TITLE LAYOUT

Subtitle
ORGANIZATION OF
THE NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 Outline
2

 Introduction to the structure/function of

central nervous system (CNS)
 Protection of CNS
 Introduction to peripheral nervous
system (covered in more detail later)
 Microanatomy: neurons
 System Divisions of the Nervous
3

Enteric nervous system

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/images/ency/fullsize/8679.jpg
 System Divisions of the Nervous
4

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nsdivide.html
 CNS: Spinal cord
5

Functions
1. Conducts afferent

stimuli from
sensory receptors
to the brain
2. Conducts efferent
stimuli from brain
to
effectors/muscles
3. Site of reflex

integration and
houses
certain central
 CNS: Spinal cord input/output
6

* *

Afferent fibre *

Efferent fibre *

*
* Part of the peripheral nervous Figure 4-8, B&L
 CNS: Spinal cord tracts
7

Tract: collection of axons that ascend/descend 3

spinal cord with a specific function
1. dorsal columns: ascending tracts that
transmits tactile and proprioceptive
info
2. spinothalamic tract: ascending tract
that
transmits info about pain, temp. and Silverthorn Figure 9-7
 CNS: Brain, three basic units
9

Illustrative guide to the

basic units of the brain:
Forebrain/midbrain/
hindbrain
 CNS: Brain, five regions
10

 Regions grouped and named as they

develop in the embryo

Figure 10-6, B&B http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~lngbrain/cglidden/middlelabnoline!!yes2use2.jpg

 Telencephalon: Basal Ganglia
15

Functions
1. Motor control;
connections with motor
cortex and thalamus
2. Regulate initiation and
termination of
movements
3. Some role in attention,
memory and planning
 Telencephalon: Amygdala &
16
Hippocampus
Amygdala functions
1. Part of the limbic system
2. Associated with pleasure, fear,
addiction
3. Important in forming and
storing
memories of emotional events
Hippocampus functions
4. Part of the limbic system
5. Important in formation of
memories, including spatial
and navigation memories
6. Damage to hippocampus can
result in anterograde
amnesia
 Forebrain part 2: Diencephalon
17

 includes the thalamus and Thalamus functions

hypothalamus 1. Main integrating centre for
 Telencephalon + diencephalon = sensory information
forebrain 2. Receives input from basal
ganglia and cerebellum
Hypothalamus functions
3. Main control centre for the
autonomic nervous
system
4. Close association with pituitary
gland, important functions in
the endocrine system
(hormone release)
5. Contains nuclei important in
regulation of circadian clock,
 Midbrain: Mesencephalon
18

Two divisions:
a) tectum
 superior colliculi
 contain nuclei for visual
reflexes
 inferior colliculi
 contain nuclei for auditory
reflexes
b) tegmentum
 substantia nigra
 Release dopamine to basal
ganglia
 red nucleus
 Connections with cerebellum
for coordination of movement
 Hinbrain: Myelencephalon
19

Two divisions:
a) myelencephalon
 medulla oblongata

 Contains ascending
and descending
sensory and motor
tracts connecting the
cerebrum to the
spinal cord
 Most spinal cord tracts
cross over in the
pyramids
 Contains nuclei that
regulate breathing,
blood pressure,
vomiting
 Hinbrain: Metencephalon
20

b) metencephalon
 pons

 Contains pneumotaxic centre

which fine tunes breathing rate
 Relays information between
cerebellum and cerebrum
 cerebellum
 Feedback center for execution
of motor movements
 Controls posture and balance
 reticular formation
 Nuclei diffusely located through
the brainstem*
 Regulates wakefulness and
muscle tone
*the term “brainstem” refers to the
 CNS Protection
22

Against physical Against chemical Both

damage damage
Skull/vertebrae Blood brain barrier Cerebrospinal
-hard external - Tight junctions fluid
protection form physical -Shock
barrier across absorption
capillaries -Stable ionic

Meninges composition
-Pia mater
(innermost layer)
-Arachnoid
mater
 Protection: Blood Brain Barrier
23

 CNS blood vessels prevent

paracellular diffusion of
macromolecules and ions
 Capillary endothelial cells in the

brain are connected by tight

junctions to form a physical
barrier, with contribution from
astrocytes, pericytes & neurons
 Specialized transporters

required for movement of most

molecules
 Small or lipophilic molecules and

gases can diffuse more easily

 Caffeine, nicotine, heroin, CO2
 Protection: Blood Brain Barrier
24

 Only a few, small regions of the brain

are without a blood brain barrier
 Creates problems for delivering
therapeutic drugs to the brain
 Methods for drug targeting include:
 Manufacturing low molecular

weight drugs
 Tagging the drug with ligand to
assist in receptor mediated
transcellular transport
 Injecting drug directly into
brain
matter
 Protection: Cerebrospinal Fluid
25

 Fluid synthesized by the

choroid plexuses in each
of the four ventricles
 Fills ventricles and

subarachnoid space
 Less protein than

plasma with similar

electrolyte composition
(but more Cl-, less
Ca2+ and K+)
 Acts as a shock absorber
during impact
 Removes waste,
regulates pH and
maintains ionic
homeostasis of neuronal
 Peripheral Nervous System
27

 all parts of nervous system outside the dura mater

 includes sensory receptors, peripheral portions of
spinal and cranial nerves (including those of the
ANS), and sensory ganglia
 sensory ganglia are aggregates of nerve cells located
outside the CNS
Autonomic Somatic
Parasympathet Sympathetic Sensory Motor
ic
Rest and Flight or fight Afferent Efferent neurons
digest neurons carrying
carrying information from
information from the CNS to
 Microanatomy: Neurons and Glial
28
cells
Neurons Glial cells
 Convey electrical signals  regulate neuron environment & for
within CNS and PNS myelin sheath around neurons
a) Astrocytes: regulate
 neuron environmen
b) Oligodendrocytes: form myelin
sheath in CNS
c) Schwann cells: form myelin she
PNS
d) Ependymal cells: line the
 ventricles, synthesize CSF
e) Microglia: monocytes of the bra
 Classifications of Neurons
29

 neurons can be classified by the

following characteristics:

B&B Figure 10-3

 Classifications of Neurons
30

B&B Figure 10-3

 Classifications of Neurons
31

B&B Figure 10-3

• The size of neuronal somas range widely from
0.005 mm to 0.1 mm in mammals.
• Collections of cell bodies (somas) give the greyish
appearance to the gray matter of the brain.
• The protoplasm of cell body contains peculiar angular
granules, which stain deeply with basic dyes, such as
methylene blue; these are known as Nissl’s granules.

• These granules disappear (chromatolysis) during fatigue or

after prolonged stimulation of the nerve fibers connected
with the cells. They are supposed to represent a store of
nervous energy, and in various mental diseases are
deficient or absent.

• Thought be involved in the synthesis

of to
neurotransmitters such as
acetylcholine.
• An axon is one of two types of protoplasmic protrusions that
extrude from the cell body of a neuron .

• Unlike dendrites axons are long, slender projection of a nerve

cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from
the neuron's cell body or soma.

• Axons are distinguished from dendrites by

several features, including shape, length , and
function.

• The point where the axon arises from a cell body is termed
as axon hillock.

• Axoplasm is the cytoplasm within the axon of a neuron.

• The axolemma is the cell membrane surrounding an axon. It is
responsible for maintaining the membrane potential of the
neuron, and it contains ion channels through which ions can flow.

• In vertebrates, the axons of many neurons are sheathed

in myelin, which is formed by either of two types of glial
cells: Schwann cells ensheathing peripheral neurons and
oligodendrocytes insulating those of the central nervous
system

• The myelin sheath functions to:

– Protects the axon and electrically isolates it
– Increases the rate of Action Potential transmission (saltation)

• Along myelinated nerve fibers, gaps in the sheath

known as nodes of Ranvier occur at evenly-spaced
intervals.
• Terminally the Axon branch sparsely, forming collaterals.
Each collateral may split into telodendria which end in a
synaptic knob, which contains synaptic vesicles –
membranous bags of NTs.

• Axons make contact with other cells via the synaptic knob—
usually on dendrites of other neurons but sometimes
muscle or gland cells—at junctions called synapses.

• The region between the two connecting neurons is known as

the
synaptic gap or snaptic cleft or neural junction.
 Interneuron-
– also called as relay neuron or local circuit neuron.
– connects afferent neurons and efferent neurons in neural
pathways.
 BASED ON NEUROTRANSMITTER PRODUCTION

 Cholinergic neurons —secreting acetylcholine

 GABAergic neurons — secreting gamma aminobutyric acid.
 Glutamatergic neuron — secreting glutamate
 Dopaminergic neurons — secreting dopamine . Loss of dopamine
neurons in the substantia nigra has been linked to Parkinson's
disease
 Serotonergic neurons — secreting serotonin. A lack of
serotonin at postsynaptic neurons has been linked to
depression.
 BASED ON UNIQUE SHAPE AND FUNCTION

 Betz cells – large motor neurons located within the fifth layer
of the grey matter in the primary motor cortex, M1.
 Purkinje cells - some of the largest neurons in the
human brain, found within the Purkinje layer in the cerebellum.
 Electrical
conduction
RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL
• The relatively static membrane potential of quiescent cells
is
called the resting membrane potential.

• Resting membrane potential of nerve cell = -70

mV
• Resting membrane potential is maintained by the
ionic distribution across the neuron cell membrane

• Ions involved mainly are the potassium and sodium ion.

• concentration gradients of Na+ & K+
– Na+ 10x greater outside
– K+ 30x greater inside
• At rest more K+ move out than Na+ move in.
• K+ ions diffuse out leave behind excess negative charge inside.
• Sodium-potassium pump
– Na+ out - K+ in (more Na+ out than K+ in)
– contributes to loss of (+).
 THE ACTION
POTENTIAL :

• The action potential is generated by ion flux through

voltage
gated channels.
Neuroglia
Neuroglia - Cells that
provide metabolic support
and immune protection for
neurons.
Neuroglia outnumber
neurons by about 10:1 in
System.
the CentralNeuroglia
Nervous do not
generate or conduct nerve
impulses. However, unlike
neurons, glial cells can
regenerate if injured
Astrocytes - Provide for the energy and other
metabolic needs of neurons as well as giving nervous
tissue structural support. When neurons of the brain or
the spinal cord are injured and destroyed, they are
replaced with scar tissue made up of astrocytes (a
process called gliosis).
Microglia - Phagocytic cells, similar to macrophages,
that perform a housekeeping function by removing
dead cellular material and bacteria from the CNS
Microglia - Phagocytic cells, similar to
macrophages, that perform a
housekeeping function by removing
dead cellular material and bacteria from
the CNS.
Ependymal Cells - Cells that line the
cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) containing
cavities of the brain - the ventricles.
 Oligodendrocytes - Cells
responsible for myelination of
axons within the Central Nervous
System.
The dendrites and axons of sensory neurons and motor
neurons that lie outside of the central nervous system in the
peripheral nervous system may be myelinated. Myelin
sheaths are formed by Schwann Cells. Schwann cells form
multiple layers of membrane around the neuron and insulate
it. In between the areas if myelin sheath, Nodes of Ranvier
or bare patches exist. The nerve impulse or action potential
will jump from node to node greatly increasing the speed of
nerve transmission. This node to node transmission, called
saltatory conduction, can produce transmission speeds of up
to 200 meters per second and explains the speed at which
we can react to potentially harmful stimuli.
Schwann cells - Glial cells that myelinate the axons of
peripheral nerves. These cells wrap their cytoplasm in a spiral
fashion around short segments of axons. Because the myelin
sheath is formed from numerous Schwann cells arranged
sequentially along the axon, there are gaps between adjacent
myelinating cells producing myelin-free areas of axon called
Nodes of Ranvier. These play an important role in nerve
impulse conduction.
 Myelin
Myelination begins with the invagination of a single nerve axon into a
Schwann cell; a mesoaxon is then formed. As myelination proceeds, the
mesoaxon rotates around the axon enveloping it in concentric layers of
Schwann cell cytoplasm and plasma membrane.
 Title and Content Layout with List
 First level
 Second level
 Third level
 Fourth level
 Fifth level
 Title and Content Layout with Chart

4.4 4.5
4.3

3.5

3
2.8
2.4 2.5

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Category 1 Category 2 Category 3 Category 4

Series 1 Series 2 Series 3

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Group A Group B  First bullet point here
Class 1 82 85  Second bullet point here
Class 2 76 88
 Third bullet point here
Class 3 84 90
 Two Content Layout with SmartArt
 First bullet point here Group A
 Second bullet point here • Task 1
 Third bullet point here • Task 2

Group B

• Task 1
• Task 2

Group C

• Task 1