SHS 567 Learner Outcomes – Fall A 2014 – Final Study Guide
Describe the embryological development of the neural tube; and what can go wrong
 Week 1: Fertilization; fertilized egg becomes a blastocyst. Inner cell mass becomes the
“baby.”

Week 3: Epiblast Differentiation; cells take on different types. Results in Ectoderm
(epidermis etc), Ectoderm (which will become the Neuroectoderm), Primitive node and
Primitive Streak (which becomes the muscles, bones, respiratory, gastro systems)
 Neural tube becomes brain, spinal cord (CNS)
 Neural crests become PNS
 Cranial neopore
 Caudal neopore

Neural tube development:
o Day 18 – neural plate (thickened notochord) invaginates along midline to form neural
groove
o Day 22 – neural crests grow together over groove = neural tube starts to close (rostral
2/3 will be future brain, caudal 1/3 will be spinal cord). Neural folds fuse irregularly.
o Day 25 – rostral opening closes (anterior neopore)
o Day 27 – caudal opening closes (posterior neopore)

Week 4: Neural tube closes, 3 brain vesicles form:
o Prosencephalon (forebrain)
o Mesencephalon (midbrain)
o Rhombencephalon (hindbrain)
3 (bends) flexures form:
o Cephalic
o Cervical
o Pontine

Week 5: 3 vesicles become 5 vesicles
o Prosencephalon
 Telencephalon
 Retinas, optic nerves, cerebral
hemispheres, lateral ventricles,
olfactory lobe, corpus striatum
(caudate nucles and lentiform
nucleus), cerebral cortex,
hippocampal formation, dentate
gyrus. (in 3rd trimester,
commisures connecting L/R
hemispheres develop including:
anterior commissure, comm. of
the fornix, corpus callosum,
habenular comm., and posterior
comm.)
 Diencephalon
 3rd ventricle, thalamus (epi, meta, regular, hypo and sub).
Medial/lateral geniculate bodies are part of metathalamus, pituitary
gland is part of hypothalamus. Posterior commissure separates
diencephalon from mesencephalon
o Mesencephalon
 Superior/inferior colliculi (tectum), red nuclei, substantia nigra, reticular
nuclei, nuclei of CN III and CN IV (tegmentum), cerebral peduncles
o Rhombencephalon
 Metencephalon
 Pons & cerebellum, nerve fibers connect the cerebellar and
cerebral cortices with the spinal cord through this.

Myelencephalon
 Medula oblongata, sulcus limitans, 4th ventricle, foramina of
Luschka, foramen of Magendie. Contributes to pons via the alar
laminae. Connects 4th ventricle to ventricular system including the
spinal central canal with the cerebellomedullary cistern and also
connects nerve fibers to spinal cord.
Explain the progressive and regressive events that shape the brain structure and function
 8 phrases of development:
1. proliferation
2. migration
3. differentiation
progressive
4. aggregation – similar function cells together in space
5. synaptogenesis
6. cell death – can be genetically specified (created on a timer) or environmentally specified
regressive
(if not used, they die)
7. synaptic deletion/rearrangement – when the synapses that are stimulated/activated
remain. 40-75% of neurons don’t survive so the neurons rearrange to connect to cells
previously covered by now-dead neurons
8. myelination – (of schwann cells) continues into adolescence
Accurately use basic terminology related to genes, chromosomes and DNA
 Human somatic cells are diploid and contain 46 chromosomes;
44 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes (so total is 46 XY for
males, or 46 XX for females). Abnormalities in chromosome
number, like Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), 13 (Patau
syndrome) or 18 (Edwards syndrome) originate during
gametogenesis.
 Meiosis (right): the chromosome number is reduced to half the
usual number (resulting in 23 Y (spermatozoa) or 23 X
(ovum and spermatozoa)), ensuring the constancy of
chromosome number from generation to generation.
During gametogenesis, 2 meiotic division occur; the
first makes 23 double-stranded chromosomes, the
second makes 23 single chromosomes.
 Mitosis: (equal division) has 4 phases; prophase,
metaphase, anaphase and telophase. The division of
cytoplasm takes place and leads to the formation of
two sibling cells. The increase in cell numbers and
consequently the growth of tissue lead to
development and maturation. New cells remain diploid.
Trace development of the CNS from three vesicle model to fully formed brain
 See Week 5 above
Describe structure and function of cells and organelles
 Cytoplasm contains the organelles
 Mitochondria uses 02 to create energy
(powerhouse of cell)
 Cellular cytoskeleton has 3 components:
microtubules, neurofilaments,
microfilaments (maintains cell shape.
Abnormalities in cytoskeleton create
tangles seen in AD)
 RNA
 mRNA
Identify skull and meningeal layers and reflections
 Skull structure – 2 layers of compact bone on either side of the diploe (spongy bone)
 Meningeal layers
o Dura Mater – outermost layers, comprised by periosteal and meningeal layers which
are usually fused but separate to create the dural reflections
o Arachnoid Mater – CSF flows through subarachnoid space, arachnoid trabeculae are
the spider webs
o Pia Mater – innermost, hugs the brain
 Meningeal spaces – epidural, subdural (potential space), subarachnoid space,
inferior/superior sagittal sinuses

Dural reflections
o Falx cerebri – creates the cavity for the inferior/superior sagittal sinus
o Tentorium cerebelli – can have clinical implications for TBI bc of herniations in
spaces around tentorium
o Falx cerebelli – separates cerebellar hemispheres
Describe ventricular system and CSF flow
 CSF is produced in the choroid plexus (ependymal cells)
 Lateral ventricles (cortex)  interventricular foramen  3rd ventricle (thalamus)  cerebral
aquaduct  4th ventricle (pons and cerebellum)  2 lateral apertures (foramina of
Luschka), medial aperture (foramen of Magendie)  subarachnoid space  flows around
brain to subarachnoid granulations  superior sagittal sinus  blood via jugular
Describe arterial system from heart to cortex
 Common carotid arteries  Bifurcates into internal/external carotid arteries  internal
carotid artery Bifurcates into Anterior Cerebral Artery (ACA) and Middle Cerebral Artery
(MCA)
 Subclavian arteries  Vertebral arteries  Anastomose into the Basilar Artery  Posterior
Cerebral Arteries (PCA)
 Circle of Willis – anterior communicating arteries connect ACA and PCA, posterior
communicating arteries MCA and PCA
 ACA supplies: most of frontal lobe, medial frontal and parietal lobe
 MCA supplies: lateral surfaces of frontal, parietal lobes, most of temporal lobe
 PCA supplies: occipital lobe, inferior surface of temporal
 Watershed area: where major cerebral arteries overlap
Identify major cortical and subcortical structures
 Lobes





Basal Ganglia
o BG Direct circuit (excitatory)
o BG Indirect circuit (inhibitory)
Cerebellum
o Cerebellar circuits
Thalamus
Limbic
Insula
Compare and contrast typical (healthy) and nontypical development from birth to 3 years
 Hydrocephalus
o Anencephaly
o Normal Pressure (in adults)
 Spina bifida
 Trisomy 21
Define motor program, motor equivalence, and coarticulation
 Motor program – requires all 3 components of speech (cognitive linguistic processing,
sensorimotor planning/programming, neuromuscular execution). Motor output + sensory
feedback creates overlearned behaviors. Increases effectiveness and speed of output,
economizes neural computation.
 Motor equivalence – There is not a unique set of motor commands for each sound. Can
make phonemes using a variety of different muscle activation patterns.
 Coarticulation – “feature spreading,” requires motor planning
Understand the relationship between speech perception and production in development
Identify functions of cranial nerves V, VII, IX, X, XI, XII
 CN V (Trigeminal) –
 CN VII (Facial) –
 CN IX (Glossopharyngeal) –
 CN X (Vagus) –
 CN XI (Spinal Accessory) –
 CN XII (Hypoglossal) –
Describe the roles of each of the following in speech motor control (direct pathway, indirect
pathway, final common pathway, basal ganglia circuit, cerebellar circuit)
 Direct pathway: neural impulse goes directly from cortex and synapses on alpha/gamma
motor neuron brain stem and in anterior horn of spinal cord
 Indirect pathway: takes feedback from other circuits up to cortex and then down to
alpha/gamma motor neurons
Compare and contrast development of speech and language in a mono- versus bilingual household
Identify neural regions associated with language, cognition, memory and emotion (see structures
review)
Describe the relationship between damage and resulting change in behavior
Compare and contrast typical healthy versus atypical development in case studies
Describe the pathophysiology of various types of nervous system pathology
Recognize links between lesion location and behavioral symptoms
List types of aphasia and their deficit patterns (make aphasia chart)
List types of motor speech disorders and their deficit patterns
Describe general mechanisms of pharmacotherapy and surgical interventions
Predict behavioral outcomes of neurologic damage
Recognize mechanisms allowing neuroplasticity in the developing and developed brain
 Stems cells
Be familiarized with state of the art imaging techniques and their capabilities
Describe the neural bases for rehabilitation