1. Chapter overview: Anatomy of the Nervous System
Opening material · around pp. 67–68
Highlight in yellow: Brain areas and neurons have specialized functions, but they perform those functions by connecting and cooperating with other areas.
Highlight in pink: The human-society analogy: people have different specialties, but no one functions completely alone.
Inclusive notes:- The nervous system contains huge numbers of neurons and even more synapses, yet they work together as one coordinated behavioral system.
- Neurons and brain areas are specialized, but the brain is not a collection of isolated parts. Specialized areas perform their roles through connections with other areas.
- This chapter is a broad anatomical map, not a detailed atlas. Module 3.1 introduces basic neuroanatomy and major nervous-system structures; Module 3.2 focuses on the cerebral cortex; the research-methods material explains how scientists discover the functions of brain areas.
Connection: Week 1 introduced the individual neuron. Week 5 zooms out and asks how many specialized neurons and brain areas are organized into one nervous system.
2. Central vs Peripheral Nervous System + Somatic PNS
Textbook pp. 68–69
Highlight in orange: central nervous system (CNS); peripheral nervous system (PNS); somatic nervous system
Highlight in yellow: CNS = brain + spinal cord. PNS connects the brain and spinal cord with the rest of the body.
Inclusive notes:- CNS: the brain and spinal cord.
- PNS: nerves outside the brain and spinal cord that connect the CNS with the rest of the body.
- Somatic nervous system: part of the PNS. Sensory axons carry information from sense organs/receptors toward the CNS; motor axons carry commands from the CNS to skeletal muscles.
- Basic direction: sensory information goes toward the CNS; motor commands go away from the CNS to muscles.
Connection to Week 1: this is the same afferent/efferent pathway you learned earlier: sensory/afferent → CNS → motor/efferent.
3. Table 3.1: Anatomical Directions and Planes
Textbook p. 70 · Table 3.1
Highlight in orange: dorsal, ventral, anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, lateral, medial, proximal, distal, ipsilateral, contralateral, coronal plane, sagittal plane, horizontal plane
Highlight in yellow: These terms describe where one structure is located relative to another and how the brain is viewed when cut in different planes.
Inclusive notes:- Dorsal = toward the back; ventral = toward the stomach.
- Anterior = toward the front end; posterior = toward the rear end.
- Superior = above; inferior = below.
- Lateral = toward the side/away from midline; medial = toward the midline.
- Proximal = closer to the point of origin/attachment; distal = farther from it.
- Ipsilateral = same side of the body; contralateral = opposite sides.
- Coronal/frontal plane = viewed from the front; sagittal plane = viewed from the side; horizontal/transverse plane = viewed from above.
Figure to study: the three brain section planes. Be able to recognize front view vs side view vs top view.
4. Table 3.2: Terms to Describe Nervous-System Structures
Textbook p. 70 · Table 3.2
Highlight in orange: lamina, column, tract, nerve, nucleus, ganglion, gyrus, sulcus, fissure
Highlight in yellow: The key distinction is often where the structure is: tract/nucleus are CNS terms; nerve/ganglion usually refer to structures outside the CNS.
Inclusive notes:- Lamina: row/layer of cell bodies separated from other cell bodies by axons and dendrites.
- Column: cells arranged perpendicular to the cortical surface that have similar properties.
- Tract (projection): bundle of axons within the CNS.
- Nerve: bundle of axons in the periphery; may carry sensory information to the CNS or motor output from CNS to muscle/gland.
- Nucleus: cluster of neuron cell bodies within the CNS.
- Ganglion: cluster of neuron cell bodies, usually outside the CNS.
- Gyrus/gyri: raised protuberance/ridge on the brain surface.
- Sulcus/sulci: groove/fold separating one gyrus from another.
- Fissure: a long, deep sulcus.
Study shortcut: tract + nucleus = CNS; nerve + ganglion = usually PNS.
5. Spinal Cord: Sensory Up, Motor Down
Textbook pp. 70–71
Highlight in orange: gray matter; white matter; dorsal root; ventral root
Highlight in yellow: Each spinal-cord segment sends sensory information to the brain and receives motor commands from the brain.
Inclusive notes:- The spinal cord carries both sensory and motor pathways between the body and brain.
- Each spinal-cord segment sends sensory information upward toward the brain and receives motor commands downward from the brain.
- If the spinal cord is cut at a given level, the brain loses sensation from that level and below and loses motor control over body regions served by that level and lower segments.
- Gray matter contains many neuron cell bodies and dendrites; white matter contains many myelinated axons.
- Dorsal roots receive sensory input; ventral roots carry motor output.
Memory line: sensory up, motor down.
6. Autonomic Nervous System: Sympathetic vs Parasympathetic
Textbook pp. 71–72
Highlight in orange: autonomic nervous system; sympathetic nervous system; parasympathetic nervous system; ganglia; acetylcholine; norepinephrine
Highlight in yellow: Sympathetic prepares the body for vigorous activity; parasympathetic supports calmer vegetative/restorative functions.
Inclusive notes:- The autonomic nervous system is part of the PNS that regulates involuntary organs and glands.
- Sympathetic nervous system: prepares organs for vigorous activity/fight-or-flight. It includes chains of ganglia near the spinal cord in the thoracic and lumbar regions.
- Parasympathetic nervous system: supports vegetative/rest-and-digest functions and generally helps conserve or restore energy.
- Parasympathetic axons acting on organs release acetylcholine (ACh).
- Most sympathetic axons acting on organs release norepinephrine (NE); an important exception is sympathetic input to sweat glands, which uses ACh.
- Because the two systems use different neurotransmitters at many targets, certain drugs can preferentially excite or inhibit one system.
Connection to Week 4: neurotransmitters are not just neuron-to-neuron messengers in the brain; autonomic nerves also communicate chemically with organs.
7. Hindbrain + Midbrain
Textbook pp. 72–74
Highlight in orange: hindbrain; medulla; pons; cerebellum; midbrain; superior colliculus; inferior colliculus
Highlight in yellow: Hindbrain structures support vital functions and coordination; midbrain structures include important sensory/motor nuclei.
Inclusive notes:- Medulla: important for breathing and heart rate.
- Pons: involved in sleeping, waking, and dreaming.
- Reticular activating system: involved in alertness and attention.
- Cerebellum: important for balance and coordination of muscles.
- Superior colliculus: associated with eye movements/orienting to visual information.
- Inferior colliculus: associated with hearing/auditory processing.
- The professor slides also identify substantia nigra and ventral tegmentum as midbrain structures.
8. Forebrain: Thalamus, Hypothalamus, Limbic Structures, Basal Ganglia, Ventricles
Textbook pp. 74–80
Highlight in orange: forebrain; thalamus; hypothalamus; pituitary gland; amygdala; hippocampus; basal ganglia; basal forebrain; nucleus basalis; ventricles; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); corpus callosum
Highlight in yellow: The forebrain contains major systems for sensory relay, basic drives, emotion, memory, movement, and higher behavior.
Inclusive notes:- Thalamus: major relay that sends most sensory information to higher cortical areas. The professor notes that smell bypasses the thalamus via the olfactory system.
- Hypothalamus: regulates basic biological drives and functions such as hunger, thirst, emotion, and sex; it interacts with the pituitary gland.
- Amygdala: important for learning fear responses and interpreting emotionally important stimuli.
- Hippocampus: critical for certain kinds of memory.
- Basal ganglia: subcortical system strongly involved in movement and related functions.
- Basal forebrain/nucleus basalis: separate from basal ganglia; associated in the text with attention/arousal-related functions.
- Corpus callosum: large band of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres.
- Ventricles: fluid-filled spaces in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), including lateral, third, and fourth ventricles.
9. Cerebral Cortex: Organization + Four Lobes
Textbook pp. 82–85
Highlight in orange: cerebral cortex; laminae; columns; pyramidal cells; frontal lobe; parietal lobe; temporal lobe; occipital lobe; primary visual cortex; primary auditory cortex; primary somatosensory cortex; primary motor cortex; precentral gyrus; postcentral gyrus
Highlight in yellow: The cerebral cortex is organized into layers and columns, and different lobes/areas specialize in different types of processing.
Inclusive notes:- The cerebral cortex is the thin outer layer of the cerebrum and supports complex perception, action, and cognition.
- The cortex is organized into laminae (layers) and vertical columns.
- Occipital lobe: primary visual cortex; vision.
- Temporal lobe: primary auditory cortex; hearing, with additional roles in memory/language depending on area.
- Parietal lobe: primary somatosensory cortex; body sensation and spatial processing.
- Frontal lobe: primary motor cortex plus prefrontal areas involved in planning/behavior control.
- Precentral gyrus contains primary motor cortex; postcentral gyrus contains primary somatosensory cortex.
- Motor and somatosensory cortices contain organized body maps (homunculi/somatotopic maps).
10. Prefrontal Cortex + Working Memory
Textbook pp. 86–88
Highlight in orange: prefrontal cortex; prefrontal lobotomy; working memory; delayed-response task
Highlight in yellow: Prefrontal cortex is important for planning, behavioral control, decision-making, and working memory.
Inclusive notes:- Prefrontal cortex contributes to planning and control of behavior.
- Historical prefrontal lobotomy cases illustrate that damaging/disconnecting this region can change behavior and decision-making.
- Working memory means keeping information active temporarily so it can guide current behavior.
- Delayed-response tasks are used to test the ability to hold information across a short delay and act on it later.
11. Binding Problem + Module 3.2 Wrap-Up
Textbook pp. 88–90
Highlight in orange: binding problem
Highlight in yellow: The binding problem asks how the brain combines information processed in different places into one coherent perception of an object or event.
Inclusive notes:- Different features of a stimulus can be processed in different cortical areas.
- The binding problem is the question of how those separate neural representations are experienced as one unified object or perception.
- For review, know the four lobes, primary cortical areas, cortical layers/columns, prefrontal functions, working memory, and the binding problem.
Test preparation: The actual textbook end-of-module questions from Module 3.1 and 3.2 are available separately in Week 5 under Textbook Practice Questions.
12. Page 70 Table Study Set
Tables 3.1 + 3.2
Main idea: These two tables are high-density vocabulary. Learn them by active recall, not just rereading.
What the flashcards cover: all direction/plane terms from Table 3.1 and all structure terms from Table 3.2, with the textbook definitions.
In the Week 5 page: open Tables 3.1/3.2 to practice the separate flashcard set. Those attempts feed Tracker and Cumulative Review.