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Neuroanatomy

Module description

This module will provide an overview of the structure and functions of the central nervous system (CNS).
The purpose of this module is to understand the human nervous system and its disorders by having a clear description of neuroanatomy in sufficient detail to understand its main functions and disorders.

This is an optional module for BSc Neuroscience and BSc Intercalated Neuroscience students. NEU1006 Introduction to Neuroscience (formerly CSC1006) is a recommended prior module; however, you may have covered similar material elsewhere. If you have not studied the preliminary content, you should be able to successfully complete this module by undertaking some additional study but should discuss this further with your Academic Tutor and the Module Convener. Students in related disciplines e.g., Medical Sciences and Psychology may also take the module subject to capacity.

This module is not suitable for non-specialist students.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the structure and spatial organization of the CNS and what happens to motor, sensory and cognitive functions when there is damage or disease. In addition, classical and state-of-the-art laboratory and other methods will be described. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Describe the development, major subdivisions, meninges, and blood supply of the CNS.
• 2. Identify different cell types of the brain and describe methods used to identify each.
• 3. Characterize features of the peripheral nervous system including the autonomic system.
• 4. Describe the segmental anatomy and functional divisions of the spinal cord and specify a disease associated with pathology in this region.
• 5. Outline the major divisions of the brainstem and cerebellum and identify the origins and targets of important neurotransmitters.
• 6. Explain the importance of the basal ganglia and thalamus in regulating motor behaviours.
• 7. Describe the major nuclei and their connections of the limbic systema and how these influence emotion.
• 8. Characterize the spatial organization of the cerebral cortex and its connections to subcortical and other structures. Describe at least one disease associated with neurodegeneration of the cerebral cortex.
• 9. Identify methods which are appropriate to study different levels of organization and functions of the CNS: cellular, regional, global.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 10. Describe some laboratory and imaging methods that are used to study different levels of organization of the brain.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 11. Communicate scientific concepts effectively using oral, written, and other media.
• 12. With some guidance, select and interpret information drawn from books, scientific journals, databases, and websites and begin to develop the skill of critical appraisal.
• 13. Interact effectively in a group.
• 14. Develop the necessary skills for self-directed learning.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, an example of the typical structure is as follows:

Lectures

There is a lecture every week (online pre-recorded), covering sequentially topics such as those described below, and delivered by a suitably qualified member of staff. In the first week, there is an additional lecture to describe the module in detail, including the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs), assessment procedures, and other practicalities. The final week of the module has a consolidation workshop, in which students can chose which topic areas they would like to re-visit.

Indicative topics that will be covered include:

1. Introduction
a. Development (embryology) and evolution
b. Cell types
c. Fine structure of cellular components
d. Neuroanatomical research methods

2. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Cerebral cortex
b. Macroscopy
c. Histology
d. Functional localization (case studies, neurosurgery, neuroimaging)
e. Disorders (focal e.g., infarction, haemorrhage, tumours; global e.g., neurodegenerative disease)

3. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Blood supply and meninges
b. Brain cisterns (experimental and clinical utility)
c. Disorders (infarction, intracerebral haemorrhage)

4. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. General motor systems (pyramidal system)
b. Principles governing organization
c. Motor disorders (primary lateral sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)

5. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Spinal cord
b. Brain stem (important nuclei)
c. Focal neurologic diseases (PD, PSP, MND)

6. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Deep grey matter: thalamus and basal ganglia (extrapyramidal system)
b. Disorders of subcortical nuclei (Huntington diseases)

7. Regional anatomy of CNS
a. Cerebellum – regional organization
b. Functional divisions
c. Cerebellar diseases

8. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Limbic system: amygdala and hippocampus
b. Disorders of the limbic system (Primary age-related tauopathy)

9. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. General sensory systems (olfactory system)
b. Disorders of sensory systems

10. Regional anatomy of human CNS
a. Visual system (primary and secondary visual processing areas)
b. Disorders of vision

11. Laboratory methods for studying the spatial organization of the CNS

12. Advanced methods in neuroanatomy
a. Functional and structural imaging (MRI, PET)
b. Allen Brain Atlas (gene expression)
c. Connectome project

Workshop sessions

To complement the lectures, during the module there will be three two-hour workshop sessions addressing neuroanatomic techniques. Examples include:

1. Macroscopic examination of the human brain and identification of structures covered in the lectures.
2. Microscopic methods for examining the cellular and ultrastructural components of the CNS.
3. Integrated neuroanatomy – new computational tools for analysing the structure and function of the human brain.

You will write-up work following on from one of these workshop sessions as part of your coursework assessment.

Group Seminars

You will have regular group seminars help to consolidate your learning, integrating what you have encountered in the lectures. Five times during the module you will meet other members of your group for two hours, with the session facilitated by a member of the Neuroscience staff. Each session will be dedicated to one of the module’s core themes. You will be provided with key focus points by the member of staff who delivers the accompanying lectures. You should explore these focus points during your self-directed learning and share with other students in the group workshops Your contribution to the workshop discussions will form part of your assessment.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

If you miss 3 or more seminars, you must provide mitigation for your absence to obtain a deferral of the seminar attendance component. In the case of deferral of the seminar attendance assessment, students will be required to a write a 1,000 word summary of one or two of the identified key focus points discussed in the seminars.

Students who are resubmitting an item of coursework as a result of referral in the module will submit during the ref/def period a new equivalent assessment e.g., write up of a different techniques workshop, from the one originally assessed. 

Please also refer to the TQA section on Referral/Deferral: http://as.exeter.ac.uk/academic-policy-standards/tqa-manual/aph/consequenceoffailure/

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

You do not need to read this material before the module, it is provided here simply to give you a sense of the type of information we will cover.

There is no need to buy the books: all of them are available to you in either the University Library (including online) or the Life Sciences Resource Centre.

Additional specific reading will be recommended as part of the module’s delivery.

Basic reading:

1. Netter's Atlas of Neuroscience 4th Edition (2021), D. Felten et al., ISBN: 9780323756549.
2. From Neuron to Brain 5^th Edition (2012), J. G. Nicholls et al, ISBN: 978-0878936090.
3.  Principles of Neural Science, 6^th Edition (2021), E. Kandel et al. ISBN-13: 978-1259642234.
4. Barr's The Human Nervous System: An Anatomical Viewpoint 10^th Edition (2013), J. A. Kiernan and R. Rajakumar, ISBN: 978-1451173277.
5. Carpenter's Human Neuroanatomy 9^th Edition (1996) André Parent. This is a large but comprehensive book – for reference only. ISBN13: 9780683067521.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

. Two examples of ‘big’ science:

The Allen Brain Institute https://alleninstitute.org/what-we-do/brain-science/

The Human Connectome Project http://www.humanconnectomeproject.org/

Key words search

Anatomy, Brain, Neuroanatomy, CNS