Module 1: Nervous system structure and development

ILO’s:
 To know the main divisions of the nervous system
 To understand the functions of the ANS
 To be able to use anatomical terms of reference to describe the location if
components of the nervous system
 To understand why animals, have nervous systems
 To appreciate the similarities and differences between vertebrate and invertebrate
nervous systems and between mammalian brain and bird/reptile brains
 To know the basic mechanism by which the mammalian brain develops from the
ectoderm
 To know how spina bifida and anencephaly develop and how drugs can increase risk
of these disorders
 To know the major divisions of the mammalian brain
 To know the main structures in the mammalian brain
 To know the functions of the 4 cortical lobes

Key terms
 Dorsal: back and belly
 Cranial: head end and tail end
 Proximal: compares the beginning and end
 Anterior posterior: front end and back end
 Rostral: nose or mouth end
 Medial lateral: towards the midline or away from it
 Superior inferior: position in vertical axis (closer to the head or closer to feet)
To know the structure and functions of the nervous system

Motor neurons
 Carry signal towards target tissue/organ

Sensory/afferent neurons
 Detect change in environment
 Carries singles about that cause change to CNS

ANS
 Controls involuntary responses to environment
 Divided into 2 parts – SNS and Parasympathetic NS
 SNS – flight or fight
 PNS – rest and digest
 To know the main divisions of the nervous system

To understand the functions of the autonomic nervous system

PNS
Somatic
Autonomic - Carries sensory info from
- Motor neurons sensory organs to CNS
- Regulates involuntary - Relay neurons
processes - Controls voluntary
- Smooth & cardiac muscle movements
and glands - Skeletal muscle

Sympathetic
- Outflow from CNS – thoracic and lumbar Parasympathetic
- Short preganglionic fibre – acetylcholine - Outflow from CNS – cranial and sacral
ganglionic transmitter - long preganglionic fibre – acetylcholine
- Ganglionic transmitter – acetylcholine ganglionic transmitter
- Long postganglionic fibre – noradrenaline - short postganglionic fibre – acetylcholine
neuroeffector transmitter neuroeffector transmitter
- Activates To understand
in stress - Activates
why animals, have nervous
conditions systems in calm conditions
- Increases O2 supply - Less o2 supply
- Prep for activity - Sleep
- Vasoconstriction - Vasodilation
  Allows movement
 Stimulus -> processing -> decision -> movement
 Coordinates behaviour

To appreciate the similarities and differences between vertebrate and invertebrate NS and
mammalian and bird/reptile brains
 Invertebrate brains
o Primitive animals don’t move a lot
o Nerves like nerve net – all neurons are similar and linked to each other with
little coordination
o Ventral nerve cord
 Vertebrate brains
o Move a lot
o Dorsal nerve cord

To know the basic mechanism by which the mammalian brain develops from the ectoderm
 Amphioxus (cephalochordate) – small central collection of neuronal control circuits
(primitive brain)
 Brain divisions common to all vertebrates:
o Olfactory bulb
o Cerebral hemispheres
o Cerebellum
o Optic tectum
o Medulla oblongata
 CNS system of vertebrate:
o Forebrain – Telencephalon
- Cortex
- Olfactory bulb
o Diencephalon
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
o Midbrain – Mesencephalon
- Tectum
- Tegmentum
o Hindbrain – Rhombencephalon
- Pons
- Medulla
- Cerebellum
Development of the NS
 Embryo begins as flat disk – 3 layers of cells
o Endoderm (linings of organs, viscera)
o Mesoderm (bones and muscles)
o Ectoderm (nervous system and skin)
 Changes in ectoderm give rise to NS – neural plate and streak forms in middle
 Specialisation of ectoderm occurs – streak forms in middle
 Middle of neural plate dips down and 2 border regions move together – end up with
folding forming neural folds (walls of groove are neural folds – move together and
fuse dorsally, forming neural tube)
 Walls of tube (neural tube) creates CNS
 Neural crest cells creates PNS

To know how spina bifida and anencephaly develop and hoe drugs can increase the risk of
these disorders

Spina bifida
 Condition that affects spine
 Supplementing diet with folic acid in early pregnancy reduces neural defect
incidence
 Anti-epilepsy/bipolar drugs interfere with folate metabolism and increase risk of
spina bifidia

Anencephaly
 Failure of anterior (top) neural tube to close
 Causes degeneration of forebrain and skull
 Fatal

To know major divisions of the mammalian brain

To know functions of the main structures in the mammalian brain
  Developmental differentiation – 3 primary brain vesicles
o Occurs at the rostral end of the neural tube
 Brain is hollow and bathed in CSF

 Prosencephalon differentiates into telencephalon and becomes cerebral cortex

 Diencephalon becomes thalamus, hypothalamus and epithalamus
 3 swellings of rosal end of neural tube – leads to brain
 Becomes forebrain, prosencephalon, midbrain, or hindbrain

Subdivisions of the brain: spinal cord to cerebellum

 Brain hollow and bathed in CSF (cerebral spinal fluid)
 4 ventricles contains CSF
o 2 lateral ventricles – connected via interventricular foramen
o 3rd ventricle – connected by cerebral aqueduct
o 4th ventricle – connected via central canal

Spinal cord
 Protected by spinal column, surrounded by meninges and CSF
 Primary channel for messages from skin, joints and muscles to brain and from brain
to periphery
 Dorsal (back) roots of spinal cord contain sensory, efferent neurons
  Ventral roots contain motor, efferent neurons
 Motor info leaves spinal cord via ventral roots

 Grey matter = neuron cell bodies

 White matter = myelinated axons

Brainstem
 Decision matrix
 Controls vital functions
 Contains:
o Midbrain – movement, sensory input from eyes and ears
o Hindbrain – pons, medulla (cerebellum)

Pons
 Swells out from ventral surface of brainstem
 Important to relay between cortex and cerebellum

Medulla
 Important in control of BP and respiration (ANS)

Brain stem damage

 Hydrocephalus (excess CF) or haemorrhage (bleeding in cranial cavity)
 Severe cases lead to ‘coning’ - damage to medulla causes respiratory arrest

Diencephalon and mesencephalon

 Midbrain: linkages between components of motor systems, eye movements, sleep,
temp regulation
 Diencephalon: thalamus (relay and gating roles) in sleep, conscious movement, and
hypothalamus (homeostasis and reproduction)

Cerebellum
 Movement control centre
 Extensive connections to cerebrum and spinal cord
  Diseases include ataxias – issues with movement coordination

To know the functions of the 4 cortical regions

 Cerebral cortex/cerebrum
o Clear division between 2 halves along sagittal fissure
o Controls:
- Voluntary actions
- Cognition
- Perception/awareness
o Mammals have 6-layer structures of cortex called neocortex
- Highly developed – no. neurons related to intelligence
 Cortical folding
o Problem:
- To increase intelligence, need to increase processing power
- Cortical neurons represent processing power = increased number of
cortical neurons (thin layer at surface)
o However:
- Skull is confined structure, want to keep volume and mass to
minimum
- Bigger heads harder to protect
 therefore, fold cortex increases surface area
 top of fold = gyrus
 bottom of fold = sulcus
 cortical lobes:
o frontal – voluntary actions, motor, speech, emotion. Specialised area called
somatometer cortex (motor actions)
o parietal – sensory and language. Somasensory cortex
o occipital – processes visual info
o temporal – memory, sensory and language