Cranial Nerves and Brain Anatomy

Which cranial nerves does the midbrain give rise to?

• Oculomotor (III)

• Abducens (VI)

• Trochlear (IV)

• Optic (II)

Answer explanation

Optic nerve (II) rises from the diencephalon

Abducens (VI) along with cranial nerves (V-VIII) rise from the pons

Which of the meninges is described as the tough outer layer for protective function?

• Arachnoid Mater

• CSF

• Pia Mater

• Dura Mater

Answer explanation

Arachnoid mater - middle, transparent layer that CARRIES CSF

Pia mater - delicate, deep inner meninge

CSF - cerebrospinal fluid (not a meninge)

The limbic system is composed of which structures (more than one)?

• Hypothalamus

• Amygdala

• Hippocampus

• Fornix

Answer explanation

Limbic: Amygadala, hippocampus, fornix, and cingulate gyrus (for emotion and learning)

Diencephalon: Hypothalamus, thalamus, and epithalamus

The hypothalamus extends from the optic chiasm and gives rise to the mammillary bodies acting as a major autonomic NS and endocrine control center.

• True

• False

Relay from the limbic system is the...

Draw the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Answer explanation

Arrows go through the choroid plexus in the lateral ventricles (green) through the interventricular foramen (start of blue) into the third ventricle (first enlargement of blue), down the cerebral aqueduct to the fourth ventricle (second enlargement of blue) where CSF fills the arachnoid space to the external surfaces of the brain and spinal cord, then reabsorbed at arachnoid granulations.

Arrows through green --> blue --> down and around the spinal canals and subarachnoid spaces of the brain!!

Which nerve is a sensory nerve that conducts impulses associated with the sense of smell

• olfactory (I)

• optic (II)

• Trigeminal (V)

• Facial (VII)

Answer explanation

Olfactory - sense of smell (sensory)

What is the anatomical structure of the primary motor cortex?

• Central sulcus

• Precentral gyrus

• Postcentral gyrus

• Hippocampus

Answer explanation

Precentral gyrus - primary motor cortex

Postcentral gyrus - primary sensory cortex

Cerebral sulcus - a groove in the cerebrum

Hippocampus (not a fold (gyrus)) - withholds long-term memory

What lobe of the cerebrum is deep to the lateral sulcus and is involved in taste, visceral sensation, and language?

• Temporal

• Frontal

• Insula

• Parietal

Answer explanation

5 Total Lobes:

Insula - lateral sulcus: taste, visceral sensation, and language

Temporal - lateral sulcus: hearing, smell, learning, and memory

Frontal - central sulcus: cognition, speech, and motor control

Parietal - pariteo-occipital sulcus: INTERPRET SIGNALS of general senses and taste

Occipital - partieo-occipital sulcus: vision

Which of these neurodegenerative diseases is also known as paralysis agitans where substantia nigra dopamine-releasing cells degenerate causing motor function loss.

• Parkinson's disease

  (PD)

• Multiple sclerosis (MS)

• Alzheimers disease

• Huntingtons disease

Answer explanation

Parkinson's disease (PD) - also known as paralysis agitans where substantia nigra dopamine-releasing cells degenerate causing motor function loss.

Alzheimer's - recent memory loss with reduced attention span and orientation due to the atrophy (shrinking) of the cerebral cortex gyri (folds) and the hippocampus

Not required to know MS or Huntingtons disease!