Tyler Bennett

Nervous System Lab Report

Introduction

The body has connections all over itself. It carries information to and from each other to
ensure that the body is in homeostasis and is as healthy as it can be. This is a very important
task and the system that handles it is a very important system. The nervous system is tasked
with making sure that the body receives messages from other parts of the body to ensure that
each system is working to its best ability. It does this by having signals and chemicals that
aggravate things called nerves. Nerves make the body able to receive and deliver messages
and it makes up the Peripheral Nervous System. Each neuron sends and receives
neurotransmitters, which carries the information to tell the body what it needs to do. If these
become blocked by Neurotoxins, like in table 1, this can cause the body to fail.

Animals are no different. The sheeps brain, although small, is just as complicated. In
figure 2, the sheep brain contains around 12 nerves total, and each nerve is responsible for a
different part of the body and a different action. The emotions that you feel, how smart are you,
even your personality is contained within these nerves and different parts of the brain. In figure
2, the brain has 9 different regions. Each region is responsible for a different action or attribute
of the body. Each region plays a big part in keeping the body healthy by using different nerve
types to send messages throughout our body.

The Central Nervous System is made up of the spine and the brain, and these work with
the Peripheral Nervous System by using the nerves in the PNS to ship messages all over the
body. In figure 4, the minx has nerves throughout the entirety of his body and the the brain uses
these nerves to tell the body what to do. The impulses travel up and down the spine, like figure
3, and spreads throughout the body.Each of these nerves responds to a different sensation or
triggers. In the Cranial nerve and the Reflex nerve assessment, we see that each of these
nerves responds differently to a different stimuli, and it is these responses in addition to all of
the others that works to keep our body healthy.

The eye is no different. In figure 5, it shows how the light travels through the eye. After
the light travels throughout the eye, the brain has nerves in the back of the eye that tells the
brain what it sees.
Table 1 - Neurotoxin Table

Toxin Effect

Latrotoxin (Enhances acetylcholine release)

Bungarotoxin (Blocks acetylcholine [nicotinic] receptor)

Tetrodotoxin (Blocks sodium channel)

Charybdotoxin (Blocks potassium receptors)

Conotoxin (Blocks voltage sensitive calcium channels,

sodium channels, and Ach receptors)

Mutant Voltage Gated Sodium Channel Produces nonfunctional channels

Apamin (Blocks potassium channels)

General Anesthetic Opens more potassium channels

Flood of Potassium Irritation of the cells

Synthetic Toxin Destroys Myelin covering optic nerves and

motor neurons

Batrachotoxin Voltage Gated Sodium channels open easier

Dendrotoxin K Blocks voltage gated potassium channels

Mutated Sodium Channel Alters Voltage Sensitivity

Certain toxins attack the body in different ways. The most common ways either attack
the way the nerve is channeled or it blocks the receptors and prevents the receptor from
receiving it. This causes different reactions in the body because the body isnt receiving the
brain's signals.
Figure 1 - Sheep Brain Structures - The sheep brain has 11 major structures. These structures
are each responsible for a different part of the body and reacts to different signals. These
structures either play a role in delivering the message to the brain or they are responsible for
replying to the message.

Figure 2 - Sheep Brain Nerves - The major nerves in the brain are responsible for sending
signals to and from the brain. These include bringing in senses that the brain can then decipher
and sending out motor responses so the body can respond to it.
Table 2 - Cranial Nerve Table

Cranial Nerve Motor/ Location of Test Results Assessment

Sensory Innervation Performed

Olfactory (I) Sensory Olfactory Smell Coffee +,+ Detects Smells

Optic (II) Sensory Eye - Brain Read Eye Chart +,+ Detects Sights

Oculomotor (III) Motor Midbrain - Eye Follow Pen with +,+ Follows Items in
Eye Vision

Trochlear (VI) Motor Midbrain - Pen Test +,+ Moves Eyes

Oblique Muscles

Trigeminal (V) Both Pons Sensation of +,+ Detect

the Face Sensations

Abducens (VI) Both Pons -Eye Pen Test +,+ Detects

Peripheral
Objects

Facial (VII) Motor Lower part of Facial + Controls Face

Pons Movement Movement

Vestibulocochlear (VIII) Sensory MO - Cerebellum Tuning Fork +,+ Detects Sound

Glossopharyngeal (IX) Both MO - Swallowing + Swallows

Pharinxitensils

Vagus (X) Both MO - Thoracic Swallowing + Swallows

Chest

Accessory (XI) Motor MO - SC Shrugging + Controls

Shoulders

Hypoglossal (XII) Motor MO - Tongue Visualization of + Shape/Color of

the Tongue Tongue

The cranial nerves are responsible for detecting different things in the world around us
and then taking the signal to the brain for identification. Each nerve detects something different
and uses one of the different senses to detect what is going on around the body.
Figure 3 - Mink Spinal Cord - The spinal cord makes up a large part of the communication
between the body and the brain. The spinal cord gives the nerves a base to branch out from
and also gives the sense and signals a large highway to travel down through.

Figure 4 - Mink Spinal Nerves - The spinal nerves are the major roads that signals travel
throughout the body. Not only do the senses travel towards it, but the motor reaction does as
well. This is how the brain interacts with the rest of the body.
Table 3 - Reflex Assessment

Muscle What Moves Tests For

Biceps Small Bicep Flex C5 - C6

Triceps Small Tricep Flex C7 - C8

Brachioradialis Small Elbow Movement C5 - C6

Hoffmanns Finger Movement C5 - C6

Patellar Toe Movement L2 - L4

Achilles Foot Extension S1 - S2

Babinski Toe Movement S1 - S2, L4

Crossed Extensor Strong Resistance C5 - C6

Glabellar Blinking C1 - C2

Abdominal Abdominal Muscles Contract T8 - T12

The nerves in the body each have a special function as well. Besides sensing different
things in the body, it also communicates with the body at different levels. Since the spine is the
major highway for the nerves, different vertebra communicates with different parts of the body.
Figure 5 - Sheep Eye - The eye is one of the most complicated parts of the body. For the body
to be able to clearly see, it must detect light around you. Your eye then bends the light and
focuses so the brain can tell what it is looking at. In the sheep eye, it goes through eight
different layers before the brain can clearly pick up what the eye is looking at.