An Introduction to

Brain and Behavior

CHAPTER 3
Cell anatomy and physiology part 1

Week Lecture Chapter Topic

1 1 Ch1, Ch2 Introduction, Brain anatomy and physiology
2 Ch2 Brain anatomy and physiology
2 3 Ch3 Cell anatomy and physiology
4 Ch4 Cell anatomy and physiology Chapter 3
3 5 Ch5 Neurotransmitters
6 Ch6 Drugs and hormones
4 7 Ch7 Measuring and manipulating brain and behavior
8 Ch8 Brain development
5 9 Ch9 Perception
10 Ch10 Perception
6 11 Ch11 Motor functioning
12 Ch12 Emotional and Motivated behavior
7 13 Ch13 Sleep and dreams
14 Ch14 Learning and memory
Cells of the nervous system

Brain tissue consists of 2 types of nerve cells

Neurons, ~86 billion Glial cells (lit. glue), ~85 billion

 information processing  support cells
Cells of the nervous system
How can we count nerve cells?
 ‘Brain soup’ click here for recipe

Cerebral cortex (82% brain mass)

~ 16 billion neurons (19% brain neurons)
~ 61 billion glial cells

Cerebellum (10% brain mass)

~ 69 billion neurons (80% brain neurons)
~ 16 billion glial cells

Rest of the brain (8% brain mass )

~ 1 billion neurons (1% brain neurons)
~ 8 billion glial cells (Azevedo et al., 2009) doi 10.1002/cne.21974
TED talk (Herculano-Houzel et al., 2014) doi 10.1002/glia.22683
Neurons – basic structure

Neurons consist of 3 main parts:

part no. function
dendrites many collect information (input)
δένδρον = tree from other neurons

cell body (soma) 1 integrates information

σώμα = body

axon 1 sends
information (output)
άξων = axis branches at the end
Neurons – flow of information

FLOW OF
INFORMATION

INPUT
DENDRITES

INTEGRATION
CELL BODY

OUTPUT
AXON
Neurons – three major types
INPUT (AFFERENT) ASSOCIATION OUTPUT (EFFERENT)

long dendrites short dendrites short dendrites

short axon short axon long axon

dendrites + cell body outside CNS dendrites, cell body, axon inside CNS dendrites + cell body inside CNS
(cell body in dorsal root ganglion) (in brain + spinal cord) (in lower brainstem + spinal cord)

axon inside CNS axon outside CNS

NB: reality is much more complex:

 some sensory neurons have short dendrites (e.g. bipolar neuron in retina)
 some interneurons have long axons (e.g. pyramidal cells in cortex)
Glial cells – support cells

Aid neurons in processing information by providing:

 physical support, protection
 nutrients
 increase conduction (lit. glue neurons together)

NB: glial cells do not transmit information themselves

Glial cells – five major types

 Ependymal cells
 Astrocytes
 Microglia
 Oligodendroglia
 Schwann cells

NB: memorize Table 3-1 p 82

Glial cells – Ependymal cells (CSF)
Glial cells – Astrocytes

 Provide structural support to the CNS (scaffold cells)

 Move nutrients and chemicals between blood vessels and neurons
 Enhance brain activity by contributing to increased blood flow
 Stimulate repair of damaged brain tissue (scarring)
 Enable tight bond between blood-vessel cells and neurons
 blood-brain barrier
Glial cells – Microglia

 Originate in the blood as an offshoot of the immune system (all other glial cells originate
in the brain) and migrate throughout the nervous system
 Identify and attack foreign tissue (defense cells)
 Invade areas with damaged cells and provide growth factors to aid in repair.
 Consume dead and inflamed brain cells (plaques, Alzheimer)
Glial cells – Oligodendroglia and Schwann cells

 Myelinate neurons to enhance neural transmission speed (insulate cells)

Oligodendroglia Schwann cells

(inside CNS) (outside CNS)
Glial cells – Neuron Repair

Schwann cells (PNS)

encourage neuronal repair
 cells in the PNS can be repaired after damage

Oligodendrocytes (CNS)
do not encourage neuronal repair
 cells in the CNS cannot be repaired (yet)
How do we know all this?

Histology

‘traditional’ staining

Main disadvantage of staining

 only works in fixed brain tissue
(ex vivo, in vitro, post-mortem)

More recent imaging techniques

also work in living tissue (in vivo)
 DTI: Diffusion Tensor Imaging
(See Chapter 7)

Clarity (makes brain tissue transparent) Brainbow (transgenic technique)

Video (4 minutes) Video (4 minutes)
Internal structure of a typical (nerve) cell

 Cell membrane  membrane surrounding the cell

 Nucleus  cell core, contains chromosomes and genes
 Nuclear membrane  surrounds nucleus
 Endoplasmic reticulum  assembles proteins
 Golgi bodies  wraps, addresses and ships off proteins
 Microtubules  form the transportation network
 Microfilaments  reinforce the cell’s structure
 Mitochondria  supply energy to the cell
 Lysosomes  transport incoming supplies and remove and store wastes

NB: names and functions of red components are required for the exam
Cell Membrane

Separates the intracellular and extracellular fluid

Total width ~8 nm (one billionth of a meter)

Consists of 2 layers of phospholipid molecules:

 head: phosphate group = hydrophilic (binds to water)
 tail: fatty acid (lipid) = hydrophobic (does not bind to water)

Only a few small (uncharged) molecules can

passively traverse the phospholipid layers
(e.g. oxygen, carbon dioxide)
head = hydrophilic
tail = hydrophobic
Cell Membrane Proteins

The cell membrane is semi-permeable, i.e., only specific molecules can pass

 Channel
specific ions can pass

 Gate
ions can pass if the gate is open

 Pump
active transport (uses energy)
some ions in, others out
e.g. sodium/potassium pump (helps
maintain resting state potential)

See also chapter 4 (next lecture)

Nucleus – core cell structure

Surrounded by a nuclear membrane

Inside the nucleus are the chromosomes

 double-stranded DNA molecules

 contain the human genome
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is made of chemical building blocks
called nucleotides that consist of three parts:
 phosphate group
 sugar group
 one of four types of nitrogen bases:
adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).
Chromosomes

The nucleus of each human cell contains 23 chromosome pairs

 for each pair: one chromosome from mother, one chromosome from father
 46 chromosomes in total

Pair 1-22 autosomes (matched pairs)

 determine physical characteristics and behavioral function
(e.g. hair color, intelligence)

Pair 23 sex chromosomes: X or Y

 determine gender XX (girl) or XY (boy)

Genetic defects (not necessarily hereditary):

e.g., Trisomy #21 = 3 chromosomes #21 (instead of 2)
 Down syndrome
Greek: chroma “color” + soma “body”
 “colored bodies” (requires staining)
Genes

 Each chromosome contains thousands of genes

 A gene is a segment of a DNA strand
 Corresponding genes within a chromosome pair are called alleles
 one allele from mother
 one from father

If allele sequences are the same  homozygote alleles

If allele sequences are different  heterozygote alleles

Most common sequences  wild-type allele

Less common sequence  mutation (e.g. T base substituted by an A base = SNP)
NB: mutations can be: neutral (most common)  do nothing
beneficial (rare)  increased bone density, tetrachromacy
harmful (rare)  sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis
Alleles – dominant vs recessive

Alleles can be dominant or recessive  they lead to a certain trait or not

Laws of Mendel
Genes

 Each chromosome contains thousands of genes

 A gene is a segment of a DNA strand
 Genes are the ‘blueprints’ for protein synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum (= protein factory)

4 nucleotide bases in DNA: adenine (A) -- thymine (T)

guanine (G) -- cytosine (C)

The sequence of bases in a gene spells out the order in which

amino acids - the constituent molecules of proteins - should be
assembled to construct a particular protein

The ‘bases’ of behavior:

bases  amino acids  peptides  proteins  cells  behavior

Amino acids  peptides  proteins

Amino acids are encoded in sequences of 3 nucleotide bases (codons) on mRNA (= single-stranded)

Example: Uracil, Guanine, Guanine (UGG)  Tryptophan

= precursor to neurotransmitter serotonin (see Chapter 6)

Amino acids are bound together by peptide bonds

amino acid 1 amino acid 2 peptide bond

Chains of amino acids are called (poly)peptides

Long peptide chains with a certain form are called proteins

Protein Synthesis

1.

2.
1.

3.

2. 3.

video (3 minutes)
Protein Packaging and Shipment

 Golgi Bodies  packaging and shipping address

 Microtubules  shipment Cell membrane:
protein channel, gate, pump
Next lecture – cell anatomy and physiology part 2

Week Chapter Topic

1 Ch1, Ch2 Brain anatomy and physiology
2 Ch3, Ch4 Cell anatomy and physiology
3 Ch5, Ch6 Neurotransmitters, drugs and hormones
4 Ch7, Ch8 Measuring and manipulating brain and behavior, brain development
5 Ch9, Ch10 Vision & audition
6 Ch11, Ch12 Motor functioning, emotional and motivated behavior
7 Ch13, Ch14 Sleep and dreams, learning and memory

Chapter 4