What is the main function of the Frontal Lobe?
• Main Function: Controls thinking, planning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, and voluntary movement.
• Clinical Note: Damage can cause personality changes, poor judgment, or difficulty controlling movement.
• Example: Helps you make decisions, move your limbs, and control emotional responses.
1/22
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| What is the main function of the Frontal Lobe? | • Main Function: Controls thinking, planning, reasoning, problem-solving, emotions, and voluntary movement. • Clinical Note: Damage can cause personality changes, poor judgment, or difficulty controlling movement. • Example: Helps you make decisions, move your limbs, and control emotional responses. |
| What is the main function of the Temporal Lobe? | • Main Function: Responsible for hearing, memory, and understanding language. • Clinical Note: Damage may cause difficulty understanding speech (aphasia) or problems with memory. • Example: Allows you to recognise sounds, voices, and remember conversations. |
| What is the main function of the Parietal Lobe? | • Main Function: Processes touch, temperature, pain, and body position (spatial awareness). • Clinical Note: Damage can cause loss of sensation or difficulty judging distance and spatial relationships. Example: Helps you feel textures and know where parts of your body are in space. |
| What is the main function of the Occipital Lobe? | • Main Function: Controls vision and visual processing. • Clinical Note: Damage can cause visual disturbances or blindness. • Example: Interprets what you see — shapes, colours, and movement. |
| What is the main function of Pons? | • Main Function: Connects different parts of the brain and controls breathing, sleep, and facial movements. • Clinical Note: Injury can affect breathing rhythm or facial sensations. • Example: Helps regulate your breathing rate while you sleep. |
| What is the main function of the Cerebellum? | • Main Function: Coordinates balance, posture, and smooth muscle movements. • Clinical Note: Damage causes unsteady walking, loss of coordination, or tremors. • Example: Allows you to walk, stand, and move gracefully without thinking about it. |
| What is the main function of the Medulla Oblongata? | • Main Function: Controls automatic vital functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. • Clinical Note: Damage can be life-threatening because it affects basic survival functions. • Example: Keeps your heart beating and lungs breathing automatically. |
| How many pairs of spinal nerves branch from the spinal cord? | There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves in total. |
| What is the function of the spinal nerves? | Spinal nerves act as communication pathways between the central nervous system (CNS) and the rest of the body. Additional information: • Each spinal nerve has: ○ A sensory (afferent) function → carries information to the brain (e.g., touch, pain, temperature). ○ A motor (efferent) function → sends signals from the brain to muscles and glands to create movement or responses. In short: Spinal nerves let the brain feel what’s happening in the body and control how the body moves and reacts. |
| What are the three 3 overlapping functions of the nervous system? | 1. Sensory function – Detects changes (stimuli) in the internal and external environment and sends information to the brain and spinal cord. 2. Integrative function – Processes and interprets the sensory information and makes decisions. 3. Motor function – Sends signals from the brain and spinal cord to muscles or glands to produce a response (e.g., movement or secretion). |
| What are the two ‘principal parts’, of the nervous system and what are their functions? | Central Nervous System (CNS) – Made up of the brain and spinal cord; responsible for processing and integrating information. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) – Made up of all nerves outside the CNS; carries messages between the CNS and the rest of the body. |
| What is meant by the term ‘somatic’ in relation to the nervous system? | The somatic nervous system (SNS) controls voluntary actions. It transmits signals from the CNS to skeletal muscles, allowing conscious movement (e.g., walking, writing). It also carries sensory information from the skin, muscles, and joints to the CNS. |
| What is meant by the term ‘autonomic’ in relation to the nervous system? | The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls involuntary functions of the body. It regulates activities of smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, and glands (e.g., heart rate, digestion, respiration). It has two main divisions: ○ Sympathetic system – “Fight or flight” response. ○ Parasympathetic system – “Rest and digest” response. |
| What is the function of the Sympathetic Nervous System? | Activates the “fight or flight” response. Prepares the body for action in stressful or dangerous situations. Increases heart rate and breathing. Dilates pupils. Slows digestion. Sends more blood to the muscles. |
| What is the function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System? | Activates the “rest and digest” response. Helps the body relax and conserve energy. Slows heart rate and breathing. Constricts pupils. Stimulates digestion and nutrient absorption. Returns the body to normal balance (homeostasis). |
| What is the basic functional unit of the nervous system? | • The neuron (nerve cell) is the basic functional unit. • Neurons receive, process, and transmit electrical impulses throughout the body. They communicate with each other at junctions called synapses. |
| what is a Synapse? | A synapse is the tiny gap between two nerve cells (neurons). It’s where one neuron passes a message to the next. Messages in the nervous system travel as electrical signals, but when they reach the synapse, they must cross a small gap — and electricity can’t jump directly across. So, the neuron uses chemicals (neurotransmitters) to carry the message across. |
| What is the difference between the common language used relating to the ‘spine’ and the ‘spinal cord’? | The spine is the bone, the spinal cord is the nerve tissue inside it. |
| What is Neural Processing? | Brain’s overall communication between neurons. Refers to how the brain and nervous system process information through neurons. Each neuron communicates with others using electrical and chemical signals (neurotransmitters). Neural processing allows the brain to interpret sensory input, make decisions, and control body functions. It forms the basis for thoughts, emotions, reflexes, and movements. Neural pathways can become stronger with repetition — this is known as neuroplasticity. Example: Nerve signals controlling thought and movement |
| What is Serial Processing? | Information is processed one step at a time, in a specific sequence. Similar to a production line — one task must finish before the next starts. Example: When solving a math problem, the brain works through each step in order. It’s slower but more accurate, often used for logical reasoning and focused attention. In computers and some brain functions (like language or problem-solving), serial processing ensures tasks are handled in the correct order. |
| What is Parallel Processing? | The brain processes multiple pieces of information at the same time. Example: When you look at an object, your brain simultaneously processes its color, shape, movement, and depth. It’s fast and efficient, useful for routine or automatic tasks like walking, driving, or breathing. In the nervous system, different brain regions work together simultaneously to interpret complex information. Parallel processing is common in the sensory systems (especially vision and hearing). Example: Seeing and recognising faces or objects |
| What's is the reflex arc? | - Receptor: Detects the stimulus (e.g. pain, heat, pressure). Example: Skin receptors sense the heat from a hot stove. - Afferent (Sensory) Neuron: Carries the sensory message from the receptor to the spinal cord. Example: Sends a pain signal from your hand to your spinal cord. - Interneuron (in the Spinal Cord/CNS): Processes the information and decides what to do. Acts as a “relay” between sensory and motor neurons. - Efferent (Motor) Neuron: Carries the response message from the spinal cord to the muscle or gland (effector). - Effector: Performs the response — usually a muscle or gland. Example: Muscles in your arm contract to pull your hand away. |