Understanding the Brain: Neurobiology of Everyday Life

Core concepts of neuroscience:

- The nervous system controls and responds to body functions and directs behavior
- The nervous system structure and function are determined by both genes and
environment throughout life
- The brain is the foundation of the mind
- Research leads to understanding that is essential for development of therapies for nervous
system disorders
-Central nervous system: one of two main divisions of the nervous system. The central nervous
system is comprised of the brain and the spinal cord
-Forebrain: outermost portion of the brain, including the cerebral cortex
-Cerebral cortex: outermost portion of the forebrain. Involved in many higher functions
including perception, movement and consciousness
- Brainstem: deeper portion of the brain, including the midbrain and hindbrain (which includes
the cerebellum)
- Spinal cord: can be thought of as the highway between the brain and the rest of the body.
Almost all of the information entering and signals leaving the brain travel through the spinal
cord, also controls reflexes etc.
- Meninges: membranes that cover the brain, including the dura mater, arachnoid mater and pia
mater
-Peripheral nervous system: one of two main divisions of the nervous system. The peripheral
nervous system is comprised of all the neural tissue not in the brain stem or spinal cord,
including nerves and sensory receptors.
-Medial: middle
-sagittal: one of three anatomical planes, a side view
-rostral: anterior, front
-caudal: posterior, back
-lateral: side
-motor neuron: receive information from the brain and send the messages to the muscles. Their
cell bodies are in the spinal cord
-motoneuron: a specific type of motor neuron, skeletal motor neurons
involved in voluntary movements
-perception: sensations that we are able to be aware of, including vision and touch. Not every
thing our bodies can sense is perceivable.
-homeostasis: the group of processes that maintain normal healthy function in our bodies, ex:
maintaining body temperature and blood pressure
-neuropathy: damage to the nervous system
-cell body (soma): center of any cell, includes organelles that provide basic functions (energy,
protein synthesis)
-dendrites: part of the neuron that receives and gathers information. Dendrites often branch
-axon: the long process extending from the cell body that carries information to the synaptic
terminal
-synaptic terminal: information output area of neurons
-synapse: space between neurons where information is transferred with neurotransmitters
-neurotransmitters: chemicals that serve many functions in the body. In the nervous system they
cross the synapse from the pre-synaptic neuron to the post-synaptic neuron
-action potential (spike): electrical nerve impulse that travels down the axon to the synaptic
terminal
-glial cells: support cells in the nervous system. Provide waste management, structural support
and myelination
-myelin: insulating fatty wrap that covers axons and speeds conduction of action potentials

Four functions of the brain/CNS:
1. Voluntary movement: everything we do (including emotional movement, ex: wincing
in pain). Motoneurons are in the brainstem or spinal cord, not in the forebrain. Only type
of neuron that leaves the CNS and goes to the muscle. Rare, cannot be replaced if they
die, you cant move that muscle.
2. Perception: not the same as sensation. What we consciously appreciate about sensation.
Forebrain, specifically the cerebral cortex.
3. Homeostasis: keeps our body in the proper physiological boundaries, enough oxygen,
enough blood pressure, good body temperatureForebrain, brainstem and spinal cord
4. Abstract functions: thinking, emotions, motivation, language, memory, learning,
interactionsforebrain.
Forebrain: all that you can see from the outside
Foramen Magnum: where brain and spinal cord attach.
Neurons: each one is pretty much unique, they can be the longest cell in the body. The longest
one in the body starts at the big toe and goes all the way to the brain.
4 parts of the neuron:
- cell body/soma. This is the part that all cells have with nucleus, DNA, protein makers,
mitochondria
- dendrites: come out from the cell body, branches, they gather in information
- axon: information gets sent out through the axon, there is only one
- synaptic terminal: passes the information from the end of one axon to the dendrite of
another cell (any type. Muscle, different neuron)
Anatomy of different neurons makes them different from each other. In appearance and what
neurons it is connected to, different inputs and outputs. Excitability also differs between neurons
(how likely it is to communicate with other cells) and neurotransmittersspeed and affirmation

Glial cells
Outnumber neurons by at least 10:1, neurons are a minority in the nervous system. Glial cells
clean up the intracellular space, form the scaffolding for synaptic terminals (hold the pieces
together), critical to the development of the nervous system. Astrocytes: most numerous glial
cells in the CNS, do all the cleanup. Oligodendrocytes (CNS) and Schwann cells (PNS) make
myelin (a fatty substance that surrounds the axons)
Myelin is a fatty wrap that goes around some axons. Unmyelinated axons can only transfer
information at a slow rate (0.2-1 m/s). Myelinated axons can go from 2-120 m/s.
Information is sent in binary, 1 =action potential/spike. The timing of the spikes is what carries
information. If you lose the myelin, things go much slower, if at all.
Demyelinating diseases in CNS: multiple sclerosis caused by problem in oligodendrocytes. In
PNS: Charcot-Marie-Tooth/Guillian-Barre caused by problem in Schwann cells
Meninges has 3 layers: inner is pia (very soft), arachnoid (spidery web) and dura (very hard,
prevents us from getting concussions all the time).
CNSmotor out, PNSsensory information in. It is easier to repair problems in PNS than CNS