BRAIN

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM -part 1

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM -part2

The human brain is one of the most complex systems on earth (all components of brain are imp for
its proper functioning).

The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system

Structure of Brain:
The human brain is split up into three major layers:
the hindbrain, the midbrain, and the forebrain.
Forebrain
 The forebrain has two major divisions: the
diencephalon and the telencephalon.
 The diencephalon is lower, containing the
thalamus and hypothalamus
 The telencephalon is on top of the
diencephalon and contains the cerebrum,
 The cerebrum is the largest part of the human brain and it is associated with higher
brain function such as thought and action.

Midbrain
 It is located between the hindbrain and forebrain.
 All sensory and motor information that travels between the forebrain to the spinal
cord passes through the midbrain.
Hindbrain
 It includes the cerebellum and brain stem (it is connected with spinal cord) which
are responsible for some of the most basic functions of life, such as breathing and
movement.
 The hindbrain is the oldest parts of the brain, which all vertebrates possess.
 Nervous system

 It is mainly composed of neurons – the fundamental unit of the brain and nervous
system. 
Nervous system:
 The nervous system is made up of the
1. Central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord,
2. Peripheral nervous system, which includes the autonomic and somatic nervous
system

Central Nervous System

 The brain, along with the spinal cord, constitutes the central nervous system.
 The Central Nervous System (CNS) is the most important unit in an organism as it is the
‘center’ or the hub which passess information, commands from brain and coordinates all
the other actives within a body.

Cells of the Central Nervous System

Neurons
 Neurons are the fundamental unit of the brain.
 Responsible for processing and transmitting information to other nerve cells,
glands and muscles.
 .
Structure of Neuron

 Neurons are nerve cells which are the functional units of the nervous system.
 The three main parts of a neuron are dendrite, cell body and axon.
 Dendrite: It detect information, receives it and conducts the messages towards the
cell body.
 Cell body: It contains nucleus, mitochondria and other cell organelles (cytoplasm).
 Axon: It conducts messages away from the cell body and pass to the next neuron.
Functions of a neuron:-
 The neuron receives information from receptors as electrical impulse.
 The impulse then travels from dendrite to the cell body and further along axon to its
end.
 At the end of the axon, electrical impulse leads to the release of some chemicals
(synapse).

 These Chemicals (chemical receptors or neuro receptors) cross the synapse (space
between two neurons) and reach the next neuron. This is how nerve impulses travel
through the body.

Types of neurons

There are two types of neurons:

• Sensory Neurons
• Motor Neurons

 Sensory neurons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound, or light that affect the cells
of the sensory organs and then send signals to the spinal cord or brain.

 Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control everything
from muscle contractions to other cellular output.

Axon:
 Axon is a tube-like structure that functions by carrying an electrical impulse from the
cell body to the terminals and then passing the impulse to another neuron.

Synapse–

 In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to
pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell.

 In many synapses, the presynaptic part is located on an axon and the postsynaptic part
is located on a dendrite.