Brain structure cerebellum

Cerebellum a brain structure attached to the brainstem that is important for the control of movement. 

A variety of brain structures seem to be essential for aversive memories. In the following, I will briefly introduce the hippocampus and amygdala involvement, without disregarding the importance, for instance, of the cerebellum for eye-blink conditioning (Thompson et al. 1997, 2000 Medina et al. 2002) and the insular cortex for conditioned taste aversion (e.g. Berman and Dudai 2001). 

There are numerous GABAergic neuronal pathways in the CNS. y-Aminobutyric acid is found in high concentrations in the cerebellum, is also found in the hypothalamus, thalamus, and hippocampus, and occurs in low concentrations in practically all brain structures as well as in the spinal cord. The amounts present are relatively high—on a pmol/g order of magnitude— rather than the nanomolar quantities seen with most major neurotransmitters. y-Aminobutyric acid also occurs in glial cells, where its role is less well defined. 

The results presented in different reports point to particular brain structures that have been found to be anatomically affected in autistic persons. These are the cerebellum, the amygdala and the hippocampus [43, 47, 48]. 

For the first time, we watched the human brain develop from birth to adulthood...at birth, the areas that were functioning in the newborn child were, not surprisingly, the phylogenetically older parts of the brain the cerebellum, the central structures of the brain the thalamus, and the old motor cortex... as you watch (the child grow) one structure after the other matures,... 

The determination of fhe embryonic "critical period of development" for the brain structures involved in learning and memory processes in mice is based on the original work by Rodier (1976). This study identified fhe embryonic time frames for peak neurogenesis and neuroepithelial proliferation for cerebral corfex, hippocampus, septum, amygdala, corpus striatum, thalamus, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and olfactory bulb as the period from embryonic day E14 fhrough E17. Rodier documented almost 40 years ago that the specific time of the central nervous system (CNS) insult is an important factor in subsequent effects on both anatomy and behavior. Therefore, this early work established what we refer to as the embryonic "critical period of development." The report suggested that the behavioral effects of toxicants such as benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) are similar in both rats and mice. This study was one of the first to demonstrate that mice could be used successfully as subjects in a variety of behavioral evaluation experiments. 

In essence, all of the older benzodiazepines that are structurally related to chlordiazepoxide and diazepam are termed 1,4-benzodiazepines. The chemical structure of some commonly used benzodiazepines is shown in Figure 9.2. They enhance the actions of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. As a consequence, they affect the activities of the cerebellum (concerned with balance and coordination), the limbic areas of the brain and the cerebral cortex (thought and decision making, fine movement control). 

The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. The average adult brain weighs 1250-1380 grams. The brain is divided into three gross parts the brainstem, the cerebrum, and the cerebellum. Structurally, the brain may be likened to a bouquet of flowers with the cerebrum (as two cerebral hemispheres) blossoming outwards above the brainstem the cerebellum is attached at the back of the brainstem. 

Figure 4.4 General structure of the brain the central nervous system consists of the spinal cord and the brain. The brain consists of the brain stem (medulla oblongata, cerebellum, pons, mesencephalon, diencephalon) and the cerebrum (cerebral hemispheres, subcortical white matter, basal ganglia).

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