Overview

● The Nervous System controls and coordinates all the functions of the body
● The Nervous system is the master controlling and communicating system of
the body
● Every thought, action, and emotion reflects its activity. Its signaling device, or
means of communicating with body cells, is electrical impulses, which are
rapid and specific and cause almost immediate responses

Functions of the Nervous System

● Sensory input- gathering information
- To monitor changes occurring inside and outside the body
- Changes= stimuli

● Integration
- To process and interpret sensory input and decide if action is needed

● Motor output
- A response to integrated stimuli
- The response activates muscles or glands

The electrical impulses are rapid and specific and cause almost immediate
responses. When you are driving and see a red light just ahead(sensory input), your
nervous system integrates this information(red light means “ STOP”) and sends
motor output to the muscles of your right leg and foot, and your foot goes for the
brake pedal
Structural Classification of the Nervous System
● Central Nervous System (CNS)
- Brain
- Spinal Cord

● Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

- Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord
- Spinal Nerves
- Cranial Nerves

Functional Classification of the Peripheral Nervous System

● Sensory(afferent) division
- Nerve fibers that carry information to the central nervous system

● Motor (afferent) division

- Nerve fibers that carry impulses away from the central nervous system

Functional Classification of the Peripheral Nervous System

● Motor (efferent) division (continued)
- Two subdivision
- Somatic Nervous system = voluntary nervous system
- Autonomic Nervous System= involuntary nervous system

The Nervous System consists of two main sub-divisions

● Central Nervous System (CNS)
● Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- The Peripheral Nervous System is divided into two subdivisions:
- Somatic: voluntary
-Autonomic: involuntary
Nervous tissue is made up of just two principal types of cells:
*Supporting cells
*Neurons

Nervous Tissue: Supporting Cells

- Supporting cells in the CNS are grouped together as “neuroglia” / glia / glial
cells
- Function: to support, insulate, and protect neuron

● Astrocytes
- Abundant, star-shaped cells
- Brace neurons
- Form barrier between capillaries and neurons
- Control the chemical environment of the brain

● Microglia
- Spiderlike phagocytes
- Dispose of debris including dead brain cells and bacteria

● Ependymal Cells
- Line the central cavities of the brain and spinal cord
- Circulate cerebrospinal fluid
- Forms a protective cushion around the CNS
 ● Oligodendrocytes
- Wrap around nerve fibers in the central nervous system
- Produce myelin sheaths: fatty insulating coverings

Nervous Tissue: Support Cells in the PNS

● Satellite cells
- Protect neuron cell bodies

● Schwann cells
- Form myelin sheath in the peripheral nervous system

Nervous Tissue: Neurons

● Neurons= nerve cells
- Cells specialized to transmit messages (Nerve Impulses) from one
part of the body to another

● Major regions of neurons

- Cell body: nucleus and metabolic center of the cell
- Processes: fibers that extend from the cell body

Nervous Tissue: Neurons or the Nerve Cells

- Cell body
 - Nissl substance: specialized rough endoplasmic reticulum
- Neurofibrils
- Intermediate cytoskeleton
- Maintains cell shape

Nervous Tissue: Neurons

● Cell body
- Nucleus
- Large Nucleolus

● Processes outside the cell body

- Dendrites- conduct impulses toward the cell body
- Axons- conduct impulses away from the cell body

Axons end in axonal terminals

Axonal terminals contain vesicles with neurotransmitters
Axonal terminals are separated from the next neuron by a gap
- Synaptic cleft: gap between adjacent neurons
- Synapse: junction between nerves

● Myelin sheath- whitish, fatty material covering axons

● Schwann cells- produce myelin sheaths in jelly roll-like fashion
● Nodes of Ranvier- gaps in myelin sheath along the axon
Neuron Cell Body Location
● Most neuron cell bodies are found in the Central Nervous System
- Gray Matter: cell bodies and unmyelinated fibers
- Nuclei: clusters of cell bodies within the white matter of the central
nervous system
- Ganglia- collection of cell bodies outside the central nervous system

Functional Classification of Neurons

● Sensory (afferent) neurons
- Carry impulses from the sensory receptors to the CNS
- Cutaneous sense organs
- Proprioceptor: detects stretch or tension
● Motor (afferent) neurons
- Carry impulses from the central nervous system to viscera, muscles,
or glands

● Interneurons (association neurons)

- Found in neural pathways in the Central Nervous System
- Connect sensory and motor neurons

Structural Classification of Neurons

 - Multipolar neurons: many extensions from the cell body

- Bipolar neurons- one axon and one dendrite

- Unipolar neurons: have a short single process leaving the cell body

Functional Properties of Neurons

● Irritability
 - Ability to respond to stimuli

● Conductivity
- Ability to transmit an impulse

Nerve Impulses
● Resting neuron
- The plasma membrane at rest is polarized
- Fewer positive ions are inside the cell than outside the cell

● Depolarization
- A stimulus depolarizes the neuron’s membrane
- A depolarized membrane allows sodium (Na+) to flow inside the
membrane

The exchange of ions initiates an action potential in the neuron

Nerve Impulses
a) Resting membrane electrical conditions. The external face of the membrane
is slightly negative. The chief extracellular ion is sodium (Na+), whereas the
chief intracellular ion is potassium (K+). The membrane is relatively
impermeable to both ions.
b) Stimulus initiates local depolarization. A stimulus changes the permeability of
a “patch” of the membrane, and sodium ions diffuse rapidly into the cell. This
changes the polarity of the membrane (the inside becomes more positive; the
outside becomes more negative) at that site.
c) Depolarization and generation of an action potential. If the stimulus is strong
enough depolarization causes membrane polarity to be completely reversed
and an action potential is initiated
d) Propagation of the action potential. Depolarization of the first membrane
patch causes permeability changes in the adjacent membrane and the events
described in (b) are repeated. Thus, the action potential propagates rapidly
along the entire length of the membrane
e) Repolarization. Potassium ions diffuse out of the cell as the membrane
permeability changes again, restoring the negative charge on the inside of the
membrane and the positive charge on the outside surface. Repolarization
occurs in the same direction as depolarization
f) Initial ionic conditions were restored. The ionic conditions of the resting state
are restored later by the activity of the sodium-potassium pump. Three
sodium ions are ejected for every two potassium ions carried back into the
cell.

Nerve Impulses
● Action Potential
- If the action potential (nerve impulse) starts, it is propagated over the
entire axon
- Impulses travel faster when have a myelin sheath
 ● Repolarization
- Potassium ions rush out of the neuron after sodium ions rush in, which
repolarizes the membrane
- The sodium-potassium pump, using ATP, restores the original
configuration

Transmission of a Signal at Synapses

● Impulses are able to cross the synapse to another nerve
- Neurotransmitter is released from a nerve’s axon terminal
- The dendrite of the next neuron has receptors that are stimulated by
the neurotransmitter
- An action potential/ nerve impulse is started in the dendrite

1. Action potential arrives

2. Vesicle fuses with plasma membrane
3. Neurotransmitter is released into synaptic cleft
4. The neurotransmitter binds to receptor on receiving neuron’s membrane

The Reflex Arc

● Reflex- rapid, predictable, and involuntary response to a stimulus
- Occurs over pathways called reflex arcs

● Reflex arc- direct route from a sensory neuron, to an interneuron, to an

effector

Types of Reflexes and Regulations

● Somatic Reflexes
- Activation of skeletal muscles
- Example: When you move your hand away from a hot stove

● Autonomic reflexes
- Smooth muscle regulation
- Heart and blood pressure regulation
- Regulation of glands
- Digestive system regulations
- The Patellar, or knee-jerk, reflex is an example of a two-neuron reflex
arc

Central Nervous System (CNS)

● CNS develops from the embryonic neural tube
- The neural tube becomes the brain and spinal cord
- The opening of the neural tube becomes the ventricles
- Four chambers within the brain
- Filled with cerebrospinal fluid

Regions of the Brain

● Cerebral hemisphere (cerebrum)
● Diencephalon
 ● Brain stem
● Cerebellum

Cerebral Hemispheres(Cerebrum)
- Paired (left and right) superior parts of the brain
- Includes more than half of the brain mass
- The surface is made of ridges (gyri) and grooves (sulci)
Lobes of the Cerebrum
- Fissures ( deep grooves) divide the cerebrum into lobes
- Surface lobes of the cerebrum
- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Occipital lobe
- Temporal lobe
Specialized areas of the cerebrum
- Primary somatic sensory area
- Receives impulses from the body’s sensory receptors
- Located in the parietal lobe
- Primary motor area
- Sends impulses to skeletal muscles
- Located in the frontal lobe
- Broca’s area
- Involved in our ability to speak
Cerebral areas involved in special senses
- Gustatory area(taste)
- Visual area
- Auditory area
- Olfactory area
Interpretation areas of the cerebrum
- Speech/language region
- Language comprehension region
- General interpretation area
Layers of the cerebrum
- Gray matter- outer layer in the cerebral cortex composed mostly of neuron
cell bodies
- White matter- fiber tracts deep to the gray matter
- Corpus callosum connects hemispheres
- Basal nuclei- islands of gray matter buried within the white matter

Diencephalon
- Sits on top of the brain stem
- Enclosed by the cerebral hemispheres
- Made of three parts
- Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Epithalamus

Thalamus
 - Surround the third ventricle
- The relay of station for sensory impulses
- Transfers impulses to the correct part of the cortex for localization and
interpretation
Hypothalamus
- Under the thalamus
- Important autonomic nervous system center
- Helps regulate body temperature
- Controls water balance
- Regulates metabolism
- An important part of the limbic system (emotions)
- The pituitary gland is attached to the hypothalamus

Epithalamus
- Forms the roof of the third ventricle
- Houses the pineal body (an endocrine gland)
- Includes the choroid plexus- forms a cerebrospinal fluid

Brain Stem
- Attaches to the spinal cord
- Parts of the brain stem
- Midbrain
- Pons
- Medulla Oblongata

Midbrain
- Mostly composed of tracts of nerve fibers
- Has two bulging fiber tracts- cerebral peduncles
- Has four rounded protrusions- corpora quadrigemina
- Reflex centers for vision and hearing

Pons
- The bulging center part of the brain stem
- Mostly composed of fiber tracts
- Includes nuclei involved in the control of breathing

Medulla Oblongata
- The lowest part of the brain stem
- Mergest into the spinal cord
- Includes important fiber tracts
- Contains important control centers
- Heart rate control
- Blood pressure regulation
- Breathing
- Swallowing
- Vomiting

Reticular Formation
 - Diffuse mass of gray matter along the brain stem
- Involved in motor control of visceral organs
- The reticular activating system (RAS) plays a role in in awake/ sleep cycles
and consciousness

Cerebellum
- Two hemispheres with convoluted surfaces
- Provides involuntary coordination of body movements

Protection of the Central Nervous System

- Skin and scalp
- Skull and vertebral column
- Meninges
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Blood-brain barrier

Meninges
- Dura matter
- Double-layered external covering
- Periosteum- attached to the inner surface of the skull
- Meningeal layer- the outer covering of the brain
- Folds inward in several areas

Meninges
- Arachnoid layer
- Middle layer
- Web-like

- Pia mater
- Internal layer
- Clings to the surface of the brain

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

- Similar to blood plasma composition
- Formed by the choroid plexus
- Forms a watery cushion to protect the brain
- Circulated in arachnoid space, ventricles , and central canal of the spinal cord

Hydrocephalus in a Newborn
- CSF accumulates and exerts pressure on the brain if not allowed to drain

Blood-Brain Barrier
- Includes the least permeable capillaries of the body
- Excludes many potentially harmful substances
- Useless as a barrier against some substances
- Fats and fat-soluble molecules
- Respiratory gases
- Alcohol
 - Nicotine
- Anesthesia

Tight junctions: impermeable junctions prevent molecules from passing through the
intercellular space

Cerebrospinal Accident
- Commonly called a stroke
- The result of a ruptured blood vessel supplying a region of the brain
- Brain tissue supplied with oxygen from that blood source dies
- Loss of some functions or death may result

Traumatic Brain Injuries

- Concussion
- Slight brain injury
- No permanent brain damage

- Contusion
- Nervous tissue destruction occurs
- Nervous tissue does not regenerate

- Cerebral edema
- Swelling from the inflammatory response
- May compress and kill brain tissue

Alzheimer’s Disease
- Progressive degenerative brain disease
- Mostly seen in the elderly, but may begin in middle age
- Structural changes in the brain include abnormal protein deposits and twisted
fibers within neurons
- Victims experience memory loss, irritability, confusion, hallucinations, and
death.

Spinal Cord
- Extends from the foramen magnum of the skull to the first or second lumbar
vertebra
- 31 pairs of spinal nerves arise from the spinal cord
- Cauda equina is a collection of spinal nerves at the inferior end

Spinal Cord Anatomy

Internal gray matter is mostly cell bodies
- Dorsal (posterior) horns
- Anterior (ventral) horns
- Gray matter surrounds the central canal
-The central canal is filled with cerebrospinal fluid
External white matter- conduction tracts
- Dorsal, lateral, and ventral columns
Meninges cover the spinal cord
Spinal nerves leave at the level of each vertebra
- Dorsal root
- Associated with the dorsal root ganglia- collection of cell bodies outside the
central nervous system

- Ventral root
- contains axon

Peripheral Nervous System

- Nerves and ganglia outside the central nervous system
- Nerve: a bundle of neuron fibers
- Neuron fibers are bundled by connective tissue

Structure of a Nerve
- Endoneurium surrounds each fiber
- Groups of fibers are bound into fascicles by perineurium
- Fascicles are bound together by epineurium

Classification of Nerves
- Mixed nerved
- both sensory and motor fibers

- Sensory (afferent) nerves

- Carry impulses toward the CNS

- Motor (afferent) nerves

- Carry impulses away from the CNS

Cranial Nerves
- 12 pairs of nerves that mostly serve the head and neck
- Only the pair of vagus nerves extend to thoracic and abdominal cavities
- Most are mixed nerves, but three are sensory only

I Olfactory nerve- sensory for smell

II Optic nerve- sensory for vision
III Oculomotor nerve- motor fibers to eye muscles
IV Trochlear- motor fiber to eye muscles
V Trigeminal nerve- sensory for the face; motor fibers to chewing muscles
VI Abducens nerve- motor fibers to eye muscles
VII Facial nerve- sensory for taste; motor fibers to the face
VIII Vestibulocochlear nerve- sensory for balance and hearing
IX Glossopharyngeal nerve- sensory for taste; motor fibers to the pharynx
X Vagus nerve- sensory and motor fibers for pharynx, larynx, and viscera
XII Hypoglossal nerve- motor fibers to tongue

Spinal Nerves
- There is a pair of spinal nerves at the level of each vertebrae for a total of 31
pairs
 - Formed by the combination of the ventral and dorsal roots of the spinal cord
- Named for the region from which they arise

Anatomy of Spinal Nerves

Spinal nerves divide soon after leaving the spinal cord
- Dorsal rami- serves the skin and muscles of the posterior trunk
- Ventral rami- form a complex network (plexus) for the anterior

Autonomic Nervous System

Motor subdivision of the PNS
- Consists only of motor nerves
Also known as the involuntary nervous system
- Regulates activities of cardiac and smooth muscles and glands
Two subdivision
- Sympathetic division
- Parasympathetic division

Differences Between Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System

Nerves
- Somatic: one motor neuron
- Autonomic: preganglionic and postganglionic nerves
Effector organs
- Somatic: skeletal muscle
- Autonomic: smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands
Neurotransmitters
- Somatic: always use acetylcholine
- Autonomic: use acetylcholine, epinephrine, or norepinephrine

Anatomy of the Sympathetic Division

- Originates from T1 through L2
- Ganglia are at the sympathetic trunk (near the spinal cord)
- Short pre-ganglionic neurons and long post-ganglionic neurons transmit
impulse from the CNS to the effector
- Norepinephrine and epinephrine are neurotransmitters to the effector organs

Anatomy of the Parasympathetic Division

- Originates from the brain stem and S1 through S4
- Terminal ganglia are at the effector organs
- Always uses acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter

Autonomic Functioning
Sympathetic- “fight or flight”
- Response to unusual stimulus
- Takes over to increase activities
- Remember as the “ E” division
- Exercise, excitement, emergency, and embarassment
Parasympathetic- “housekeeping” activities
 - Conserves energy
- Maintains daily necessary body functions
- Remember as the “ D” division
- digestion, defecation, and diuresis

Development Aspects of the Nervous System

- The Nervous System is formed during the first month of embryonic

development
- Any maternal infection can have extremely harmful effects
- The hypothalamus is one of the last areas of the brain to develop
- No more neurons are formed after birth, but growth and maturation continues
for several years
- The brain reaches maximum weight as a young adult

Parts of the Neuron

- Dendrites
- Branched parts of a neuron that receive impulses from other neurons
- Cyton
- Contains cytoplasm and the nucleus. Impulses pass through here to the
axon
- Axon
- Single long fiber that carries impulses away from the cell body
Types of Neurons
Neurons can also be classified by the direction that they send information:
- Sensory (or afferent) neurons: send information from sensory receptors (e.g.,
in skin, eyes, nose, tongue, ears) TOWARD the central nervous system.
- Motor (or afferent) neurons: send information AWAY from the central nervous
system to muscles or glands
- Interneurons: send information BETWEEN sensory neurons and motor
neurons. Most interneurons are located in the central nervous system

Reflexes
- Stimulus- a change in the environment
- Response/Reaction- how the body reacts to a stimulus
- Reflex Arc- the pathway that an impulse follows to illicit a response to a
stimulus

Parts of the Central Nervous System

- Brain
- Spinal Cord

What Protects the CNS?

1. Skull and Vertebrae
2. 3 protective layers called meninges
3. Dura Mater (outer layer): consists of connective tissues, blood vessels, and
nerves
4. Arachnoid Layer (middle layer): elastic and weblike
5. Pia Mater (inner layer): contains nerves and blood vessels
6. Cerebrospinal fluid
- A clear watery liquid
- Separates the middle and inner layers
 - Acts as shock absorber
- Exchange of nutrients between blood and nervous system

The Brain
- Coordinates body activities
- Made up of approximately 100 billion neurons
- Uses 20% of bodies oxygen and energy
- Divided into three major parts-
- The Cerebrum
- The Cerebellum
- The Brain Stem (Medulla Oblongata, Pons)

Cerebrum
- Largest part of the brain
- Thinking
- Memory is stored
- Movements are controlled
- Impulses from the senses are interpreted

Gray Matter vs. White Matter

Gray Matter- The absence of myelin in masses of neurons accounts for the gray
matter of the brain- Cerebral Cortex

White Matter- Myelinated neurons give neurons a white appearance- inner layer of
cerebrum
Cerebrum specialization
● Regions specialized for different functions
- Lobes
Frontal
- Speech, control of emotions
Temporal
- smell, hearing
Occipital
- vision
Parietal
- speech, taste, reading

Cerebellum
- Responsible for the coordination of muscles and is the center of balance

Medulla
- Center of heartbeat, respiration, and other involuntary actions

Other structures inside the Brain

- Thalamus: receives messages from sensory receptors; relays information to
proper regions of the cerebrum
- Hypothalamus: Regulates hunger, thirst, fatigue, anger, etc…
The Spinal Cord
- Extension of the brain stem
- Bundles of neurons that carry impulses from all parts of the body to the brain
and from the brain to all parts of your body

Peripheral Nervous System

- Connects body to brain & spinal cord
- 12 pairs of nerves from your brain(cranial nerves)
- 31 pairs from your spinal cord (spinal nerves)
- Bundles of sensory and motor neurons are held together by connective
tissue
- Two divisions
- Somatic
- Autonomic

Division of the PNS:

Somatic Nervous System

- Controls voluntary actions
- Made up of the cranial and spinal nerves that go from the central nervous
system to your skeletal muscles

Autonomic Nervous System

- Controls involuntary actions- those not under conscious control -such as your
heart rate, breathing, digestion, and glandular functions