Subcortical Structures

Ventricles

Ventricles – PathologyHydrocephalus

Ventricles: MRI pictures

Normal ventricles Hydrocephalus

Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland

The hypothalamus forms the inferior and lateral walls of the third ventricle.

Hypothalamus

Hypothalamus

Hypothalamus: Function

• Links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland (hypophysis).

• Responsible for certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system.

• Synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of pituitary hormones.

• Controls:• Body temperature;• Hunger;• Important aspects of parenting and attachment behaviours;• Thirst; • Fatigue;• Sleep and• Circadian cycles.

Pituitary Gland

Pituitary Gland: Important Hormonal Functions

• Growth.

• Blood pressure.

• Some aspects of pregnancy and childbirth including stimulation of uterine contractions during childbirth.

• Breast milk production.

• Sex organ functions in both males and females.

• Thyroid gland function.

• The conversion of food into energy (metabolism).

• Water regulation in the body.

• Temperature regulation.

• Pain relief.

Pituitary Gland

Thalamus

• Relay station

• The medial surface of the thalamus constitutes the

upper part of the lateral wall of the third ventricle.

Thalamus: Interthalamic adhesion

Also known as: intermediate mass of thalamus; massa intermedia,middle commissure and grey commissure.

Basal Ganglia

Basal Ganglia

Basal Ganglia

• Important Connection:• Motor cortex

• Parts of frontal lobe

Basal Ganglia: Pathology

• Movement disorders• Chorea (e.g. Huntington’s chorea)• Tremor (e.g. Parkinson’s Disease)

• Starting and altering activities

• Neuropsychiatric Disorders• Schizophrenia• OCD• Depression• Tourette’s syndrome• Autism• ADD

Hippocampus

• Memory

Memory

• Types of memory• E.g. immediate, long-term, implicit, explicit, episodic

• Disorders of memory• Amnesia

• Korsakoff’s

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Other dementias

Amygdala

Emotion, esp. fear and anger

Brain stem

• Medulla oblongota

• Pons

• Midbrain

• (Reticular

formation)

Terms from Development of Nervous System

• Telencephalon: cerebral hemispheres

• Diencephalon: thalamus & hypothalamus

• Mesencephalon:midbrain

• Metencephalon: pons & cerebellum

• Myelencephalon: medulla oblongata

• (Rhombencephalon:medulla, pons & cerebellum)

Medulla Oblongata

• Also called the “bulb”.

• Corticospinal tract crosses the midline here.

• Functions:• Neural control of:

• Respiration

• Blood pressure

• Heartbeat

• Swallowing

• Speech

• Gagging

• Control of drooling

Medulla Oblongata: Pathology

• Death

• Profound disability

Pons

• Major pathways for pathways running between the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum.

• Function (along with cerebellum):• Correlates postural & kinesthetic (muscle movement sense) information.

Pons: Pathology

• Motor, sensory and coordination disorders

• Alterations in consciousness

Reticular Formation

• Running through brain stem.

• Reticular Activating System- controls wakefulness & alerting mechanisms that prepares a person to react.

Reticular Formation: Pathology

• Sleepiness

Cerebellum

• Connections with:• Vestibular system

• Hypothalamus

• Spinal cord

• Motor cortex

• Through thalamus to

cortical areas

Cerebellum

Cerebellum: Pathology

• Problems with:• Fine motor control problems• Coordination• Postural regulation• Dizziness• Jerky eye movements• Abstract reasoning• Verbal fluency• Visuospatial abilities• Attention• Memory• Emotional modulation• Planning judgement• Processing speed

Limbic System

• Olfactory bulbs

• Hippocampus

• Parahippocampal gyrus

• Cingulate gyrus

• Mammillary bodies

• Amygdala

• Fornix

Limbic System

• Functions: • Emotion

• Behaviour

• Motivation

• Long-term memory

• Olfaction

Limbic System: Pathology

• Including:• Korsakoffs Syndrome

• Schizophrenia

• Bipolar Disorder

• Phobias

• Panic Attacks

Bear in mind while studying:

• Where is the part?

• Are there other names for it?

• What is behind, on top of, next to, in front of it?

• What is it connected to?

• What does it do?

• What happens if it malfunctions?

• How can I test it?

Reading for this Coming Month:• Kolb Chapter 13 (Occipital lobes).

• Kolb Chapter 14 (Parietal lobes) & Kolb pg. 610 - 612 (Parietal and Frontal Lobes and Spatial Behaviour).

• (Recommended: Darby & Walsh, pg. 95 - 100 (Angosia & Apraxia).

• Kolb Chapter 15 (Temporal lobes) & Kolb pg. 602 - 605 (Temporal Lobes and Spatial Behaviour).

• Kolb Chapter 16 (Frontal lobes) & Kolb pg. 612 - 613 (The Frontal Lobes).

• Lezak pg. 46 - 47, Lezak pg. 303 - 304 (Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus)) & Kolb pg. 703 - 704 (Hydrocephalus).

• Lezak, pg. 52 (The hypothalamus).

• Kolb pg. 779 - 780 (Neurochemical aspects of depression). Lezak pg. 341 - 344 (Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders)

• Lezak pg. 49 - 52 (The thalamus).

• Review Kolb pg. 70 - 71 (Basal Ganglia), Lezak, pg. 53 - 54 (The basal ganglia), Lezak pg. 270 - 289 (Subcortical Dementias: Parkinson's Disease/Parkinsonism, Huntington's Disease & Progressive Supranuclear Palsy) & Lezak pg. 289 - 290 (Comparison of the Progressive Dementias).

• Kolb pg. 500 - 503 (Anatomy of the Hippocampus).

• Kolb Chapter 15 (Temporal lobes), Chapter 18 (Learning and Memory), Kolb pg. 449 - 452 (Poor Temporal Memory), Kolb pg. 796 - 802 (Dementia), Lezak pg. 249 - 270 (Dementing Disorders (Mild Cognitive Impairment, Degenerative Disorders, Cortical Dementias (Alzheimer's Disease, Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration & Dementia with Lewy Bodies)).

• Kolb, pg. 67 - 70 (The brainstem), Lezak pg. 47 (The medulla oblongata), Lezak pg. 47 - 48 (The reticular formation) & Lezak pg. 49 (Pons), Review Kolb. pg. 64 Table 3.2 (Cranial nerves).

• Lezak, pg. 49. Kolb pg. 237 - 240 (The Cerebellum and Motor Learning).

• Kolb pg. 71 - 72 (The Limbic System); Lezak pg. 54 - 57 (The Limbic System).

Good luck and keep workingSharon