FACULTY OF SCIENCE

School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS)

ANAT1005
CNS I Brain

Lecturer: Tracey Langfield

Email: t.langfield@uq.edu.au
Phone: 07 3365 2700
Office: Otto Hirschfeld Building #81, Room 425A,

Monday, 3rd September 2012

Anatomical subdivisions of the nervous system

1. Central nervous system (CNS) Brain

Brain Spinal cord Spinal cord

Nerves
2. Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Cranial nerves Spinal nerves

Connected to brain Connected to spinal cord
Innervate the head* Innervate the rest of the
body!
 Major regions of the CNS
• brain:
– Cerebrum
higher cognitive functions, conscious thought, intellect, memory, initiate
complex movement sequences

– Diencephalon
• Thalamus gatekeeper for sensory relay / motor information
• Hypothalamus controls body homeostasis (ANS & endocrine)
• Epithalamus (pineal, habenular nuclei)

– Brainstem (midbrain, pons & medulla oblongata)

• Conduit, respiratory & cardiovascular reflex centres, cranial nerve nuclei

– Cerebellum role in posture & movement via cortex

• spinal cord
CNS
Neural plate

Neural groove

Neural tube

Neural tube
.... CNS
(brain/spinal cord)
Kandel et al 2000
Development of the nervous system
 Differentiation of the rostral neural tube:
5 weeks
Red = cerebrum

12 weeks
8 weeks

28 weeks

Schuenke et al 2010
 Human brain during development
Right lateral view:
Week 14 Week 24

1 Occipital pole
2 Temporal pole Insula cortex
3 Frontal pole
 Human brain during development
(R) Lateral view central sulcus

lateral sulcus
Insula Gyri & sulci
increase
surface area

Frontal
lobe

**Note that the insular cortex becomes buried deep in the lateral fissure during development!
Orientation of the brain

cerebellum
found
posteriorly
Rohen et al. 2011
What if cerebellum has been removed
from the specimen?

Rohen et al. 2011

A P
 External features of the cerebrum

• hemispheres
• sulcus (plural sulci)
• gyrus (plural gyri)
• longitudinal fissure
• central sulcus
– precentral gyrus
– postcentral gyrus

Rohen et al. 2011

Lateral view:

• central sulcus

• lateral sulcus

Rohen et al. 2011

Inferior view:
anterior

Rohen et al. 2011

cerebrum

cerebellum

Rohen et al. 2011

ANTERIOR

Rohen et al. 2011

THE DISTRIBUTION OF WHITE & GREY MATTER DIFFERS BETWEEN THE
BRAIN & THE SPINAL CORD
white matter = myelinated axons/ fibres grey matter = cell bodies / synapses

Schuenke 2010
CONNECTING FIBRES:
projection fibres higher to & from lower centres
association fibres within 1 hemisphere
commissural fibres left to right

Martini & Nath, 2009

Projection fibres: internal capsule and corona radiata

Rohen et al. 2011

 Corpus callosum

Joins left & right hemispheres

Rohen et al. 2011

Rohen et al. 2011
• each hemisphere receives
and sends information
from/to the other
(contralateral) side of the
body

Rohen et al. 2011

 Lobes of the cerebrum – lateral

FRONTAL
OCCIPITAL

Rohen et al. 2011

Lobes are less defined on the medial surface!
 Different areas of the cortex are associated with
different functions

Parietal lobe = sensation

Frontal lobe
Motor & abstract
intellect
Occipital lobe = vision
Insula cortex

Temporal lobe = auditory, memory

Martini & Nath, 2009

PRIMARY AREAS receive information

ASSOCIATION AREAS interpret or initiate & coordinate complex motor patterns
Sensory homunculus
Primary somatosensory cortex
post central gyrus parietal lobe
Receives somatic sensory input
Touch, pressure, temperature, pain,
conscious proprioception
Motor homunculus
Primary somatomotor cortex
Precentral gyrus frontal lobe
Sends motor commands to
skeletal muscles

Martin 2012
 The hemispheres are not the same

Speech centre

writing Analysis by touch

Spatial visualisation
Language and maths
and analysis

Martini , 2012
thalamus

b
r
a
i
n
s
t
e
m
Martini & Nath, 2009
 diencephalon

thalamus

Hypothalamic sulcus

hypothalamus
Thalamus – (2!!)
the gatekeeper prevents or enhances the passage of information

•All sensory information (except olfactory) passes through the thalamus before
reaching the cortex
•Relays motor information from the basal ganglia & cerebellum to the cortex
•Modulates flow of information between different areas of the cortex
•Bidirectional communication with cortex
•Connections with reticular formation
•Connections with limbic system
•(emotions & memory)

Schuenke et al. 2010

Dorsal view of brainstem & thalamus

Pineal body

Superior colliculi

Inferior colliculi
Cerebral peduncle

Medulla oblongata
thalamus

Haines, 2012
thalamus

Rohen et al. 2011

 Brainstem = midbrain + pons + medulla oblongata
Functions:
• Conduit for ascending (sensory) & descending (motor) tracts
• Reticular formation (consciousness) reticula = network
• Reflex centres for respiratory & cardiovascular systems
• Contains nuclei of cranial nerves III to XII

Hence, a small lesion here may result in significant deficits!

diencephalon

mesencephalon

pons

Medulla
oblongata
Schuenke 2010
 Brainstem = midbrain + pons + medulla oblongata

Location:

•Occupies basal portion of occipital bone

•Continuous with diencephalon rostrally
•Connected to cerebellum posteriorly
•Continuous with spinal cord caudally

Rohen 2011
 Ventral aspect (base) of the brainstem:

Midbrain:
•Cerebral peduncles
•CN III

Pons:
•Transverse fibres
•CN V
•CN VI
•CN VII & VIII

Medulla oblongata:
•Anterior median fissure
•Pyramids
•Decussation of pyramids
•Olives
•CN IX, X, XI
•CN XII

Schuenke 2010
 Dorsal aspect of the brainstem (cerebellum removed):

Midbrain:
•Superior colliculi (little hills)
•Inferior colliculi
•CN IV

Pons:
•Floor of the 4th ventricle

Medulla

Schuenke 2010
Which is dorsal? Which is ventral?
 CEREBELLUM
“little brain”

Left & right hemispheres

Joined by the vermis “little worm”
 REFERENCES
•Kandel ER, Schwartz JH & Jessell TM (2000) Principles of Neural Science. McGraw Hill,
USA.

•Martin JH (2012) Neuroanatomy text and atlas. McGraw Hill, USA.

•Martini FH, Nath JL & Bartholomew EF (2012) Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology.
9th Edition. Pearson Benjamin Cummings, USA.

•Rohen JW, Yokochi C & Lutjen-Drecoll E (2011) Colour atlas of anatomy. Lippincott,
Williams & Wilkins, USA.

•Schuenke M, Schulte E & Schumacher U (2010) Atlas of anatomy, Head and

Neuroanatomy. Thieme, Germany.