Nervous System

Nervous System
Content
o Introduction of nervous system

o Organization of nervous system
o Nervous tissue
o Neurons and its types
o Supporting cells
o Reflex
Introduction
▶ Nervous system is:

 A physically connected network of
cells, tissues and organs that allow us
to communicate with and react to
the environment and perform life
activities.
 Master controlling and
communicating system
▶ Has two main division
▶ Central nervous system
▶ Peripheral nervous system
FOUR PRIMARY FUNCTIONS OF
NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Sensing the world

 Vision, Hearing, Smell,
Taste, Touch
 Transmitting information
 Processing information
 Producing a response
Organization
A. Central Nervous System (CNS)
▫ Brain & spinal cord
▫ Integrative and control centers
-Receives, interprets and sends signals to PNS
B. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
▫ Nerves (31 pairs of spinal nerves,12 pairs of cranial nerves)
▫ Communication lines between CNS and rest of body
▫ Two Divisions:
1. Sensory (afferent) Division: Sensory receptors --
CNS
2. Motor (efferent) Division: CNS -- effectors (muscles &

glands)
Motor Division
🠜 Somatic nervous system

(voluntary)
- control skeletal muscles
🠜 Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
(involuntary)
– regulate smooth muscles, cardiac, glands
▫ Subdivisions:
o Sympathetic :
o “Fight or Flight”
o Activated during emergencies, exercise or vigorous physical activity
o Revs up body to respond to situations that upset homeostasis
o Parasympathetic:
o “Rest & Digest”
o Reduces energy use
o Promotes:
o Storage of energy
THE COMPLEX BRAIN

Hindbrain
 Medulla:
 Controls autonomic functions.
 Pons:
 Controls sleep stages.
 Cerebellum:
 Coordinates movement,
stores some motor memory.
 Helps maintain posture,
muscle control, and balance
Midbrain
▶ Located between the hindbrain and

forebrain.
▶ All sensory and motor information that
travels between the forebrain and the
spinal cord passes through the midbrain
▶ making it a relay station for the central
nervous system.
▶ the “traffic cops” of the brain.
▶ Filters sensory input, which allows us to
concentrate.
▶ Filtering can be affected by higher
thoughts.
Forebrain
 Thalamus:
 relay station channeling
sensory information.
 Limbic system:
 basic emotions, drives, and
behaviors.
 Cortex:
 higher thought
Limbic system
“controls: emotions and memories”
 Hypothalamus:
 Master controller of the
endocrine system.
 Amygdala:
 sensations of pleasure or
fear, recognition of fear
in others.
 Hippocampus:
 formation of memories.
Damage to these areas can lead to
amnesia or emotional disturbances
Cortex
Top layer of the brain
Stores: experiences and/or learning
Sensory info

Various areas : behavior & emotion
concerning touch
 control
sensory
processing
 motor control,
 thought,
vision
 memory.
memory &
emotion, speech
and hearing
Spinal cord
🠜 Grey matter
🠜 mostly made up of cell bodies of neuron
🠜 White matter
🠜 composed of nerve fibers ( ascending and descending tracts )
embedded in neuroglial cells
Nervous
Tissue
1. Neurons (nerve cells)
• Functional unit of the
nervous system
• Transmit message
Anatomy:
 Cell body – contains
nucleus; metabolic
center
 Dendrite – fiber that
conveys messages
toward cell body
Nervous Tissue
 Axon – conduct nerve

impulses away from
the cell body
 Axon terminals – end
of axon; contain
neurotransmitters&
release them
 Synaptic cleft/synapse
– gap between
neurons
Nervous Tissue
2. Supporting cells (Neuroglia)

 CNS: astrocytes, microglia, ependymal cells,
oligodendrocytes
 barrier between capillaries and neurons protect
neurons
 immune/defense
 line brain and spinal cord cavities wrap nerve
fibers
 produces myelin sheaths (covering)
 PNS: Schwann cells, satellite cells

 surround large neurons protect & cushion
Myelin
 Whitish, fatty material that covers nerve fibers to speed
up nerve impulses
Schwann cells
 Surround axons and form Myelin sheath
• Tight coil of wrapped membranes
Nodes of Ranvier
 Gaps between Schwann cells
• Ganglia: collections of cell bodies
• Bundles of nerve fibers = tracts (CNS) or nerves (PNS)
• White matter
• Dense collections of myelinated fibers
• Gray matter
• Unmyelinated fibers & cell bodies
• (nerve cell bodies, dendrites, axon terminals, bundles of
unmyelinated axons and neuroglia (gray color)
The Neuron
 Dendrites receive signals.

 The cell body integrates
signals.
 The axon transmits action
potential. The myelin
sheath makes the signal
travel faster.
 Synaptic terminals
transmit signals.
Neurons
▶ Neuron Function
▶ Irritability:
▶ ability to respond to stimulus & convert
to nerve impulse
▶ Conductivity:
▶ transmit impulse to other neurons,
muscles, or glands
▶ Classification of Neuron
▶ Functional Classification
▶ Structural Classification
1. Functional Classification:
Direction nerve impulse is traveling
Sensory Motor
Interneurons
neurons neurons
carry impulses from carry impulses from
connect sensory &
sensory receptors to CNS to muscles &
CNS glands motor neurons
Vision, hearing,
equilibrium, taste,
smell, pain,
pressure, heat
2. Structural Classification:
Processes extending from cell body
Multipolar Bipolar Unipolar

1 axon, several
1 axon, 1 dendrite 1 process
dendrites
Short with 2
Most common
Rare branches (sensory,
(99%)
CNS)
Eg. Motor
Eg. retina, nose,
neurons, Eg. PNS ganglia
ear
interneurons
Nerve Impulses
Exciting a Neuron
🠜 Cell membrane at rest = polarized
 Na+outside cell, K+inside cell
 Inside is (-) compared to outside
🠜 Stimulus ---excited neuron (Na+rushes in)--
becomes depolarized
🠜 Depolarization activates neuron to transmit
an action potential (nerve impulse)
 All-or-none response
 Impulse conducts down entire axon
🠜 K+ diffuses out ---repolarization of membrane
🠜 Na+/K+ ion concentrations restored by
sodium- potassium pump (uses ATP)
Synapse
▶ Neurons usually do not connect

directly to one another. A gap
called a synapse controls the
transmission of signals.
▶
Depending on the site of the synapse, presynaptic
neuron
they are often referred to as
axodendritic, axosomatic, or
▶ axoaxonic
Types of synapse
▶ Chemical
▶ Neurotransmitter
▶ Electrical
Post synaptic
neuron
Information Transfer Across Chemical
Synapse
🠜 Action potential
reaches axon terminal --
-- vesicles
release
neurotransmitters (NT)
into synaptic cleft
🠜 NT diffuse
across synapse
bind to receptors
of next neuron
🠜 Transmission of a
nerve impulse =
electrochemical event
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
integration / processing / modulating
motor / descending tracts
sensory / ascending tracts

lower motor neurone
PNS
receptor neurone transmission
stimulus effector organ / response

Reflex
Reflex is an action that is performed without conscious thought

as a response to a stimulus.
Rapid, predictable, involuntary responses to stimuli

1 Somatic Reflexes: stimulate skeletal muscles
.
 Eg. jerking away hand from hot object
Autonomic Reflexes: regulate smooth muscles, heart, glands
2
.  Eg. salivation, digestion, blood pressure, sweating
Reflex arc
 It is the nerve pathway involved in a reflex action, including at

its simplest a sensory nerve and a motor nerve with a synapse
between them.
Reflex Arc
1) Receptor - reacts to stimulus

2) Sensory Neurons - afferent impulses to CNS
3) Integration centers - synapses in CNS
4) Motor Neurons - efferent impulses from Integration centers to
effector
5) Effector - muscle or glands
Reflex Activities
Patellar (Knee-jerk)
Reflex
Gently tap your quadriceps tendon, which is located immediately
below your knee cap, with a reflex hammer
Pupillary Reflex
Optic nerve --brain stem--muscles
constrictpupil
• Useful for checking brain stem
function and drug use
Other Reflexes
Stimulus (receptors) Response (effector)
The aroma of your favorite Salivation

food
A nasty odor Nausea
A bright light shining in your Pupils get smaller

eye
An insect flying towards your Blinking
eye
Voluntary Reactions
• More neurons and synapses are involved --

longer response times
Reflex = Involuntary Reaction Voluntary Reaction

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Nervous System

o Introduction of nervous system

▶ Nervous system is:

 Sensing the world

2. Motor (efferent) Division: CNS -- effectors (muscles &

🠜 Somatic nervous system

▶ Located between the hindbrain and

 Axon – conduct nerve

2. Supporting cells (Neuroglia)

 PNS: Schwann cells, satellite cells

 Dendrites receive signals.

Multipolar Bipolar Unipolar

▶ Neurons usually do not connect

motor / descending tracts

sensory / ascending tracts

stimulus effector organ / response

1) Receptor - reacts to stimulus

Stimulus (receptors) Response (effector)

The aroma of your favorite Salivation

A bright light shining in your Pupils get smaller

• More neurons and synapses are involved --

Reflex = Involuntary Reaction Voluntary Reaction

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