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Advance College Subject (Anatomy & Physiology)

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Millions of interconnected neurons
form the nervous system
• Human nervous system two major
parts: central nervous system and
peripheral nervous

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Brain
• Spinal cord CEREBRAL CORTEX- 4 MAJOR LOBES
• All neurons outside the CNS o
• Parietal
31 pairs spinal nerves o 12
• Frontal
pairs of cranial nerves
• Temporal
• Occipital
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
FUNCTIONS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

THE BRAIN 3- MAJOR AREAS • Intellectual processes: thought,

intelligence
• Cerebrum (telencephalon, • Processes sensory information and
Diencephalon) integrates with past experience to
• Cerebellum o Brainstem produce appropriate motor response
(midbrain, pons, medulla
oblongata) DIENCEPHALON- 2 MAJOR PARTS

Cerebrum
Thalamus
• Composed of Telencephalon
• Relays stimuli received from all
(Cerebral Cortex) and Diencephalon
sensory neurons to cortex for
• Cerebral Cortex is gray matter interpretation
because nerve fibers lack white
• Relays signals from the cerebral
myelin coating
cortex to the proper area for further
processing
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Hypothalamus • Gray matter is H-shape in core of
• Monitors many parameters cord
• Temperature, blood glucose levels,
various hormone levels
• Helps maintain homeostasis
• Signals the pituitary via releasing
factors

FUNCTIONS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

• Signals the lower neural centers

Gray Matter
• Regions of brain and spinal cord
made up primarily of cell
Bodies and dendrites of nerve cells
• Interneurons in spinal cord o Small
• nerves which do not leave
• The spinal cord
• • Terminal portion of axons
White Matter
Cerebellum • Contains tracts or pathways made
• Located behind the brainstem o up of bundles of myelinated nerves
Helps monitor and regulate • Carry ascending and descending
Movement signals
• Integrates postural adjustments, • Ascending nerve tract from
maintenance of equilibrium, sensory receptors through dorsal
perception of speed, and other root, up cord to thalamus, to
reflexes related to fine tuning of cerebral cortex
movement. • Pyramidal tract transmits
Brainstem impulses downward eventually
• Composed of midbrain, pons, medulla excites motoneurons control
oblongata muscles.
• Maintains vegetative functioning • Extrapyramidal originate in brain
o Where is respiratory control center? stem descend to control posture.
o Where is cardiovascular control
Center? DESCENDING NERVE TRACTS
Reflexes
Ascending: Dorsal

Spinal Cord
• Contains both gray and white
matter
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Descending: lateral, Ventro-medial • Cholinergic fibers release
acetylcholine

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

• Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves & 12 Autonomic Reflex
pairs of cranial nerves • Monosynaptic reflex arc
• Each spinal nerve is a mixed nerve • Knee jerk response
containing:
• Somatic afferent
• Visceral afferent
• Somatic efferent
• Visceral efferent
• Which is a motor fiber?
Somatic Nervous System
• Somatic afferent (sensory): carry
sensations from periphery to spinal
cord. Includes exteroceptive (pain,
temperature, touch) & proprioceptive.
• Somatic efferent (motor):
communicate from spinal cord to
skeletal muscles.
Complex Reflexes
• Involve multiple synapses
• Crossed extensor reflex

Autonomic Nervous System Subdivisions

• Sympathetic Responsible for
increasing activity in most systems
(except Gl)
• Adrenergic fibers release epinephrine
Parasymphathetic
• Responsible for slowing activity in
most systems (except GI)
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Motor Unit
• A single motor neuron and all of the
muscle fibers which it innervates.
Represents functional unit of
movement
• Ratio of muscle fibers to nerve relates
to msucles’s movement function

Neurons Motor Nerves

• Two Basic Type • Exit the spinal cord on the ventral
• Motor side
• Sensory
• Cell bodies lie within grey matter of
Three basic parts spinal cord Somatic o Innervates
• Axons skeletal muscle Automatic
• Dendrites (visceral) o Innervates organs/
• Soma or cell smooth muscle
bodies Neuron Part: Axons
• Carry impulses away from the cell
body
Myelin
• Schwann cells wrapped around the
axon of some neurons
• Appear as multiple lipidprotein layers
• Are actually a continuous cell
• Increase the speed of action
potential conduction

Sensory Nerves
• Enter the spinal cord on the dorsal
side
• Cell bodies lie outside the spinal
cord in Dorsal Root
Gangila
Nodes of Ranvier
• Gaps between Schwann Cells
• Impulse jumps from node to node o
Salutatory conduction
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• Innervate proprioceptors such
as muscle spindles

NERVE PROPERTIES RELATED TO FUNCTION

Irritability
• Able to respond to stimuli
Conductivity
• Able to transmit electrical potential
Neuron Parts: Dendrites and Cell body along the axon
• Dendrite: receives stimuli and carry it Neuromuscular Junction
to the cell body • Motor neuron cell body and dendrites
• Cell body: site of cellular activity in gray matter of spinal cord
• Axons extend to muscle
• Axon’s terminal end contains a
synaptic knob
• Synaptic knob has synaptic vescles
containing acetylcholine
• Axon leaves spinal cord.
• Extends to skeletal muscle
• Terminal branches end in synaptic
knob

Synapse
• Junction between the dendrites of one
neuron and the axon of a second
neuron
• Nerves communicate by releasing
chemical messenger at synapse

Motor End Plate

• Area beneath the terminal branches
of the axons
• Contains acetylcholine receptor
complexes
• Acetylcholine binding opens the
receptor complex
Important neurotransmitters:
• Cholinesterase degrades acetylcholine
• Monoamines
into acetone and choline
• Neuropeptides
• Nitric oxide
• Motor Nerves- Size
Alpha motor nerves
• Larger fibers
• Conduct impulses faster
• Innervate regular muscle fibers
Gamma Motor nerves
• Smaller fibers
• Conduct impulses more slowly