PSY102: BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR

THE ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS OF

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

 Identify the major structures of the nervous

system and their functions
 Understand how the nervous system develops
and changes with experience
 Discuss the damage and recovery of the
nervous system
NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Two subunits
 Central nervous system (CNS)– brain and spinal
cord
 Peripheral nervous system (PNS)– everything
outside CNS
NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Bundle of axons
 CNS – Tracts
 PNS – Nerves

 Group of cell bodies

 CNS – nucleus
 PNS - ganglion
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Development
 Startsas hollow tube
 Upper end develops 3 swellings – 3 part brain
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Forebrain
 Structures
2 cerebral hemispheres
 Thalamus

 Hypothalamus
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Cerebral hemispheres
 Dominate appearance of brain
 Longitudinal fissure
 Separates two hemispheres
 Nearly mirror images
 Contralateral processing
 Process information received from other side of body
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Cerebral hemispheres
 Made up of ridges and grooves
 Gyrus – ridge/bump

 Sulcus – space between 2 gyri

 Fissure – large space between gyri

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Cerebral hemispheres
 Gray matter
 Outersurface - cortex
 Made up cell bodies of neurons

 White matter
 Myelinated axons
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Layered cortex
 Separated by fibres that serve cell bodies
 Differ in appearance and function
 IIand III – associational
 IV – sensory

 V and VI - motor
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Columns of cells in cortex

 80-100 interconnected neurons
 Perpendicular to cortical surface

 Unification of the horizontal layers

 Similar function in column

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 The brain and intellectual power

 Brain size relative to body size
 Brain complexity predictor of intellectual power

 Higher brains have more gyri

 Cerebral hemispheres larger in proportion to rest of

brain
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Directional terminology
 Dorsal – toward the back
 Ventral – toward the stomach

 Anterior – towards the front

 Posterior – towards the rear

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Directional terminology
 Superior – above another structure
 Inferior – below another structure

 Lateral – towards the side

 Medial – towards the middle

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Orientation terminology
 Coronal plane – divides vertically from side to side
 Sagittal plane – divides vertically in front-back

 Horizontal plane – divides from top to bottom

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Four lobes
 Frontal

 Parietal

 Temporal

 occipital
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Projection areas
 Sensory areas of the brain
 Areas of first processing – primary area

 Association areas
 Carry
out further processing after primary area
 Combines information from other senses
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal lobe
 Anteriorof central sulcus
 Superior of lateral fissure

 Complex functions

 Highest-order processing
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal lobe
 Primary motor cortex
 Precentral gyrus – along the central sulcus
 Controls voluntary movement

 Homunculus

 Mapping of body areas

 Unequal distribution of cortex – complexity of

movement
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal Lobe
 Secondary motor area
 Anteriorto primary area
 Involved in planning movements

 Works with subcortical structures

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal Lobe
 Broca’sarea
Anterior to motor area; along lateral fissure

Controls speech production

movements involved in speech and

grammatical structure
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal Lobe
 Prefrontalcortex
Largest region of human brain (29% of cortex)

Involved in:

Planning, organisation, impulse control

Adjusting behaviour in response to rewards

and punishments
Decision-making
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Frontal Lobe
 Psychosurgery

Use of surgical intervention to treat cognitive and

emotional disorders
Out of favour now

Lobotomies

Popular 1940s and 1950s

Disconnects prefrontal area with rest of the

brain
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Parietal lobes
 Superiorto lateral fissure
 Between central sulcus and occipital lobe
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Parietal lobes
 Primary somatosensory cortex
 Postcentral gyrus
 Processes skin, kinaesthetic, and vestibular senses

 Homunculus – size of representation depends on

sensitivity
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Parietal lobes
 Association areas
 Input from body senses
 Identify objects

 Determine location of limbs

 Locate objects in space

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Parietal lobes
 Neglect
 Damage to posterior parietal cortex
 Ignore objects, people, space, and activity on opposite
side
 Usually right side damage
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Temporal Lobes
 Auditory projection area
 Visual and auditory association areas

 Language area
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Temporal lobes
 Auditory cortex
 Receives sound information from ears
 Superior gyrus of temporal lobe
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Temporal lobes
 Wernicke’s area
 Association area
 Interprets language input from auditory adn visual areas

 Generates spoken language  Broca’s area

 Generates written language  motor cortex

 Damage – trouble understanding speech and writing

 Left hemisphere
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Temporal lobes
 Inferior temporal cortex
 Visual
identification of objects
 Damage – difficulty recognising familiar objects by sight
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Occipital lobes
 Visual cortex
 Visualinformation is processed
 Posterior tip of each lobe
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Occipital lobes
 Four association areas
 Anteriorto primary area
 Detect visual components of a scene
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Thalamus
 Just below lateral ventricles
 Receives information from all sensory systems
except olfaction
 Relays information to projection areas

 Paired – left and right thalami

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Hypothalamus
 Inferiorof thalamus
 Controlling emotions and motivated behaviours

 Controls autonomic nervous system

 Influences hormones  pituitary gland

 Paired
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Pineal gland
 Posterior of thalamus
 Single,unpaired
 Secretes melatonin  induces sleep

 Control daily rhythms

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 Corpus Callosum
 Where longitudinal fissure ends
 Band of fibres connecting the two hemispheres

 Carries information between hemispheres

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 The ventricles
 Cavities in the brain and spinal cord
 Filled with cerebrospinal fluid
 Carries
material from blood to CNS
 Removes waste from CSN to blood

 Four ventricles
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - FOREBRAIN

 The ventricles
 Lateral ventricles
 Extend deeply into frontal lobe and occipital lobe
 Curve around temporal lobes

 Third ventricle
 Located between two thalami
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - MIDBRAIN

 Top part of brain stem

 Structures that have secondary roles in:
 Vision

 Hearing

 movement
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - MIDBRAIN

 Superior colliculi
 Guide eye movements and fixation of gaze

 Inferior colliculi
 Locate direction of sounds
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - MIDBRAIN

 Substantia nigra
 Projects to basal ganglia
 Integrates movement

 Ventral tegmental area

 Rewarding effects of food, sex, drugs
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - MIDBRAIN

 Cerebral aqueduct
 Passesthrough
 Connects third ventricle to fourth ventricle
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - HINDBRAIN

 3 structures
 Pons

 Medulla

 cerebellum
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - HINDBRAIN

 Pons
 Centres related to sleep and arousal
 Part of the reticular formation
 Collection
of nuclei running through middle of midbrain
and hindbrain
 Attentionand motor activities
 Connects hemispheres of cerebellum

 Connect higher areas of brain with brain stem

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - HINDBRAIN

 Medulla
 Lower part of hindbrain
 Controls essential life processes
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - HINDBRAIN

 Cerebellum
 Refines movements initiated in motor cortex
 Control speed, intensity and direction
 Damage– difficulty walking and reaching
movements
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – SPINAL CORD

 Finger-sized cable of neurons

 Carries commands from brain to muscles and
organs
 Carries sensory information to the brain

 White matter – outside

 Gray matter - inside

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – SPINAL CORD

 Sensory neurons
 Enterthrough dorsal root of each spinal nerve
 Unipolar

 Motor neurons
 Cell bodies – ventral horn
 Exit via ventral root of each spinal nerve
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – SPINAL CORD

 Spinal nerve
 Exits
spine between vertebrae
 Dorsal root and ventral root joined together
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – SPINAL CORD

 Reflexes
 Simple automatic movement in response to a
sensory stimulus
 Sensory neurons connect directly (or indirectly via
interneurons) with motor neurons
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM - PROTECTION

 Meninges
3 layers membrane
 Encloses brain and spinal cord

 Space between meninges is filled with CSF

 Protects from trauma

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – PROTECTION

 Blood-brain barrier
 Limitspassage between bloodstream and brain
 Protection from toxic substances and
neurotransmitters in the blood
 Prostema
 Structure near ventricles
 Not protected

 Ingest toxic substance Induces vomiting

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Different types of nerves

 Cranial nerves – enter and leave underside of brain
 Spinal nerves – connect sides of spinal cord at
vertebrae
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Subunits
 Somatic nervous system
 Motorneurons
 Sensory neurons

 Autonomic nervous system

 Smooth muscles, the glands, other organs
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

 Cranial nerves
 Enterand exit ventral side of brain
 12 nerves
I – IV  nuclei in midbrain and forebrain
 V – XII medulla and pons

 directly connected to the brain

 Integrate sensory information and motor output
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – AUTONOMIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Functions are primarily motor
 Two branches
 Sympathetic nervous system
 Activates
the body to cope with stress and physical
emergencies
 Parasympathetic nervous system
 Slows activity of body
 Activates digestion
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – AUTONOMIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Sympathetic nervous system
 Middleareas of spinal cord
 Sympathetic neurons
 Pass through sympathetic ganglion chain
 Along each side of spine
 Highly interconnected
 Respond as a unit
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – AUTONOMIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Parasympathetic nervous system
 Cranial
nerves and end of spinal cord
 Parasympathetic neurons
 Notinterconnected
 Located on or near muscles they control
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM – AUTONOMIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Organs have both SNS and PNS
 Only SNS
 Sweat glands, adrenal glands, muscles that
constrict blood vessels
 Both branches active to some degree all the
time
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Proliferation
 Cellsthat will become neurons divide and multiply
 250,000 new cells every minute

 Ventricular zone – will become ventricles

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Migration
 Neurons move from ventricular zone to final
location
 Helped by specialised radial glial cells

 Function of neuron depends on location and time of

development
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Circuit formation
 Axons of developing neurons grow toward target
cells
 Functional connections are formed
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Circuit pruning
 Elimination of excess neurons
 Neurons that did not find target cell

 Nervous system refines organisation

 Weak synapses

 Plasticity of synapses decreases over time

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Foetal alcohol syndrome
 Mother’s use of alcohol during stages of brain
development
 Intellectual disability

 Brain is malformed and neurons are dislocated

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
STAGES
 Myelination
 Begins with lower structures
 Posterior of cortex frontal regions

 Starts around 3rd trimester

 Not complete until late adolescence or beyond

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
PLASTICITY
 Stimulation changes synapse construction and
reconstruction throughout life
 Lose neurons with age – increase synapses
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
PLASTICITY
 Reorganisation
 Experience-induced change
 Shift in the connections that changes the function
of an area of the brain
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM -
PLASTICITY
 Most ability lost after ages 2-3
 Importance of early intervention
 Can still change during adulthood
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Stroke
 Loss of blood flow to the brain
 Cerebrovascular accident

 Ischemic, haemorrhagic

 Neurons deprived of oxygen and glucose release

excess glutamate overstimulates surrounding
neurons too much calcium entering cells
 Oedema causes further impairment
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Traumatic Brain Injury
 Caused by external mechanical force
 Blow
to the head, sudden acceleration or deceleration, or
penetration
 Concussion – mild TBI; most common
 Headache, drowsiness, memory loss
 Repeated concussion – cumulative brain damage
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Limitations on recovery
 Regeneration
 Growth of severed axons
 Occurs in PNS

 CNS – does not have conditions necessary for neuronal

growth
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Limitations on recovery
 Neurogenesis
 Birthof new neurons
 Hippocampus and area supplying olfactory bulb

 Potential means of self-repair

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Compensation
 Recovery of function is possible
 Uninjured tissue takes over the functions of lost
neurons
 Presynaptic neurons sprout more terminals

 Postsynaptic neurons add more receptors

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 Reorganisation
 Impaired functions are assumed by nearby brain
areas
DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 CNS repair
 Attempting to induce self-repair
 Minimise initial damage
 Encourage regrowth and new connections

 Replace lost neurons

DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM –
DAMAGE AND RECOVERY
 CNS repair
 Stem cell therapy
 Using undifferentiated cells to develop into specialised
cells

 Electrical stimulation