BMS129 PHYSIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

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LECTURE 16 PHYSIOLOGY OF THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

1. State 5 actions of the sympathetic nervous system

• Functions of the sympathetic nervous system
o Prepare the body for intense physical activity such as in emergencies
o Wide range of actions throughout the body
§ Increase heart rate
§ Increase pulmonary airflow (bronchodilation)
§ Redirect blood to vital areas e.g. muscles and lungs and away from
intestines, skin etc.
§ Inhibit digestive system (decreased peristalsis)
§ Increase blood glucose concentrations
§ Increase metabolism
o Generally activated as a whole mass (mass activation)
2. State 5 actions of the parasympathetic nervous system
• Functions of the parasympathetic nervous system
o Broadly opposite to the sympathetic nervous system
§ Decrease heartrate
§ Decrease in pulmonary flow (bronchoconstriction)
§ Increased glandular secretion (nasal, lacrimal, salivary)
§ Increased peristalsis and digestive enzyme activity
§ Relaxation of gut sphincters
§ Penile erection
o Localised responses, not mass activation
3. Name the neurotransmitters sed at the different ANS synapses
• Preganglionic fibres
o All preganglionic fibres release Ach (sympathetic and parasympathetic NS)
• Postganglionic fibres
o Sympathetic NS uses norepinephrine as
its neurotransmitter for nearly all of its
postganglionic fibres à adrenergic
neurons
o A small amount of postganglionic fibres
secrete Ach (cholinergic neurons) e.g.
sweat glands, piloerector muscles
o Parasympathetic NS uses acetylcholine
exclusively
4. Name the receptors for these neurotransmitters and explain their autonomic
effects
• Receptor types and their effects
o Adrenergic (bind with epinephrine and norepinephrine)
§ TWO TYPES
• Alpha receptors
• Beta receptors
o Cholinergic (bind with acetylcholine)
§ TWO TYPES
• Nicotinic receptors
• Muscarinic receptors
• Cholinergic receptor types and their effects
o Cholinergic neurons (release Ach)
§ All somatic neurones: excitatory
§ All preganglionic neurones: excitatory
§ Most postganglionic parasympathetic neurons: usually excitatory but
some may be inhibitory (e.g. slows HR)
§ Some postganglionic sympathetic neurons
o Nicotinic receptor types and their effects
§ Nicotinic receptors
• Somatic NS: found at neuromuscular junction
• ANS: found in autonomic ganglia
o Acted on by ACH from preganglionic neurons
• Blocked by curare
• Work by opening ligand-gated ion channels
• Always excitatory in the target cell
§ Muscarinic receptors
• Found on effector organs
• Acted on by Ach from postganglionic neurons
• Blocked by atropine
• Can be excitatory e.g. on smooth muscle or glands, or
inhibitory e.g. on the heart
o Depends on the receptor subtype M1-5
• Adrenergic receptor types and their effects
o Response to adrenergic stimulation varies from tissue to tissue
§ Some are stimulated to contract, others to dilate
o Depends on the receptors activated
o 2 major classes: ab
§ Subtypes: a1, a2, b1, b2
§ Compounds have been developed that can selectively bind to each
subtype and promote or block the action at each receptor (agonists
and antagonists)
• Used to determine which receptors act on each tissue, many
important medical applications
o b-adrenergic receptors
 § Usually have inhibitory effects on target organ (e.g. NE relaxes and
dilates the bronchioles when it binds to b-adrenergic receptors of the
bronchiole smooth muscle)
§ However has excitatory effect when NE binds to the b-adrenergic
receptors of cardiac muscle
§ Different effects from same NT and receptor relate to the different
subclasses of b-adrenergic receptors (relaxation of smooth muscle - b2
and increased force of contraction of cardiac muscle Is b1)
o a-adrenergic receptors
§ Usually have excitatory effects on target organ
§ Stimulation of a-adrenergic receptors usually causes contraction of
smooth muscle (e.g. vasoconstriction of deep coronary arteries, blood
vessels of most viscera, blood vessels of skin and contraction of
uterine smooth muscle
§ Different effects from same neurotransmitter and receptor relate to
the different subclasses of a-adrenergic receptors à a1, a2
§ Note that generally a1 and b1 receptors are excitatory and a2 and b2
receptors are inhibitory
• Fight or flight example of receptor effects
o Increased heart rate and contractility b1
o Dilation of bronchioles of lung (smooth muscle relaxation – inhibition) b2
o Dilation of arterioles in skeletal muscle (smooth muscle relaxation -
inhibition) b2
o Reduced blood flow to viscera and skin (smooth muscle in blood vessels
constrict – excitation) a1
o See table 15.5 in textbook
5. Explain how the ANS controls many target organs using dual innervation and give
an example
• Dual innervation
o Most visceral organs receive both sympathetic and parasympathetic
innervation
o Both divisions don’t normally innervate an organ equally
o Effects may be antagonistic or cooperative
o Antagonistic effects oppose each other
§ Exerted through dual innervation of same
effector with differences in receptor type
• Heart rate decreases –
parasympathetic
• Heart rate increases –
sympathetic
§ Exerted because each division innervates
Figure 1 autonomic control of heart rate
different cells of same organ also with
different receptor types
• Pupillary dilator muscle (sympathetic) dilates pupil
• Constrictor pupilae (parasympathetic) constricts pupil
o Dual innervation of the iris
 § Sympathetic stimulation of radial
muscles to dilate pupils
§ Parasympathetic stimulation of
circular muscles to constrict pupils

o Cooperative effects
§ 2 divisions act on slightly different effectors to produce a unified
effect
• Parasympathetic innervation increases salivary serous cell
secretion (water component of saliva)
• Sympathetic innervation increase salivary mucous cell
secretion (mucus component of saliva)

6. Explain how ANS control is exerted in the absence of dual innervation and give an
example
• Organs without dual innervation
o Some effectors receive only sympathetic input and no parasympathetic input
§ Adrenal medulla
§ arrector pili and sweat glands
§ blood vessels
o regulation by frequency of action potentials (sympathetic tone)
§ there is a baseline firing frequency and change from this to determine
the response
• increase in firing rate = vasoconstriction
• decrease in firing rate = vasodilation
§ this can allow shift of blood flow from one organ to another as
needed
• sympathetic stimulation increases blood to skeletal and
cardiac muscles and reduced blood to skin
• blood vessels to skin vasoconstrict to minimise bleeding if
injury occurs during stress or exercise
• sympathetic division prioritises blood flow to skeletal muscles
and heart in times of emergency
• called sympathetic tone or vasomotor tone (partial
constriction of blood vessel
7. Describe how the ANS is influenced by the central nervous system
• Control of autonomic function
o ANS regulated by several levels of CNS
§ Cerebral cortex: emotions and sensory experiences
§ Hypothalamus (major visceral motor control centre)
• Nuclei for hunger, thirst, thermoregulation, libido
§ Midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata
• Nuclei for cardiac and vasomotor control, salivation,
swallowing, sweating, bladder control and pupillary changes
§ Spinal cord reflexes
• Defecation and micturition reflexes integrated in cord
• Brain can inhibit these responses consciously