(Redirected from Neuroanatomist)'Neuroanatomy' is the branch of
anatomy that studies the anatomical organization of the
nervous system. In
vertebrate animals, the
routes that the myriad
nerves take from the
brain to the rest of the body (or "periphery"), and the internal structure of the brain in particular, are both extremely elaborate. As a result, the study of neuroanatomy has developed into a discipline in itself, although it also represents a specialization within
neuroscience. The delineation of distinct structures and regions of the brain has figured centrally in investigating how it works. For example, much of what neuroscientists have learned comes from observing how damage or "lesions" to specific brain areas affects
behavior or other neural functions.
Examples
The human nervous system is divided into the central and peripheral nervous systems. The
central nervous system consists of the
brain and
spinal cord, and plays a key role in controlling behavior. The
peripheral nervous system is made up of all the neurons in the body outside of the central nervous system, and is further subdivided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. The
somatic nervous system is made up of afferent neurons that convey sensory information from the sense organs to the brain and spinal cord, and efferent neurons that carry motor instructions to the muscles. The
autonomic nervous system also has two subdivisions. The
sympathetic nervous system is a set of nerves that activate what has been called the "fight-or-flight" response that prepares the body for action. The
parasympathetic nervous system instead prepares the body to rest and conserve energy.
External links
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Neuroanatomy, an annual journal of clinical neuroanatomy
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Mouse, Rat, Primate and Human Brain Atlases (UCLA Center for Computational Biology)
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brainmaps.org: High-Resolution Neuroanatomically-Annotated Brain Atlases
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BrainInfo for Neuroanatomy
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High quality neuroanatomical visual glossary with several hundred entries
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Brain Gene Expression Map, mouse gene expression neuroanatomical resource from
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
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Brain Architecture Management System, several atlases of brain anatomy
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White Matter Atlas, Diffusion Tensor Imaging Atlas of the Brain's White Matter Tracts
See also