Central Nervous System and Parts of Brain

The human nervous system can be divided into three main parts:

Central nervous system

Peripheral nervous system

Autonomic nervous system

Sub Topics

Central Nervous System

Brain
Fore Brain
Cerebrum
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Mid Brain
Hind Brain
Cerebellum
Pons
Medulla Oblongata
Spinal Cord

Central Nervous System

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It is made up of the brain and the spinal cord which is the continuation of the brain. Brain and
spinal cord are surrounded by membranes called the meninges. There are three layers - outermost
dura mater, middle arachnoid and the inner pia mater. The space between the arachnoid and pia
mater is filled with the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It acts as a shock absorber. An infection of the
meninges is called meningitis.

Brain
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It is the part of the central nervous system that is present in the head and protected by the skull,
dorsally and laterally. The box that houses the brain within the skull is called the cranium. It has
three main regions - the fore brain, the mid brain and the hind brain. The three regions have
different parts that have specific functions.

The Human Brain

Fore Brain
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It is made up of cerebrum, hypothalamus and thalamus.

Cerebrum
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It is the largest part of the brain and is made up of two hemispheres called the cerebral
hemispheres. The two hemispheres are joined together by a thick band of fibres called the
corpus callosum. The cerebrum is made up of four distinct lobes - frontal, parietal, temporal and
occipetal.

The outer portion of the cerebrum is called the cortex and the inner part is called the medulla.
The cortex consists of the cells of the neurons and appears grey in colour. It is also called the
grey matter. The medulla consists of the fibres of the neurons and is white. The cortex is highly
convoluted which increase the surface area. It is believed that higher the number of convolutions,
higher is the intelligence. The cerebrum has sensory areas, association areas and motor areas.

The sensory areas receive the messages, the association areas associate this information with the
previous and other sensory informations and the motor areas are responsible of the action of the
voluntary muscles. Cerebrum is responsible for the intelligence, thinking, memory,
consciousness and will power. There are also other important functions associated with the
cerebrum. They are diagrammatically represented as follows-

The Cerebral Cortex

Thalamus
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It is an area which coordinates the sensory impulses from the various sense organs - eyes, ears
and skin and then relays it to the cerebrum.

Hypothalamus
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Hypothalamus, though a small region situated below the thalamus, is an important region of the
brain. It receives the taste and smell impulses, coordinates messages from the autonomous
nervous system, controls the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and peristalsis. It also
forms an axis with the pituitary which is the main link between the nervous and the endocrine
systems. It also has centres that control mood and emotions.

Mid Brain
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It is a small portion of the brain that serves as a relay centre for sensory information from the
ears to the cerebrum. It also controls the reflex movements of the head, neck and eye muscles. It
provides a passage for the different neurons going in and coming out of the cerebrum.

Hind Brain
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It consists of cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata.

Cerebellum
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Cerebellum is like cerebrum. It consists of outer grey cortex and inner white medulla. It is
responsible for maintaining the balance while walking, swimming, riding, etc. It is also
responsible for precision and fine control of the voluntary movements. For example, we can do
actions like eating while talking or listening. One has to concentrate for talking sensibly.
However the action of eating, while talking is done automatically. This is controlled by the
cerebellum.

Pons
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Pons literally means bridge. It serves as a relay station between the lower cerebellum and spinal
cord and higher parts of the brain like the cerebrum and mid brain.

Medulla Oblongata
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It is a small region of the brain. It is hidden as it is well protected because of its importance. It
has the cardiovascular centre and the breathing centre. It also controls activites such as sneezing,
coughing, swallowing, salivation and vomiting.

Spinal Cord
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It is a collection of nervous tissue running along the back bone. It is, in fact, protected by the
vertebral column. It is a continuation of the brain.

Spinal Cord

It consists of a central canal that has cerebrospinal fluid that is continuous with the fluid in the
brain. The canal is surrounded by an

H-shaped grey area that is made up of nerve cells, dendrites and synapses. Outer to this is the
white area that is made up of the axons. This arrangement is reverse of what is seen in the brain -
outer grey and inner white portions.

The four ends of the H-shape appear like horns extending into the white matter. The upper
(dorsal) horn contains the sensory or afferent neurons entering the grey matter and the lower
(ventral) horn contains the motor or efferent neurons leaving the grey matter.

The white matter consists of ascending and descending tracts of neurons connecting the different
parts of the body with the brain.

The functions of the spinal cord are:

Coordinating simple spinal reflexes

Coordinating autonomic reflexes like the contraction of the bladder

 Conducting messages from muscles and skin to the brain

Conducting messages from brain to the trunk and limbs