SCIE6057 –Chemistry & Biology

Week 2

Structure of the nervous system : Basic features of

the nervous system
The central nervous system and The peripheral
nervous system
And Limbic System
STRUCTURE OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
: BASIC FEATURES OF THE NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 Basic features of the nervous
system

Structure of the nervous system : Basic features of the

nervous system:
• -. An overview
• -. Meninges
• -. The ventricular system and production of CSF
 An overview

The Major Divisions of the Nervous System

The nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord, which
make up the central nervous system (CNS), and the cranial nerves,
spinal nerves which constitute the peripheral nervous system
(PNS).
• The brain is a large mass of neurons, glia, and other
supporting cells.
• It is the most protected organ of the body, encased in a
tough, bony skull and floating in a pool of cerebrospinal
fluid.
• The brain receives a copious supply of blood and
chemically guarded by the blood brain barrier.
 Meninges
• The protective sheaths around the brain and spinal cord
are referred to as the meninges (singular: meninx).
• The meninges: the three layers of tissue that encase the
central nervous system :
 Dura meter: the outermost of the meninges; tough and
flexible.
 Arachnoid membrane : the middle layer of the meninges,
located between the outer dura mater and inner pia mater.
 Pia mater: the layer of the meninges that clings to the
surface of the brain; thin and delicate.
 (A) The relationship of the nervous system to the rest of
the body
(B) Detail of meninges cover the central nervous system

A
• Between the pia mater and arachnoid membrane is a gap
called subarachnoid space. This space is filled with a
liquid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

• Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) : a clear fluid, similar to blood

plasma, that fills the ventricular system of the brain and
the subarachnoid space surrounding the brain and spinal
cord.
 The ventricular system and
the production of CSF
• The intact brain within living human is well protected. It
floats in a bath of CSF contained within the subarachnoid
space.
• The CSF surrounding the brain and spinal cord also
reduces the shock to the central nervous system that
would be caused by sudden head movement.
• The brain contains a series of hollow,
interconnected chamber called ventricles, which are
filled with CSF.
• The larges chamber are the lateral ventricles, which
are connected to the third ventricle.
• The cerebral aqueduct, a long tube, connects the
third ventricle to the fourth ventricle.
The ventricles system
• Cerebrospinal fluid is extracted from blood and
resembles blood plasma in its composition.
• CSF is manufactured by special tissue with an
especially rich in blood supply called choroid plexus,
which protrudes into all four of the ventricles.
• Cerebrospinal fluid is produced by the choroid plexus of
the lateral ventricles, and it flows into the third ventricle.
• More CSF is produced in this ventricle, which then flows
through the cerebral aqueduct to the fourth ventricle,
where still more CSF is produced.
• The CSF leaves the fourth ventricle through small
opening that connect with the subarachnoid space
surrounding the brain.
 See the interactive CD

(Animation 3.1, Meninges and CSF)

• The CSF then flows through the subarachnoid space

around the central nervous system, where it is reabsorbed
into the blood supply through the arachnoid granulations.
• These pouch-shaped structures protrude into the superior
sagittal sinus, a blood vessel that drains into the veins
serving the brain.
THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Development of CNS
• The central nervous system begins early in
embryonic life as a hollow tube, and it maintains this
basic shape even after it is fully developed. during
development parts of the tube elongate, pockets and
folds form, and the tissue around the tube thickens
until the brain reaches its final form.
• Neural tube: A hollow tube, closed at the rostral end,
that form from ectodermal tissue early in embryonic
development; serves as the origin of the central
nervous system.
A lateral view of the left side of a semitransparent human brain, showing the
brain stem “ghosted in”.
Brain Development
This schematic outline of brain development shows its relation to the ventricles. Views
(a) and (c) show early development. Views (b) and (d) show later development. View
(e) shows a lateral view of the left side of a semitransparent human brain with the brain
stem “ghosted in.” The colors of all figures denote corresponding regions.
 ANATOMICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE BRAIN
MAJOR VENTRICLE SUBDIVISION PRINCIPAL STRUCTURES
DIVISION

Cerebral cortex
Lateral Telencephalon Basal ganglia
Forebrain Limbic system
Thalamus
Third Diencephalon
Hypothalamus
Tectum
Midbrain Cerebral aqueduct Mesencephalon
Tegmentum
Cerebelium
Fourth Metencephalon
Hindbrain Pons
Myelencephalon Medulla oblongata
 The Forebrain
• The forebrain surrounds the rostral end of the
neural tube. Its two major component are the
telencephalon and diencephalon.
• The telencephalon includes most of the two
symmetrical cerebral hemisphere that make up
cerebrum.
• The cerebral hemisphere are covered by cerebral
cortex and the limbic system and the basal ganglia.
• Cerebral cortex, the outermost layer of grey matter
of the cerebral hemisphere.
• In human the cerebral cortex is greatly convoluted;
these convolutions, consisting of sulci, fissures, and
gyri between the adjacent sulci.
• The cerebral cortex consist mostly of glia and the
cell bodies, dendrites and interconnecting axons of
neurons.
The four lobes of the cerebral cortex
• The Telencephalon
− The cerebral cortex is organized into the frontal,
parietal. Temporal, and occipital lobes. The central
sulcus divides the frontal lobe, which deals
specifically with movement and the planning of
movement, from the other three lobes, which deal
primarily with perceiving and learning.
− The limbic system, which includes the limbic cortex,
the hippocampus, and the amygdala, is involved in
emotion, motivation, and learning.
−The basal ganglia participate in the control
of movement.
• The Diencephalon
−The thalamus, which directs information to
and from the cerebral cortex.
−The hypothalamus, which controls the
endocrine system and modulates species-
typical behaviors.
 Midbrain
• The tectum is involved in audition and the control of
visual reflexes and reactions to moving stimuli.
• The tegmentum contains the reticular formation,
which is important in sleep, arousal, and movement;
the periaqueductal gray matter, which controls
various species-typical behavior; and the red nucleus
and the substantia nigra, both parts of the motor
system.
 Hindbrain
• The cerebellum plays an important role in integrating
and coordinating movements.
• The pons contains some nuclei that are important in
sleep and arousal.
• The medulla oblongata, too, is involved in sleep and
arousal, but it also plays a role in control of
movement and in control of vital functions such as
heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
 Spinal Cord
• The principal function of the spinal cord is to
distribute motor fibers to the effector organs of the
body (glands and muscles) and to collect
somatosensory information to be passed on to the
brain.
• The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column,
which is composed of twenty-four individual
vertebrae of the cervical (neck), thoracic (chest), and
lumbar (lower back) regions and the fused vertebrae
making up the sacral and coccygeal portions of the
column (located in the pelvic region).
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 The peripheral nervous system
(PNS)

• The brain and spinal cord communicate with the rest

of the body via the cranial nerves and spinal nerves.
• These nerves (cranial nerves and spinal nerves) are
the parts of the peripheral nervous system, which
conveys sensory information to the CNS and conveys
messages from the CNS to the body’s muscles and
glands.
 The spinal nerves
• The spinal nerves begin at the junction of the dorsal
and ventral roots of the spinal cord.
• The nerves leave the vertebral column and travel to
the muscles or sensory receptors they innervate,
branching repeatedly as they go.
• The cell bodies of all axons that bring sensory
information into the brain and spinal cord are
located outside the CNS ( the sole exception is the
visual system, the retina of the eyes is actually a part
of the brain).
• These incoming axons are referred to as afferent
axons, because they “bear toward” the CNS.
• The cell bodies that give rise to the axons that bring
somatosensory information to the spinal cord reside
in the dorsal root ganglia, rounded swelling of the
dorsal root.
• These neurons are of the unipolar type.
• All the axons in the dorsal root convey
somatosensory information.
• Cell bodies that give rise to the ventral root are
located within the grey matter of the spinal cord.
• The axons of these multipolar neurons leave the
spinal cord via a ventral root, which joins a dorsal
root to make a spinal nerve.
• The axons that leave the spinal cord through the
ventral roots control muscles and glands.
• They are referred to as efferent axons because they
“bear away from” the CNS.
 Cranial nerves
• Cranial nerve: a peripheral nerve attached directly
to the brain.
• Twelve pairs of cranial nerves are attached to the
ventral surface of the brain. Most of these nerves
are sensory and motor functions of the head and
neck regions.
• One of them, the tenth, or the vagus nerve,
regulates the functions of organs in the thoracic and
abdominal cavities.
A cross section of the spinal cord, showing the route taken by
afferent and efferent axons through the dorsal and ventral roots
LIMBIC SYSTEM
 Limbic System
• The limbic system is a circuit of midline structures that circle the
thalamus (limbic means “ring”). The limbic system is involved in
the regulation of motivated behaviors-including the four Fs of
motivation: fleeing, feeding, fighting, and sexual behavior.
• Major structures of the limbic system include the amygdala, the
fornix, the cingulate cortex, and the septum.
• Limbic System. A neuro-anatomist, Papez (1937), suggested that a
set of interconnected brain structure formed in circuit whose
primary function was motivation and emotion. This system included
several regions of the limbic cortex (already described) and a set
interconnected structures surrounding the core of the forebrain.
• Limbic system - A group of brain regions including the anterior
thalamic nuclei, amygdala, hippocampus, limbic cortex, and parts of
the hypothalamus, as well as their interconnecting fiber bundles.
From: Sherwood, L. (1996). Human physiology: From cells to systems. Belmont, CA: Thomson.
• Beside the limbic cortex, the most important pants of the limbic
system are the hippocampus (“sea horse”) and the amygdala
(*almond), located nest to the lateral ventricle in the temporal
lobe. The fornix (“arch”) is a bundle of axons that connects the
hippocampus with other regions of the brain, including the
mammillary (“breast-shaped) bodies, protrusions on the base of
the brain that contain parts of hypothalamus.
• Limbic cortex
Phylogenetically old cortex, located at the medial edge (limbus)
of the cerebral hemispheres, part of the limbic system.
• Cingulate gyrus
A strip of limbic cortex lying along the lateral walls of groove
separating the cerebral hemispheres, just above the corpus
callosum.
• Amygdala
A structure in the interior of the rostral temporal lobe,
containing a set of nuclei, part of the limbic system
• Fornix
A fiber bundle that connects the hippocampus with other parts
of the brain, including the mammillary bodies of the
hypothalamus, part of the limbic system
• Mammillary bodies
A protrusion of the bottom of the brain at the posterior end of
the hypothalamus, containing some hypothalamic nuclei, part
of the limbic system.

• The limbic system serves to control emotions, controlling

hormones, maintain homeostasis, thirst, hunger, sexuality, the
pleasure, metabolism and also long-term memory.
• The limbic system saves a lot of information that is untouched
by the senses. The limbic system is commonly referred to as
the emotional brain.
• The limbic system plays an important role in emotion.
• Emotion concept includes subjective emotional feelings and
moods (anger, fear, happiness)
• And physical responses associated with these feelings.
• The response includes specific behavioral patterns
(preparation for attack or defense when made angry by the
enemy).
• And emotional expression that can be observed (laughing cry,
blush).
• Evidence suggests that the limbic system central role in all
aspects of emotion.
• The patterns include a pattern of behavior that is intended for
the survival of the individual (attack, foraging) and directed to
the sustainability of the species (sexual behavior conducive to
• The limbic system is composed of the amygdala, thalamus and
hypothalamus plays a very important and directly related to an
autonomous system and other important parts of the brain.
Because of the direct relationship between the limbic system
with autonomous systems, so that if there is a negative
emotional stimulus that directly entered and accepted by the
limbic system can cause a variety of disorders such as: heart
disease, hypertension and gastrointestinal disorders. No
wonder when someone is angry, the heart will beat faster and
harder and blood pressure may be elevated.
• Emotional stimuli from the outside can be directly cut into the
lane without being controlled by the limbic system of the brain
that regulate the function of intellectuals who are able to see
the stimulus was more objective and rational.
• This explains why someone who is experiencing emotional
sometimes irrational behavior. Another problem is in some
circumstances often negative emotions such as anxiety and
depression arise gradually unnoticed and these individuals
have realized the following physical symptoms, such as
hypertension. All around the hypothalamus there are other
subcortical limbic system which covers the septum, the area-
olfactory, basal ganglia, hippocampus and amygdala.
 Hypothalamus
• All around the area subcortical limbic there limbic cortex,
which consists of a ring of the cerebral cortex in each
hemisphere of the brain that starts from the area orbitofrontal
on the ventral surface of the frontal lobe, spread upward into
sub colossal, then passes through the upper end of the corpus
callosum to the hemispheres of the cerebrum in cingulate and
eventually walked to the back of the corpus callosum and
down towards the surface of the Ventra medial temporal lobe
to hippocampal, and on the surface of the medial and ventral
from each hemisphere cerebrum there is a ring especially the
cortex that surrounds a group of structures in which manages
a behavior and emotions. In contrast, the limbic cortex ring
also serves as a means of two-way communication and a
tether between the neo-cortex and other limbic structures are
lower.
• The involvement of the hypothalamus in the limbic system is
responsible for the internal responses of various systems of
the body in preparing the appropriate actions to accompany a
particular emotional state.

Some of the principles as a form of emotional intelligence:

• Controlling any incoming information. The limbic system controls
any incoming information and choose the information that is
valuable to be kept and which are not worth to be forgotten.
Therefore, the limbic system determines the formation of long-
term memory that is useful in the ministry of education of children.
• Influencing human learning systems. The limbic system controls
the ability of memory, the ability to respond to all information
received by the five senses.
• The drug has a very useful function in the study of emotions
• Neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine (both
classified as catecholamine) and serotonin are considered
instrumental and responsible for the basic of neurophysiological
mechanisms. Some drugs affect mood and partly also affect the
self-stimulation in animal experiments.
 Function of amygdala
• Amygdala has a lot of ties between the two paths with the
hypothalamus as well as other areas of the limbic system. The
amygdala receives neuron system from all parts of the limbic
cortex as well as from neocortical temporal lobe, parietal,
primarily from auditory association areas and visual
association areas.
• The amygdala run signals:
1) back to this same cortical area,
2) to the hippocampus,
3) to the septum,
4) to the thalamus, and
5) particularly to the hypothalamus
Thank You