 Neurophysiology is a branch of physiology.

 Neuroscience (or neurobiology) is the scientific study of the nervous

system
 The Nervous System is the master controlling and communicating system
of the body.
 The central nervous system, the main data center of the body, includes the
brain and spinal cord.
 The peripheral nervous system includes all of the neurons that sense and
communicate data to the central nervous system.
 HOMEOSTASIS is a state of dynamic constancy of the internal
environment.
 Maintained by negative feedback loops.
 Maintenance of homeostasis is essential for survival and normal
functioning of cells.

Homeostatically Regulated Factors

1. Concentration of nutrients.
2. Concentration of O2 and
CO2.
3. Concentration of waste
products.
4. pH.
5. Concentrations of water, salt,
and other electrolytes.
6. Volume and pressure
7. Temperature
 Feedback Loops
 Sensor - Detects deviation from set point.
 Integrating center - Determines the response.
 Effector - Produces the response.
 Positive feedback enhances or accelerates output created by an activated
stimulus.
 Platelet aggregation and accumulation in response to injury is an example
of positive feedback.
 The birth of a human infant is the result of positive feedback.

 Negative feedback brings a system back to its level of normal functioning.

 Adjustments of blood pressure, metabolism, and body temperature are all
negative feedback.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Regulation
Regulation of processes within organs can occur in two ways:
 Intrinsically: Cells within the organ sense a change and signal to
neighboring cells to respond appropriately.
 Extrinsically: The brain (or other organs) regulates an organ using the
endocrine or nervous system.

 The nervous and endocrine systems provide extrinsic regulation of other

body systems and act to maintain homeostasis.
The basic unit of the
nervous system is the
neuron.
 General structure of neurons
1. A cell body (soma) that contains the nucleus,
Nissl bodies, and other organelles;
1. Cluster of cell body in CNS = nuclei
2. Cluster of cell body in PNS = ganglia
2. Dendrites: receive impulses and conducts a
graded impulse toward the cell body
3. Axon: conducts action potentials away from
the cell body
 Anterograde transport – from cell body to
dendrites and axon; uses kinesin molecular
motors
 Retrograde transport – from dendrites and
axon to the cell body; uses dynein molecular
motors
Classifications of Neurons

1. Function
2. Structure
3. Shape
4. Effect
5. Axon length
6. Neurochemical identity
Structural
Classification of
Neurons
 Regeneration of a Cut Neuron
 When an axon in the PNS is cut or damaged,
 Severed part degenerates and phagocytosed
by Schwann cells.
 Regeneration tube is formed by Schwann
cells.
 Growth factors are released that stimulate
growth of axon sprouts within the tube
 New axon eventually connects to the
undamaged axon or the effector
 CNS axons are NOT able to regenerate.
 Death receptors form that promote
apoptosis of oligodendrocytes
 Inhibitory proteins in the myelin sheath
prevent regeneration
 Glial scars from astrocytes form that also
prevent regeneration
 Neurons - Structural and
functional units of the
nervous system

 Nerve cells respond to

electrical, chemical, or
mechanical stimuli.

 Neuron – electrical cell of

the nervous system
 Action Potential is digital one-way electrical pulse from axon hillock to
axon terminals.
 Membrane Potential - Is difference in charge
across membranes
 Resting Membrane Potential (RMP) -Is
membrane voltage of cell not producing
impulses
 Neurons have a resting potential of −70mV.
 RMP of most cells is –65 to –85 mV

 RMP depends on concentrations of ions

inside and out
 And on permeability of each ion
 Affected most by K+ because it is most
permeable
 Some Na+ diffuses in so RMP is less negative
than EK+
 At rest, there is a high concentration of K+
inside the cell and Na+ outside the cell.
 Membrane potential is a separation of opposite
charges across the plasma membrane.

All potentials result from ions moving across membranes.

Two forces on ions: Diffusion (from high to low
concentration); Electrical (toward opposite charge and
away from like charge).
➢All cells have pumps and resting potentials (-40 to -90
mV).
➢Pumps use ATP to exchange ions.
➢Na+/K+ pump: 3 Na+ exchanged for 2 K+.
➢Ca++ pump: Keeps powerful Ca++ ions out.
 Depolarization occurs when positive ions
enter the cell (usually Na+).
 Depolarization of the cell is excitatory.
 Hyperpolarization occurs when positive ions
leave the cell (usually K+) or negative ions enter
the cell (Cl−).
 Hyperpolarization is inhibitory.
 All-or-None Law - Once threshold has
been reached, an action potential will
happen.
 The strength of the stimulus will NOT
affect the size of the action potential; it
will always reach +30mV.
 The strength of the stimulus will NOT
affect action potential duration.

 A stronger stimulus WILL make action

potentials occur more frequently.
 A stronger stimulus may also activate
more neurons in a nerve.
 This is called recruitment.
 Action potentials can only increase in
frequency to a certain point. A
refractory period occurs after an action
potential when the neuron cannot
become excited again.

 The absolute refractory period occurs

during the action potential. Na+
channels are inactive (not just closed).

 The relative refractory period is when

K+ channels are still open. Only a very
strong stimulus can overcome this.

 Each action potential remains a

separate, all-or-none event.
 Conduction in an unmyelinated neuron and in a
myelinated neuron
 One action potential serves as the depolarization stimulus for production of the next
action potential in the axon.
1. In unmyelinated axons, action potentials are produced fractions of a micrometer
apart.
 This is called continuous conduction.
2. In myelinated axons, action potentials are produced only at the nodes of Ranvier.
 Myelin provides insulation, improving the speed of cable properties.
 This is called saltatory conduction.
 This saltatory conduction is faster than conduction in an unmyelinated nerve
fiber.
Synapses are typically junctions
between presynaptic and
postsynaptic neurons.
 In an electrical synapse, two neurons
are connected by gap junctions, which
allow charge carrying ions to flow
directly between the two cells in
either direction.

Most synapses in the human nervous

system are chemical synapses at which a
chemical messenger transmits
information one way across a space
separating the two neurons.
 Neurotransmitters produce postsynaptic potentials - brief depolarizations or
hyperpolarizations - that increase or decrease the rate of firing of the axon of the
postsynaptic neuron.
 Graded Potential - When ligand-gated ion channels open, the membrane potential
changes depending on which ion channel is open.
 Opening Na+ or Ca2+ channels results in a graded depolarization called an
excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP).
 Opening K+ or Cl− channels results in a graded hyperpolarization called
inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP).
 Graded potentials are temporary
changes in the membrane voltage,
the characteristics of which
depend on the size of the stimulus.
Some types of stimuli cause
depolarization of the membrane,
whereas others cause
hyperpolarization. It depends on
the specific ion channels that are
activated in the cell membrane.

 A postsynaptic potential (PSP) is the graded potential in the dendrites of a neuron

that is receiving synapses from other cells. Postsynaptic potentials can be
depolarizing or hyperpolarizing. Depolarization in a postsynaptic potential is
called an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) because it causes the membrane
potential to move toward threshold. Hyperpolarization in a postsynaptic potential
is an inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) because it causes the membrane
potential to move away from threshold
Some synapses excite, whereas others inhibit, the postsynaptic neuron.

EPSPs and IPSPs are graded potentials.

 EPSPs move the membrane potential

closer to threshold; may require
EPSPs from several neurons to
actually produce an action potential
 IPSPs move the membrane potential
farther from threshold.
 EPSPs and IPSPs counter each other
 Summation of EPSPs and IPSPs at the
initial segment of the axon
determines whether an action
potential occurs.  EPSPs
Graded in magnitude
Have no threshold
Cause depolarization
Summate
Have no refractory
period
Spatial and temporal summation of EPSPs allows a depolarization of sufficient
magnitude to cause the stimulation of action potentials in the postsynaptic neuron.
1. IPSPs and EPSPs from different synaptic inputs can summate.
2. The production of IPSPs is called postsynaptic inhibition.
 Postsynaptic inhibition:
 GABA and glycine produce
IPSPs
 IPSPs dampen EPSPs
 Making it harder to reach
threshold
 Presynaptic inhibition:
 Occurs when 1 neuron
synapses onto axon or bouton
of another neuron, inhibiting
release of its NT