Nervous System Physiology

Gyri (ridges) and sulci (grooves) are characteristic folds on the surface of the cerebrum. These structures significantly increase the surface area of the cerebral cortex, allowing for a higher density of neurons and advanced cognitive processing.

The brain is protected and covered by three connective tissue membranes known as the meninges (dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater). The cranium is the bony skull that houses the brain, while pleura covers the lungs and synapses are junctions between nerve cells.

The nervous system is divided into two main parts: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system, which processes information and coordinates responses.

The pineal gland is a small, pinecone-shaped endocrine gland located in the epithalamus, near the center of the brain between the two hemispheres.

Through a process called neuroplasticity, the brain can reorganize its neural pathways. If a specific region is damaged, other healthy parts of the brain can often adapt and take over the lost functions.

There are zero pain receptors (nociceptors) in the brain tissue itself. While the surrounding membranes and blood vessels have pain receptors, the brain cannot feel pain, which is why neurosurgeons can perform brain surgery on awake patients.

Although the brain accounts for only about 2% of an adult's total body weight, it is highly active and demands a disproportionate amount of resources. It consumes approximately 20% of the body's total energy and oxygen to maintain normal function.

The control center in the stimulus-response model processes information received from receptors and determines the appropriate response. In humans, this is primarily the brain and spinal cord.

The brain is the control center of the nervous system and is composed of specialized nervous tissue.

General anesthesia works by disrupting the integration of information across different brain regions, effectively preventing the brain from maintaining a unified state of consciousness.

• If one sense is lost, the areas of the brain normally devoted to handling that sensory information do not go unused they get rewired and put to work processing other senses. 
• A new study provides evidence of this rewiring in the brains of deaf people. The brain adapts to the loss by giving itself a makeover. Hence, If a person lacks one sense organ the brain concentrates on remaining sense organs and these sense organs become more sensitive.

The hypothalamus is a vital part of the brain that regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, and sleep cycles, making all the listed options correct.

The hypothalamus contains centers that regulate metabolic processes, including hunger and thirst, which are central to metabolism.

The diencephalon is a region of the forebrain that includes the thalamus, subthalamus, and the hypothalamus.