The Brain And The Cranial Nerves

The focus of chapter thirteen was the brain  and the various parts contained within the brain. The brain is a component of the central nervous system. The brain contains four essential parts in order to function, those parts being the brainstem, the cerebellum, the diencephalon, and the cerebrum. I was able to understand that together these four essential parts of the brain worked together with one another in order to function, however I learned that the brainstem is the most important component within the brain. The brainstem attaches the spinal cord to the remainder of the body and is responsible for numerous body functions.

The brainstem is composed of the medulla oblongata, the pons, and the midbrain. In relation to one another each component of the brainstem must work correctly amongst each other in order for the brainstem to function noramlly.  In relevance to health if any part of the brain stem is damaged it can cause death, because the brainstem contains the reflexes that play a vital role in survival.

The diffucult concepts of chapter thirteen for me were understanding how the diencephalon operated within the brain, and learning the main purpose and role of the cerebrum. The diencephalon is composed of four parts, the thalamus,  the subthalamus, the epithalamus and the hypothalamus, that concept I wa able to grasp, however I was having trouble understanding that if the diencephalon consisted of those four parts, why was is that both the thalamus and the hypothalamus  were the main focus points of the diencephalon?

I was able to understand that  the thalamus  played a vital role in the emotional responses of the bodyand that the hypothalamus played a vital role in  the autonomic system, the endocrine system, and the regulation of food and water intake. This helped me realize that if the thalamus or hypothalamus were to stop performing their functions various systems of the body would shut down. For example if the hypothalamus stopped working, it would cause an interuption in the autonomic nervous system which would stop the function of the kidneys, leading to kidney failure, and it would result in the loss of muscle control which will create an imbalance of the muscles within the body,resulting in issues with swallowing and controlling the movement of the body.

The cranial nerves were somewhat a difficult concept for me because I was unable to understand how each cranial nerve coincided with one another. There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves, and I was able to grasp that each of the twelve nerves works together in conjunction with one another in order for their parts to keep amd maintain the intended function of their nerve. For example the optic canal consists of an optic nerve and an oculomotor nerve. The optic nerve aids in allowing vision to occur and the oculomotor nerve moves the eyeball and the muscles of the eye. In the case of a birth defect if a muscle within the eye does not develop, the oculomotor nerve will be unable to carry out its full function of controlling the eye muscles.

The questions that I created this week that helped me think more clearly about the concept of the brain and cranial nerves were:

Is it possible for the brain to carry out its full function without the aid of the cranial nerves?
How would the thalamus negatively affect the hypothalamus if it were to stop functioning?
Do all twelve of the cranial nerves within the brain have to function at the same time?
What would happen if one or more of the cranial nerves stopped working all together and how would it impact the brain?