Ch.

8: Nervous System

● Functions of the Nervous System

○ Sensory Input
■ Sensory receptors monitor stimuli
○ Integration
■ Brain and spinal cord process sensory input and can
initiate responses
○ Control of Muscles/Glands
○ Maintain Homeostasis
■ Able to detect, interpret, and respond to changes in conditions
○ Mental Activity
■ Brain is center of mental activity (consciousness, memory,
thinking, etc.)

● Divisions of the Nervous System

○ Central Nervous System (CNS): brain & spinal cord
○ Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): nerves & ganglia (everything
outside CNS)
■ Functions to link CNS with various parts of the body
■ Sensory (toward) Division → PNS conducts action
potentials from sensory receptors to CNS
● Sensory Neuron: neuron that extends from
sensory receptors in periphery to CNS
■ Motor (away) Division → PNS conducts action potentials
from CNS to effector organs like muscles and glands
● Motor Neuron: neuron that transmits action potential
from
CNS toward periphery
● Subdivisions of Motor Division:
○ Somatic Nervous System: CNS to skeletal
muscle; sensations!
○ Autonomic Nervous System: CNS to
cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands
(involuntary)
■ Sympathetic
■ Parasympathetic
■ Enteric Nervous System (ENS): unique subdivision of
PNS; has both sensory & motor neurons within digestive
tract
● CNS sensory neurons
● ANS motor neurons

● Cells of Nervous System

○ Neurons

■ Nerve cell that receives input at dendrites, process input via

passive physics, and produce response w/ action potential
(all-or- none)
■ Requires oxygen & glucose (very limited storage)
■ Parts of Neuron:
● Soma (cell body)
● Dendrites
● Axon
● Soma (cell body):
 ○ Contains 1 nucleus
○ Processes stimulus (integration)
● Dendrites:
○ Receive information from other neurons or
from sensory receptors and transmit
information toward neuron cell body
● Axon:
○ Single, long cell processes that transmits stimulus
○ Axon Hillock → area where axon leaves cell
body
○ Sensory neuron axons conduct action potentials
toward CNS
○ Motor neuron axons conduct action potentials
away from CNS
○ May remain unbranched, or may branch to form
Collateral Axons
○ Can be surrounded by myelin sheath
(highly specialized insulating layer of
cells)

■ Types of Neurons:
● Multipolar → CNS & most motor neurons
● Bipolar → Eye & Nasal cavity
● Pseudo-unipolar → Sensory neurons
● Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheaths around axons in CNS!
● Schwann Cells form myelin sheaths around axons in PNS!
● Blood-Brain Barrier: cellular and matrix barrier made of blood vessel
endothelium and astrocytes; allow small substances to pass from
circulation into the brain but does NOT allow large substances to pass.
○ Myelin Sheath
■ Fatty protective wrapping around axons, specialized insulating
layer
■ Formed by:
● Oligodendrocytes in CNS
● Schwann cells in PNS
■ Prevents almost all ion movement across cell membrane
■ Excellent insulator (saltatory conduction)
■ Node of Ranvier: gap in myelinated sheath between
adjacent oligodendrocytes/schwann cells
● Ion movement occurs here! (Sodium-Potassium
Channels found here)
■ Myelination of an axon increases speed & efficiency of
action potential generation along an axon
■ Unmyelinated axons lack myelin sheaths → occur
slowly
● Typical small nerve has more unmyelinated axons
than myelinated axons
● Pain fibers have unmyelinated axons

○ Multiple Sclerosis:
■ Disease of myelin sheath in CNS that causes loss of
muscle unction

○ Organization of Nervous Tissue

■ Gray matter → dendrites and cell bodies
 ● Located on the surface of the brain → cortex
● Clusters deeper in the brain → nuclei
● Cluster of neuron cell bodies in PNS → ganglion
■ White matter: axons and their myelin sheaths
● White matter of CNS forms nerve tracts
(conduction pathways)
○ Nerve tracts propagate action potentials from
one area of CNS to another
● Bundles of axons in PNS and associated connective
tissue form nerves

● Electrical Signals & Neural Pathways (within → electrical,

between → chemical)
○ Resting Membrane Potential
■ Inside of cell → negatively charged (K+)
■ Outside of cell → positively charged (Na+)
■ Uneven distribution of charge = Polarized = Resting
Membrane Potential (compared from INSIDE TO
OUTSIDE)
■ Resting Membrane Potential = -70 mV
■ Generated by 3 factors:
● Higher concentration of K+ inside cell membrane
● HIgher concentration of Na+ outside cell membrane
● Greater permeability for K+ than Na+

■ Leak Channels: always open; K+ channels

■ Gated Channels: closed until opened by specific
signals (Na+ channels) → opened at -55 mV
● Chemically-gated (Ligand) Channels:
opened by neurotransmitters
● Voltage-gated Channels: opens by change in
membrane potential
● Gated channels channels can change membrane
potential
○ Responsible for action potential!
■ Net negative charge inside (K+ and proteins), net positive
charge outside (Na+)
● As K+ leaks out via leak channels, cell becomes more
negative because of impermeable proteins inside that
can’t exit (decreases force of diffusion)
○ Negative charge inside cell attracts K+
■ State of equilibrium = Resting
Membrane Potential

■ Sodium-Potassium Pump:
● Required to maintain greater concentration of Na+
outside cell and K+ inside cell
● Active transport of K+ into cell, Na+ out of cell
● Consumes a large amount of energy (~25% of all ATP
stored in cell, 70% in neuron)!
● Counteracts the constant leak of K+ ions

○ Action Potentials
■ Muscle cells & nerve cells → excitable cells
■ Voltage-gated channels for Na+ and K+ are responsible for
action potential
 ■ Occurs at the Axon Hillock
● At rest, voltage-gated channels are closed
● Steps:
○ Stimulus applied, neurotransmitter activate
chemically-gated channels and Na+ channels
allow Na+ to diffuse into cell
■ Local current of Na+ movement causes
depolarization (inside of cell become
positive)
○ Depolarization causes local potential
○ If depolarization is large enough, Na+ enters
until local potential reaches threshold
○ Reaching threshold results in more
voltage- gated Na+ channels to open
→ membrane becomes permeable to
Na+
■ Voltage-gated K+ channels also open
while Na+ channels are open!
○ Since inside of cell is now positively charged,
Na+ channels close and more K+ channels
open
■ Na+ stops entering cell
■ K+ leaves cell due to opened K+ channels
■ Repolarization
○ Depolarization and repolarization make an
action potential (4 ms → 4 milliseconds)
○ At the end of repolarization, charge on
cell membrane is more negative than
RMP → Hyperpolarization
■ Elevated permeability to K+ lasts very briefly
● RMP is set by activity of leak channels
● When stimulated, chemically-gated channels
open and initiate local potential
● When strong enough, local potentials activate
voltage-gated channels to initiate action potential
■ Action potential happens (4 ms) in all-or-none fashion
(always same magnitude)
● Stronger stimuli, however, can produce a greater
frequency of action potentials (but do not increase size
of each action potential)
○ Action potential conducted slowly in unmyelinated axon,
rapidly in myelinated axons

■ Unmyelinated axons have action potential conduct

current along entire axon cell membrane → Continuous
Conduction
■ In myelinated axons, action potential at one node of Ranvier
causes local current to flow through surrounding extracellular
fluid and through cytoplasm of axon to next node of Ranvier
to stimulate the next action potential
● Action potentials “jump” from one node of Ranvier to the
next
● Saltatory Conduction
■ ‘Saltatory Conduction’ greatly increases conduction
speed because nodes of Ranvier make it
unnecessary for action potential to travel across
 entire cell membrane → no ion channels in axon,
only at nodes of Ranvier!
● Heavier, wide-diameter myelinated axons conduct
action potentials quickest!
■ Myelinated axons require less energy for sodium-potassium
pump

○ The Synapse
■ Where an axon attaches to a muscle, gland, organ, or other
neuron
■ Involved w/ release of neurotransmitters (i.e.
neuromuscular junction)
● End of the axon forms the presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters are stored in synaptic
vesicles in the presynaptic terminal
● Membrane of the dendrite or effector cell is the postsynaptic
membrane
● Space is the synaptic cleft
■ When action potential reaches presynaptic terminal, voltage-gated Ca2+
channels open which allows Ca2+ to move into the cell
● Causes a release in neurotransmitters via exocytosis from the
presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters diffuse across synaptic cleft and bind to
specific receptor molecules on postsynaptic membrane
○ Causes chemically-gated channels for Na+, K+, and Cl- to
open or close in the postsynaptic membrane (depends on
type of neurotransmitter)
■ If Na+ channels open, postsynaptic cell becomes
depolarized (action potential)
■ If K+ or Cl- channels open, inside of postsynaptic
cell becomes more negative (hyperpolarized) which
inhibits action potential

■ Acetylcholinesterase is located in high concentration in junctional folds

(secondary synaptic cleft)
Neurotransmitter substances are normally broken down by enzymes within
synaptic cleft or are transported back into presynaptic terminal

REFLEXES
-Involuntary reaction in response to a stimulus applied to the periphery and
transmitted to the CNS
■ Allow a person to react to stimuli more quickly than is
possible if conscious thought is involved
○ Reflex Arc: neuronal pathway by which a reflex occurs
■ Has 5 components:
● Sensory Receptor → pick up stimulus in skin
○ Detection
○ Perception (involves consciousness)
● Sensory (Afferent) Neuron → sends
stimulus to interneurons in spinal cord
● Interneuron (Association neuron) → in CNS,
connect to motor neurons and process stimulus
● Motor (Efferent) Neuron → from CNS
● Effector Organ
■ Simple reflex arcs do not have interneurons
 ○ Most reflexes occur in spinal cord or brainstem (not in higher
brain centers.

Neuronal Pathways
○ Neurons are arranged within CNS to form pathways ranging from
simple to complex
○ Two pathways:
■ Converging Pathway: two or more neurons converge on the
same neuron
● Allows information to be transmitted in more than
one neuronal pathway to converge into a single
pathway
■ Diverging Pathway: axon from one neuron divides and
synapses with more than one neuron
● Allows information transmitted in a single neuronal
pathway to diverge into multiple pathways
○ Summation: summation of signals in neuronal pathways to
reach threshold and produce an action potential
■ Allows integration of multiple subthreshold local potentials
● Summation of the local potentials can bring
membrane potential to threshold (causing an
action potential)
■ Spatial Summation: local potentials originate from
different locations
■ Temporal Summation: local potentials overlap in time

● Spinal Cord
○ Extends from foramen magnum to 2nd lumbar vertebra
■ Cauda Equina → inferior end of spinal cord where
spinal nerves exiting resemble horse’s tail
○ White matter consists of myelinated axons, gray matter is a
collection of neuron cell bodies
○ Babinski Reflex → when no inhibition by CNS is present;
stroke of bottom of foot causes flexion in babies
■ White matter is divided into 3 columns:
● Dorsal
● Ventral
● Lateral
■ Each column has 2 types of pathways:
● Ascending Tracts → consist of axons that
conduct action potentials toward the brain
● Descending Tracts → consist of axons that
conduct action potentials away from brain
○ Gray matter has:
■ Posterior (Dorsal) Horns: contains axons which
synapse w/ interneurons
■ Anterior (Ventral) Horns: contain somatic (motor) neurons
■ Lateral Horns: contain autonomic neurons

○ Central Canal: fluid-filled space in center of the spinal cord

○ Ventral Root: motor (efferent) root of spinal nerve
○ Dorsal Root: sensory root of spinal nerve
 ■ Dorsal Root Ganglion
● Cell bodies of pseudo-unipolar sensory neurons are
located in the dorsal root ganglia
○ Axons of psuedo-unipolar sensory neurons
originate in periphery and pass through spinal
nerves and dorsal roots to posterior horn of
gray matter
■ In posterior horn, axons either converge
with interneurons or pass into white
matter and ascend/descend
○ Ventral and Dorsal Root combine to form spinal nerve!
○ Axons from motor neurons form ventral roots and pass into spinal
nerves

Spinal Cord Reflexes

○ Knee-Jerk Reflex (Patellar Reflex):
■ Stretch reflex (simple)
■ When patellar ligament is tapped, quadriceps femoris
muscle tendon and the muscles themselves are
stretched
● Sensory receptors within these muscles are also
stretched and the stretch reflex is activated
■ Clinicians use knee-jerk reflex to see if higher CNS
centers that influence this reflex are functional
○ Withdrawal Reflex (flexor reflex):
■ To remove a limb or another body part from painful stimulus
■ Sensory neurons conduct action potentials through dorsal
root to spinal cord, where sensory neurons synapse with
interneurons, which turn synapse w/ motor neurons
● Motor neurons then stimulate flexor muscles to remove
limb from source of painful stimulus
● Spinal Nerves (31 Pairs)
○ Peripheral nerves exiting from spinal cord
○ Dorsal root → carries sensory info toward CNS
○ Ventral root → carries motor info away from CNS
○ Contain sensory and motor nerves → mixed nerves
○ Dermatome: area of skin supplied w/ sensory innervation by pair of
spinal nerves
○ Each of the spinal nerves except C1 has a specific cutaneous
sensory distribution
○ Plexuses (3): neurons of several spinal nerves come
together and intermingle
■ Cervical Plexus
■ Brachial Plexus
■ Lumbosacral Plexus

● Brain
○ Brainstem
■ Connects spinal cord to brain
■ Consists of:
○ Medulla oblongata
■ Extends from foramen magnum to pons
■ Contains nuclei for functions such as regulation of heart
rate and blood vessel diameter, breathing, swallowing,
vomiting, coughing, sneezing, balance, and balance
■ Pyramids: involved in conscious control of skeletal muscle
○ Pons
 ■ Relay information from cerebrum and cerebellum
(functional bridge between them)
■ Controls chewing and salivation (pons only), as well as
functions such as breathing, swallowing, and balance (like
medulla oblongata)
○ Midbrain
■ Located between pons and diencephalon
■ Colliculi: four mounds on dorsal part of midbrain
● 2 inferior colliculi → relay centers for auditory nerve
pathways in CNS
● 2 superior colliculi → visual reflexes and receive
touch/auditory input
■ Contains nuclei involved in coordinating eye movements,
controlling pupil diameter, lens shape and
reward/reinforcement
■ Contains substantia nigra: black nuclear mass which
regulates general body movements
○ Damage to brainstem causes death, whereas damage to
cerebrum/cerebellum does not cause death
■ Reticular Formation: loose network of neuron cell bodies
scattered throughout brainstem; involved in regulation of
cycles such as sleep-wake cycle (reticular activating
system) → Norepinephrine
● Also regulates cyclical motor functions like respiration,
walking, chewing, arousing and maintaining
consciousness, sleep-wake cycle
● Damage to the cells of reticular formation can cause
coma
○ Cerebellum
■ Attached to brainstem by cerebellar peduncles
● Provide routes of communication between
cerebellum and other parts of CNS
■ Coordinated movement and learning
○ Diencephalon
■ Between brainstem and cerebrum
■ 3 Main Components:
■ Thalamus
● Largest part of diencephalon
● Connected in center by interthalamic adhesion
● Relay for sensory information!
● Influences mood
● Registers unlocalized, uncomfortable perception of
pain
■ Epithalamus
● Superior to thalamus
● Small, few nuclei involved in emotional/visceral
response to odors
● Pineal Gland: influences onset of puberty; plays role in
controlling long-term cycles influenced by light-dark
cycle
■ Hypothalamus
● Inferior part of diencephalon
● Maintenance of homeostasis
● Regulate body temperature, hunger, thirst
● Sensations like sexual pleasure, rage, fear, relaxation,
“nervous perspirations” (emotional responses)
 ● Infundibulum: extends from bottom of hypothalamus
to pituitary gland
○ Hypothalamus plays role in secretion of
hormones from pituitary gland (controls
pituitary gland)
● Mammillary bodies form visible swellings on
backside of hypothalamus → emotional
responses to odors and memory
○ Cerebrum
■ Largest part of brain
■ Divided into left and right hemispheres by a longitudinal
fissure
■ Has many folds called gyri (increase surface area of cortex)
■ Has intervening grooves called sulci
■ Divided into lobes:
● Frontal lobe:
○ Control of voluntary motor functions (Phineas
Gage), motivation, aggression (impulsivity),
mood, and smell
● Parietal lobe:
○ Evaluates sensory information such as touch,
pain, temperature, and balance (sensation)
● Occipital lobe:
○ Vision
○ Not separate from other lobes
● Temporal lobe:
○ Hearing, smell, memory
● Sensory Functions
○ Sensory input to brainstem and diencephalon helps maintain
homeostasis
○ Input to cerebrum and cerebellum keeps us informed
about our environment and allows CNS to control motor
functions
○ Small portion of sensory input results in perception
(conscious awareness of stimuli)

● Ascending (Sensory) Tracts

○ Pathways in brain and spinal cord
■ Dorsal Column: fine touch!
■ Spinothalamic Tract: carries info on pain!
● Nociceptor
■ These 2 pathways take different, independent routes
○ Send info via action potentials toward brain
○ Each tract is involved in a limited type of sensory input since each
tract has axons from specific, specialized receptors for particular
stimuli only; made of 2-3 neurons in sequence

● Cerebral Cortex
○ Surface of cerebrum, composed of gray matter
○ Controls thinking, communicating, remembering,
understanding, and initiates involuntary movements
○ Interpret action potentials!

● Sensory Areas of Cerebral Cortex

○ Primary Sensory Areas: location of sensation perception;
ascending tracts project to these specific regions in the cerebral
 cortex
○ Primary Somatic Sensory Cortex: general sensory area;
located in parietal lobe posterior to central sulcus
■ Sensory fibers relay information to primary sensory cortex
○ Association Areas: regulation; adjacent to primary sensory areas
● Motor Functions
○ Motor system of CNS maintains posture and balance
■ Also, moves trunk, head, limbs, tongue, and eyes,
and communicating through facial expressions
and speech
○ Involuntary Movements → occur without conscious thought
○ Voluntary movements → consciously activated to
achieve a specific goal

■ Stimulation of upper and lower motor neurons

● Upper motor neuron: located in cerebral cortex;
axons of upper motor neurons form descending tracts
that connect to lower motor neurons
● Lower motor neuron: located in spinal cord and
brainstem; axons leave CNS and extend through
spinal/cranial nerves to skeletal muscles → they
form motor units

● Motor Areas of Cerebral Cortex

○ Primary Motor Cortex: posterior frontal lobe; control voluntary
movement of skeletal muscle
■ Upper motor neurons project from this cortex to parts of the
body
○ Premotor Area: frontal lobe; motor functions are organized here
before they’re actually initiated in primary motor cortex
○ Prefrontal Area: anterior frontal lobe; control motivation,
regulation of emotional behavior and mood
● Descending Tracts:
○ Project from upper motor neurons in cerebral cortex to lower
motor neurons in spinal cord and brainstem
■ Direct → extend directly from upper motor neurons to
lower motor neurons
■ Indirect → no direct connection between cortical and
spinal neurons
○ Control different types of movements
● Basal Nuclei: functionally related nuclei; important in planning,
organizing, coordinating movements and posture
○ Corpus Striatum and Substantia Nigra are two primary basal nuclei
○ Basal nuclei have feedback loops, stimulatory and inhibitory
■ Stimulatory circuits facilitate muscle activity
■ Inhibitory circuits facilitate actions of stimulatory
circuits by inhibiting antagonist muscle activity
● Inhibit random movements of trunk and limbs
● Decrease muscle tone when at rest
○ Parkinson disease (dopamine neurons in Substantia Nigra
die), Huntington disease (random movements), and
cerebral palsy are basal nuclei disorders → difficulty
resting from a sitting position

● Cerebellum
○ Maintenance of balance, muscle tone, and fine motor movement
 (learning motor skills)
○ Major function is that it compares motor cortex and peripheral
structures
■ If a difference is detected, cerebellum sends action potentials
to motor neurons in motor cortex and spinal cord to correct
difference
● Proprioceptive Neurons → innervate joints, tendons, and muscles
● Other Brain Functions
○ Communication between Right & Left Hemisphere
■ Right hemisphere deals w/ left half of body
■ Left hemisphere deals w/ right half of body
■ Shared information through commissures (bundle of nerve
fibers passing from one side to other side)
● Corpus Callosum: largest commissure; thick band of
nerve tracts
■ Left hemisphere → analytical (mathematics and speech)
■ Right hemisphere → 3D, spatial perception, musical
ability

○ Speech
■ Left hemisphere
■ Sensory Speech Area (Wernicke Area):
● Parietal lobe
● Understanding and formulating coherent speech
■ Motor Speech Area (Broca Area):
● Frontal lobe
● Controls speech movement
■ Damage to these two areas causes Aphasia (absent,
defective speech or language comprehension)

○ Brain Waves and Consciousness

■ Electroencephalogram (EEG): detect simultaneous
action potentials in large numbers of neurons
● Normally irregular since the brain is not synchronous
● Sometimes produce patterns known as Brain Waves
○ Alpha Waves: person is awake in quiet state
○ Beta Waves: higher frequency than alpha,
occur during intense mental activity
○ Delta Waves: occur during deep sleep, in infants,
and in those with severe brain disorders
○ Theta Waves: seen in children or in frustrated
adults
○ Memory
■ Working, short-term, and long-term (declarative or procedural)
■ Working Memory: briefly stored information required for
immediate performance of a task
● Lasts a few seconds
● Occurs in frontal cortex
● Limited to about 7 bits of information
■ Short-Term Memory: lasts longer than working memory
(minutes to days)
● Stored by increased synaptic transmission
● Transferred to long-term memory
■ Long-Term Memory: minutes to permanent by
consolidation (gradual process involving formation of
 newer, stronger synaptic connections)
● Length of storage depends on frequency of use
● Declarative (Explicit) memory: retention of facts
● Procedural (Reflexive) memory: development of
motor skills
● Long-term memory involves structural and functional
changes in neurons that lead to long-term
enhancement of synaptic transmission
○ Memory engrams are involved in long-term
retention

○ Limbic System and Emotions

■ Olfactory cortex and deep cortical regions/nuclei of
cerebrum and diencephalon
■ Influences long-term declarative memory, emotions,
visceral responses to emotions, motivation, and mood
■ Olfactory nerves is source of sensory input to limbic system
● Responds to olfactory stimulation by initiating
responses for survival (hunger, thirst, etc.)
■ Problems in limbic system can result in voracious
appetite, increased sexual activity, and docility

● Meninges, Ventricles, and Cerebrospinal Fluid

○ Meninges: 3 connective tissue membranes (dura mater, arachnoid
mater, and pia mater) that surround and protect brain and spinal
cord
■ Dura Mater: outermost meningeal covering of brain and spinal
cord
● Thickest
● 2 layers:
○ Dural folds (hold brain in place)
○ Dural venous sinuses (collect blood from
veins of brain and empty into jugular veins to
exit skull)
■ Arachnoid Mater: second meningeal membrane, very thin
● Space between dura mater and arachnoid mater is
subdural space (small amounts of serous fluid)
■ Pia Mater: tightly bound to brain and spinal cord
● Between arachnoid mater and pia mater is
subarachnoid space (filled w/ cerebrospinal fluid
and blood vessels)
○ Ventricles: fluid filled cavities
■ Lateral ventricle: large cavity in both hemispheres
(bilaterally symmetrical)
■ Third ventricle: at center of diencephalon between two
halves of the thalamus
● Connected to lateral ventricles by foramina
■ Fourth ventricle: base of cerebellum
● Connected to third ventricle via cerebral aqueduct
● Continuous with central canal of spinal cord,
opens into subarachnoid space
○ Cerebrospinal Fluid: cushions CNS
■ Produced by Choroid Plexus of brain (specialized structures
made of ependymal cells)
■
● Cranial Nerves
 ○ 12 pairs
○ Sensory functions entail senses (vision, touch, etc.)
○ Motor functions are divided into:
■ Somatic Motor
● Innervate skeletal muscles in head and neck
■ Parasympathetic
● Innervate glands, smooth muscle throughout
body, and cardiac muscle

Peripheral Nervous System (Autonomic vs. Somatic)

● Autonomic Nervous System

○ Consists of motor neurons from CNS that carry action
potentials to periphery
○ Innervates smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands
○ Involuntary
○ Autonomic neurons do NOT extend all the way from CNS to target
tissues, but there are many
■ Somatic motor neurons do (extend from axons in CNS to
skeletal muscle)
○ Preganglionic Neurons and Postganglionic Neurons synapse in
autonomic ganglia outside the CNS

○ Autonomic nervous system is composed of:

■ Sympathetic division
■ Parasympathetic division

○ Anatomy of Sympathetic division

■ Sphlanic nerves
■ Collateral ganglia
○ Anatomy of Parasympathetic division
■ Vagus nerve (branches to heart, lungs, liver, stomach)

○ Autonomic Neurotransmitters
■ Sympathetic → norepinephrine
■ Parasympathetic → acetylcholine

○ Functions of Autonomic Nervous System

○ Divisions can each produce both stimulatory and inhibitory effects
○ Both can actually act together to coordinate activity of multiple targets
■ In males, parasympathetic initiates penis erection and
the sympathetic stimulates release of secretions and
helps initiate ejaculation

● Enteric Nervous System (ENS)

Plexuses within wall of digestive tract which include:
■ Sensory neurons that connect digestive tract to CNS
■ Sympathetic and Parasympathetic neurons that connect
CNS to digestive tract
■ Enteric neurons within Enteric Plexuses
● Enteric neurons monitor and control digestive tract
independently of the CNS through local reflexes
(although they also work together occasionally)
○ i.e. stretching of digestive tract is detected by
enteric sensory neurons which stimulate enteric
 interneurons
○ Interneurons stimulate enteric motor neurons
which stimulate glands to secrete
● CNS control of parasympathetic branches of vagus
nerve and splanchnic nerve can override actions of
enteric neurons.
○ Independent subdivision of PNS that is integrated with the ANS
● Effects of Aging on Nervous System
○ Sensory function gradually declines with age due to decrease in
number of sensory neurons, decrease in functioning of remaining
neurons, and decrease in CNS processing
■ Decreases touch sensation, balance, coordination, etc.
■ Reflexes slow
■ Brain size/weight decreases
■ Short-term memory decreases
● Thinking, problem-solving, intelligence decline