term and long-term memory.
10. Discuss the difference between AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors and their roles in long-term potentiation.
11. What is the reticular activating system?
12. Describe the appearance and consciousness level associated with each waveform on an electroencephalogram.
13. Compare slow-wave and paradoxical (REM) sleep.
14. Discuss what types of neuronal cell bodies are located in
the dorsal, ventral, and lateral horns of the spinal cord.
15. Distinguish between a monosynaptic and a polysynaptic
reflex.

Applying Clinical Reasoning

Julio D., who had recently retired, was enjoying an afternoon
of playing golf when suddenly he experienced a severe headache and dizziness. These symptoms were quickly followed by
numbness and partial paralysis on the upper right side of his
body, accompanied by an inability to speak. After being
rushed to the emergency room, Julio was diagnosed as having
suffered a stroke. Given the observed neurological impairment, what areas of his brain were affected?

Thinking at a Higher Level

split-brain patients. In these people, the corpus callosum

the bundle of fibers that links the two halves of the brain
has been surgically cut to prevent the spread of epileptic seizures from one hemisphere to the other. Even though no
overt changes in behavior, intellect, or personality occur in
these patients, because both hemispheres individually receive
the same information, deficits are observable with tests designed to restrict information to one brain hemisphere at a
time. One such test involves limiting a visual stimulus to
only half of the brain. Because of a crossover in the nerve
pathways from the eyes to the occipital cortex, the visual information to the right of a midline point is transmitted to
only the left half of the brain, whereas visual information to
the left of this point is received by only the right half of the
brain. A split-brain patient presented with a visual stimulus
that reaches only the left hemisphere accurately describes the
object seen, but when a visual stimulus is presented to only
the right hemisphere, the patient denies having seen anything. The right hemisphere does receive the visual input,
however, as demonstrated by nonverbal tests. Even though a
split-brain patient denies having seen anything after an object is presented to the right hemisphere, the patient can correctly match the object by picking it out from among several
objects, usually to the patients surprise. What is your explanation of this finding?
2. Which of the following symptoms are most likely to occur
as the result of a severe blow to the back of the head?
a. paralysis
b. hearing impairment
c. visual disturbances
d. burning sensations
e. personality disorders
3. The hormone insulin enhances the carrier-mediated transport of glucose into most of the bodys cells but not into brain
cells. The uptake of glucose from the blood by neurons does
not depend on insulin. Knowing the brains need for a continuous supply of blood-borne glucose, predict the effect that insulin excess would have on the brain.
4. Give examples of conditioned reflexes you have acquired.
5. Under what circumstances might it be inadvisable to administer a clot-dissolving drug to a stroke victim?

1. Special studies designed to assess the specialized capacities of each cerebral hemisphere have been performed on

To access the course materials and companion resources for this text, please visit
www.cengagebrain.com

180 CHAPTER 5
Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.