Exam 9: The Nervous System: Central Nervous System

Which statement best describes why the brain requires an uninterrupted supply of blood?

When you're awake and alert, an EEG shows a pattern of high- frequency, low- amplitude oscillations known as . When you're awake but resting, the EEG shifts to a new pattern of lower- frequency, higher- amplitude waves known as .

The reticulospinal tract is associated with sleep.

What is the function of the tectospinal tract?

The ascending and descending tracts of the spinal cord are found in the gray matter.

The plays a principle role in establishing the circadian rhythm of the body.

Where in the cerebral cortex does the awareness of limb positions and muscle tension occur?

What two tracts control skeletal muscle activity?

How is a reflex that requires communication with the brain classified?

Where is the thermoregulatory center?

Parkinson's disease appears to target cells within the _ .

The lower motor neurons that innervate skeletal muscle, and induce them to contract, originate from the

The perception of touch sensations begins in which area of the brain?

Alzheimer's disease is caused by the loss of neurons in certain brain areas and replacement of the lost neurons with scar tissue called .

Your roommate not only talks in her sleep but also sleepwalks. Which statement best describe what sleep phase she is in?

Through physical examination, neurologists can easily determine which spinal nerve has been damaged and at what level in the spinal cord an injury has occurred due to mapping out the various sensory regions called

Which of the following is a phagocytic cell that protects the central nervous system from pathogens?

The maintenance of an uninterrupted delivery of oxygen and glucose to the brain is essential to its function. What is it about the brain and nervous tissue in general that makes them so sensitive to changes in blood flow?

Which of the following provides support for development of the blood- brain barrier?

Researchers have developed a "bionic arm." This technology is possible primarily because of two facts of amputation. First, the motor cortex still sends out control signals even if certain voluntary muscles are no longer there to innervate. Second, when doctors amputate a limb, they do not remove all the nerves that once carried signals to the muscles in that limb. If those nerve endings can be redirected to a working muscle group, and the person thinks "grab the handle and turn," then the brain will send out corresponding signals to the nerves and communicate with the new limb. Based on your knowledge of voluntary motor tasks, explain how this technology is possible.