Conduct a Balanced Argument About Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
HEART
Trust/NTA-Vocational Training Development Institute, Jamaica
Associate
Degree in Information and Communication Technology
Information
and Communication Technology
Fundamentals
of Psychology
Conduct
a Balanced Argument About Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
By:
Sandra
Spaulding ID#1300092423
Instructor:
Dr
Sandra Hamilton
June
29, 2018
The Brain
The brain
is the control center of the body. It has three main divisions - the forebrain is
responsible for a variety of functions including receiving and processing
sensory information, thinking, perceiving, producing and understanding
language, and controlling motor function. The midbrain and
the hindbrain together make up the brainstem. The hindbrain extends
from the spinal cord and contains structures such as the pons and cerebellum.
The Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is a cylindrically
shaped bundle of nerve fibres connected
to the brain. The spinal cord runs down the center of the protective spinal
column extending from the neck to the lower back. Spinal cord nerves transmit
information from body
organs and external stimuli to the brain and send
information from the brain to other areas of the body. The nerves of the spinal
cord are grouped into bundles of nerve fibres that travel in two pathways.
Ascending nerve tracts carry sensory information from the body to the brain.
Descending nerve tracts send information pertaining to motor function from the
brain to the rest of the body.
The spinal cord is made
up of 33 bones called vertebrae divided into:
·
Cervical spinal
nerves (C1 to C8) emerge from the spinal cord in the neck and control signals
to the back of the head, the neck and shoulders, the arms and hands, and the
diaphragm.
·
Thoracic spinal
nerves (T1 to T12) emerge from the spinal cord in the upper mid-back and
control signals to the chest muscles, some muscles of the back, and many organ
systems, including parts of the abdomen.
·
Lumbar spinal
nerves (L1 to L5) emerge from the spinal cord in the low back and control
signals to the lower parts of the abdomen and the back, the buttocks, some
parts of the external genital organs, and parts of the leg.
·
Sacral spinal
nerves (S1 to S5) emerge from the spinal cord in the low back and control
signals to the thighs and lower parts of the legs, the feet, most of the
external genital organs, and the area around the anus.
Together the brain and the spinal cord makes up the
central nervous system.
What Happens When there is a
spinal cord Injury
Whenever there is a spinal cord injury-
which is damaging a part of the spinal cord or damaging the nerves. Some person
losses the ability to control their limbs. However, the severity of the injury
and the location of the injury will determine how much movement the person will
have. The severity of the injury is classified in two:
·
Complete. If all
feeling (sensory) and all ability to control movement (motor function) are lost
below the spinal cord injury, your injury is called complete.
·
Incomplete. If you
have some motor or sensory function below the affected area, your injury is
called incomplete. There are varying degrees of incomplete injury.
The paralysis
from a spinal cord injury may be referred to as:
·
Tetraplegia. Also
known as quadriplegia, this means your arms, hands, trunk, legs and pelvic
organs are all affected by your spinal cord injury.
·
Paraplegia. This
paralysis affects all or part of the trunk, legs and pelvic organs.
Therefore, the connection between the brain and
spinal cord injuries are dependent on the severity of the injury. Since the
messages travel along the spinal cord to the brain, whenever the spinal cord is
damaged the communication process is cut off. The higher the injury to the
spinal cord the more loss of function of the body the person will experience.
If the injury is complete, then all signal from the brain to the area below the
injury is cut off.
References
Functions
of the Central Nervous System retrieved from
Thanks Sandra 100%
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