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Human Anatomy and Physiology Lecture Notes - Nervous

System

Human Anatomy and Physiology (University of Technology Sydney)

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Nervous system

Neurons, action potential, Synapses

Along with endocrine system, helps maintain homeostasis and keep controlled conditions within their
limits.

Responsible for behaviours, memories and movements

Sensory input  integration (brain receives and

integrates the sensory input, send signals)  motor
output (muscles receive motor signals, they act e.g.
contract to kick a ball)

Reflexes: have nothing to do with the brain, the

signal is just sent to the spinal cord. After the
muscles react in reflex, the signal is sent to the brain
(in a delay) and then you interpret the info and
realise aw shit that was hot

Neural tissue
Contains two kinds of cells

- Neurons:
o Cells that send and receive signals

Neuroglia (glial cells):

o Cells that support and protect
neurons –look after, clean up after
and house keep for the neurons so
they function perfectly.

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Structure of a neuron
Information always goes in one direction (neurons are uni-directional) because the neurons are
polarised

Ion channels allow sodium to come in and potassium to leave, this changes the polarity of a section of
the neuron. This stimulates adjacent area, domino effect. This chemical change generates a voltage
across the cells.

Types of Nerve cells (Neurons)

Sensory (afferent) neurons

- Detect changes in body or environment

- Transmit information into brain or spinal cord

Interneurons (association neurons): integrate info, connect

things. E.g. info from left side, goes to spinal cord, your response
can then go to the right side of your body

- Lies between sensory and motor pathways in CNS

- 90% of neurons are interneurons
- Process, store and retrieve information

Motor (efferent) neurons: send info from CNS to periphery

Effectors: organs that carry out the response

Types of neuroglial cells:

Central Nervous System
- Oligodendrocytes: form myelin sheaths in the CNS.
o Wrap around the neuron to produce myelin sheath
o The myelin sheaths are fast conducting so info is carried very
quickly.
o Fast because info is jumping across gaps in axon, rather than
diffusing slowly. Axon is white because of myelin sheaths. Grey
matter has no myelin.
- Ependymal cells: lines central cavities of the brain and produce CSF (cerebrospinal fluid)
o CSF takes away waste products, gives brain buoyancy, acts as shock absorber. CSF flushes
into venous system all the time

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- Microglia (macrophages): in areas of infection, trauma or stroke,

they clean up neural debris or foreign microorganisms. Immune
defence.

- Astrocytes: most tumours in brain are produced by these because they are the most abundant
cells.
o Functions include biochemical support
of endothelial cells that form the blood
brain barrier
o Provide nutrients to nervous tissue
o Maintain ion balance outside of cells
o Repair brain and spinal cord following
traumatic injuries
o Anchor neurons to blood supply and
govern the exchange of nutrients
between neurons and capillaries

Peripheral nervous system

- Schwann cells: do what Oligodendrocytes do in the CNS –cells that produce myelin sheaths in
peripheral nervous system
- Satellite cells: do what astrocytes do in the CNS – provides nutrients to neurons in periphery and
provide cushioning and structural support to cell bodies

Myelination:

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- Process of wrapping Glycoproteins around cells. Within that are the sodium potassium channels.
- Astrocytes monitor neuron axons for activity.
o Lots of repeated signals from one axon triggers the astrocyte to release chemicals
o The chemical stimulate oligodendrocytes to produce myelin which wraps around the
axon
o So with more neuron stimulation, you get more myelinated, and your signal processing
becomes faster
- Myelin sheath is produced by Schwann cells in the PNS and by oligodendrocytes in the CNS
- The myelin sheath electrically insulates the axon and increases the speed of nerve impulse
conduction
- Unmyelinated sheaths need to activate every part of the nerve fibre so speed is much slower
- Myelinated ones have gaps between cells, the signals can just jump the gaps, so it’s faster

Ion channels

Gated channels
- Responsible for moving electrical signal down the axon. Open and close in response to a
stimulus. They open when they are activated, then they close.
- Results in neuron excitability

Leakage (non-gated) channels

- Open all the time.
- Nerve cells have more potassium leakage than sodium leakage channels, as a result the
membrane is more permeable to potassium at rest.
- The inward flow of sodium, cannot keep up with the outward flow of potassium.
- The sodium potassium pump removes sodium as fast as it leaks in. the sodium potassium pumps
ejects 3 Na for every 2 K received from outside.

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- Higher potassium concentration gives rise to the -70mV membrane potential (means more
negative inside the cell).
- Leakage channels cause – 70.

Normally there is more potassium in inside cell and more sodium outside
Negative ions along the inside of the cell and positive ions outside

- Extracellular fluid is rich in Na and Cl

- Cytosol is full of K, organic phosphate and amino acids (Proteins add to the negativity within the
cell)
- When the cell is activated, more sodium comes in, and the inside becomes more positive.

Generation of an action potential

Action potential: or nerve impulse is a sequence of rapidly occurring events that increase and eventually
reverse the membrane potential (depolarisation) and then restore it to the resting state (repolarisation)
a travelling action potential is a nerve impulse. The impulse is a nerve message that carries info down
spinal cord then causes muscles to contract

- Voltage gated sodium and potassium channels open in sequence

- All or none principle – a stronger stimulus will not cause a larger impulse
- Neurons send messages electrochemically. The chemicals cause the electrical signal.

Depolarisation: more positive inside the cell  sodium ions are coming in

- Upstroke: loads of green balls – depolarisation, inside of cell becoming positive

- -70mV to +30mV

Repolarisation: coming back to normal  channels shut, potassium is leaving, becomes more negative
within cell

- Goes a bit lower than -70 after repolarisation because the potassium channels take long to shut
- Hyperpolarisation: lower than -70 before the potassium gates close
- Down stroke: potassium leaving – repolarisation
- +30mV back to -70mv

Refractory period: time where you cannot stimulate nerve because it’s already stimulated

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(for below diagram) At stages:

3. the sodium
channels open

5. sodium
channels close,
potassium
channels open

6. potassium
channels are a
bit sluggish
and take time
to close

8. potassium
channels close

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Stimulus intensity:
Difference setween light and hard touch
- Frequency of impulses
o Firm pressure generates impulses at a higher frequency
- Number of sensory neurons activated
o Firm pressure stimulates more neurons than does a light touch

Propagation of Action Potential

An action potential propagates over the surface of the axon membrane

- As sodium flows into the cell during depolarisation, the voltage of adjacent areas is affected and
their voltage gated sodium channels open.
- Local currents depolarise adjacent membrane areas in a forward direction
- A travelling action potential is called a nerve impulse
- Sodium and potassium channels are only found in the unmyelinated sections of the myelinated
sheathed axon, i.e. the Nodes of Ranvier

Continuous conduction: no myelin sheaths

- Step by step depolarisation of each portion of the length of the axon

- Slower

Saltatory conduction: jumping from node to node, no ions coming in where the myelin sheaths are

- Depolarisation only at nodes of Ranvier where there is high density of voltage gated ion channels
- The current carried by ions flows through extracellular fluid from node to node, not passing
through myelin

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Why is the movement one way? Requires more energy to activate the area that the stimulus has
come from. Less energy is required to propagate down ‘concentration gradient’. The area you have come
from is already stimulated, so it takes more energy to make a significant change to it, they’re hard to
impress, whereas all the areas not yet stimulated are sort of easily impressed, easier to stimulate.

Propagation of an impulse from one neuron to another via synapses

Synapse: is a functional junction between one neuron and another, or between a neuron and an effector
such as a muscle or a gland.

Impulse triggers calcium ions to move through channels, they bind to vesicles that contain
neurotransmitters. The vesicles join to the membrane and spit out neurotransmitters and they jump
across the synapse (gap).

Exocytosis: Spitting of neurotransmitters.

The neurotransmitters spread the info from each nerve

and binds to ion channels on the next nerve. This opens
the sodium ion channels and more sodium ions flow
into the cell post synaptic nerve, leading to
depolarisation. When this reaches threshold, it triggers
an action potential.

Presynaptic: the nerve before the synapse

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Post synaptic the nerve after the synapse

Voltage activated: channels that open when there is a potential difference  e.g. calcium ion channels
outside of nerve cell

Ligand/chemically activated: channels that open when neurotransmitters bind to them e.g. the ion
channels that accept neurotransmitters between each synapse

Graded potentials
EPSP: Excitatory Post Synaptic Potential –

- Getting close to threshold, going to

stimulate
- A small EPSP is when it only approaches the
threshold.

IPSP: Inhibitory Post Synaptic Potential –

- Membrane hyperpolarised potential drops

below -70mV
- Getting further away from threshold, not
going to get any stimulation happening

Summation
Is the method of signal transduction between neurons, which determines whether or not an action
potential will be triggered by the combined effects of the Post Synaptic Potentials. It can be temporal or
spatial.

Temporal summation:

- Total effect of neurotransmitters released from 2 or more firings of the same end bulb in rapid
succession onto a second neuron.
- Rapid firing of neurotransmitters from one neuron that is able to give an impulse, even though at
one point in time there aren’t enough neurotransmitters

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Spatial summation:

- Total effects of neurotransmitters released from several end bulbs onto one neuron

Comparison:

Neurotoxins (not
examinable)

- Block sodium
potassium
channels kills
- Botox: stops exocytosis. Wrinkles are caused by
muscle contractions when you frown. Botox
therefore blocks exocytosis so that muscle do not get the nerve impulse needed for contraction.

Brain
Lateral view: from the side

Superior view: from the top

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The brain is full of folds  high surface area

The brain has no sensory receptors – nerves –you can’t feel someone touching your brain

The central sulcus can be identified in the centre of the super view, or the lateral view, based because it
is between two relatively straight gyri running vertically down to the temporal lobe.

Gyri: means “twisters” folds of the brain (the spaghetti stuff)

Sulci: “means furrows” grooves of the brain, gaps between the spaghetti

When deep grooves are present they separate large regions of the brain and are known as “fissures”

All people have the same prominent gyri and sulci

Meninges
- Meninges also cover the spinal cord
- Three membranes that envelope the brain and spinal cord
- Dura Mater
- Mater (arachnoid)—blood vessels, nerves and the CSF fluid
- Pia Mater – soft mater that lies on the brain itself

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- The primary function of the meninges and the CSF (Cerebrospinal fluid) is to protect the CNS
(central nervous system)
- Meningitis: inflammation of the meninges due to bacterial infection

Functions of the lobes

Lobe Function
Frontal Voluntary motor functions
Planning, mood, smell and social judgement

Parietal Receives and integrates sensory information

Occipital Visual centre of the brain

Temporal Areas for hearing, smell, learning, memory, emotional behaviour

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Ventricles

- - Contain ependymal cells, surrounding the choroid plexuses, which produce the CSF
- Choroid plexuses: cauliflower-like growths of network capillaries in the walls of the ventricles
- Capillaries covered by ependymal cells that produce
CSF from blood plasma (by filtration and secretion).
o Ependymal cells possess cilia on their
surfaces facing the open space of the
ventricle cavities they line.
o Cilia circulate CSF in one direction around
the brain
o Ependymal cells form tights junctions with
adjoining cells – so the only way for things
to go into the brain is through these cells,
through pumps
o Ependymal cells actively transport
metabolic products (glucose) via protein pumps into the brain
- Ventricles have ion pumps that allow them to alter ion concentrations of the CSF
- Ventricles help cleanse CSF by removing waste

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

- Watery solution similar in composition to blood plasma, but has less protein and different ion
concentration
- Protects the brain:
o Liquid cushions and gives buoyancy to the CNS organs.
o Mechanical protection – serves as a shock absorber
o Chemical protection- provide optimal environment for proper neuronal function

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- Circulation – allows exchange of nutrients and wastes between blood and brain

Blood cerebrospinal Barrier

- Filtrate from the blood must move through the ependymal cells and be processed before they
can enter the ventricles as CSF. They have to do this because the ependymal cells form very
tight junctions.
- Ependymal cells have ion pumps that allow them to modify the filtrate by actively transporting
only certain ions across their membranes into the CSF pool
- Once produced, the CSF moves freely through the ventricles, aided by the cilia of the
ependymal cells.

Reabsorption of CSF:
- CSF is reabsorbed into the blood stream
through arachnoid granulations which act as
one way valves, and empty into large veins.
- Arachnoid granulations: small protrusions of
the arachnoid layer, through to the dura mater.
They protrude into the venous sinuses of the
brain and allow CSF to exit subarachnoid space
and enter blood stream.
- Pressure of CSF is higher than pressure of
venous system.
o CSF flows through the villi and granulations into the blood
- Arterial blood flows into ventricles, CSF forms in ventricles, CSF flows around brain, into sinuses
(granulations), these feed into venous system, back into normal blood and back to heart

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Hydrocephalus
- Blockage of drainage of CSF causing increase in intracranial pressure too much fluid on the
brain
- Blockage caused by tumours, inflammation, meningitis etc
- Formation of CSF is greater than reabsorption, so pressure continues to rise.
- CSF fluid is drained back into body by putting a tube into the brain and down to gut
- Too much fluid in brain causes damage to brain tissue

Blood srain sarrier is important

- Filters stuff to maintain stable internal environment
- Astrocytes join adjacent cells to form tight junction between them, which restricts what solutes
can and can’t enter the Extracellular Fluid around the brain.

Brain stem:
The bridge between the brain and spinal cord. Three portions of the brain stem:

Pons
- Links the cerebellum with the cerebrum, medulla oblongata and
spinal cord/
- Affects respiratory rate, depth of breathing etc
- Respiratory centres:
o Pneumotaxic centre: anatagonises the apneustic centre
by cyclically inhibiting inspiration. Inhibition of
Pneumotaxic area leads to increase in depth of
respiration and a decrease in respiratory rate
o Apneustic center: promotes inspiration by stimu lating
the inspiratory centre in medulla

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Medulla Sblongata
- Major role is in the cardiovascular system
- Contains ascending sensory tracts and descending motor tracts
- It holds the nuclei of 5 cranial nerves
- The cardiovascular centre of the Medulla
o Controls force and rate of heart beat
o Vasomotor centre sends Sympathetic stimulation to the periphery. Sympathetic nerve
causes vasoconstriction. Constricts smooth muscle cells lining your blood vessels
- Cells that force you to take to inhale and exhale as well
o Dorsal respiratory group (DRG): force you to inhale, upon inhibition you exhale –
involuntary at rest
o Ventral Respiratory Group (VRG): activated for manual ventilation while exercising
- Reflex centres for coughing, sneezing and swallowing

Reticular formation
- Scattered nuclei in medulla, pons and midbrain
- Alerts cerebral cortex to sensory signals in
order to awaken you from sleep
- Nuclei and cells that respond to startling
- Maintains behavioural arousal and
consciousness by using stimuli from ears, eyes,
skin and muscles
- Motor function is involved with maintaining
muscle tone

Cerebellum:
- Located behind the brain stem
- Receives info from ear and muscles
- Responsible for movement, coordination, balance
- Ensures brain knows the position of your limbs in space

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Thalamus:
- Receives sensory info from spinal cord and periphery
- Feeds into to the most appropriate receiving station in the
cerebral cortex (top part of brain that controls shit)
- Also registers conscious recognition of pain and temperature.
- Some awareness of light touch and pressure
- Acquisition of knowledge (cognition)

Epithalamus:
- Contains the Pineal gland produces melatonin—controls sleep patterns in conjunction with the
hypothalamus, causes you to sleep
- Contains the Habenular nuclei – involved in Olfaction, especially emotional responses to odours

Hypothalamus:
- Controls ANS (Autonomic Nervous system): the part of the nervous system responsible for
control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and
digestive processes.
- Maintains Homeostasis; Hormones, body temperature, emotion, eating etc
- Regulates circadian rhythms (body clock) and states of consciousness

Cerebrum:
- Largest part of brain,
o Top of it is the cerebral cortex; grey matter, controls
all the shit
o The cortex contains gyri, deep grooves (fissures) and
shallower grooves (sulci)
o Under the cortex is the cerebral white matter. These
are tracts that connect parts of the brain with itself
and other part of the nervous system
- Separated into right and left halves (hemispheres)
o Internally it remains connected by the corpus
callosum; a bundle of transverse white fibres

Cerebral cortex
- Where the conscious mind is find
o Memory, attention, perceptual awareness, thought,
language and consciousness

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- 40% of total brain mass

- 6 layered
- 2 types of cells:
o Stellate cells: dendrites project in all directions
o Pyramidal cell: axon passes out of the area

Boca’s: speech

Wernicke’s: speech and auditory patterns

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Basal ganglia:
- Located deep within the cerebral
hemisphere (which just mean under the
masses of gray matter)
- Basal ganglia has 3 nuclei, collectively called
Corpus Striatum
- Nuclei receive input from cerebal cortex and
provide output back to motor parts of cortex
- Major function
o Regulate initiation and termination
of movements
o Damage of basal ganglia leads to
Parkinson disease

Limbic system
- Amygdala
o Anxiety, mood, sexual desire
o Receives info from smell, taste, sound
- Hippocampus:
o Memory
- Fornix
- Cingulate gyrus

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Homunculus
In the right cerebral hemisphere

- Lots of
info
goes
to
hand,
face
- Not
much
in

genitals

Cranial nerves

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Cranial Nerve Description Category

I) Olfactory For smell
SENSORY
II) Optic For vision

III) Oculomotor skeletal muscles, eye lids, eye balls, pupils

- Shine light in left eye, pupil constricts
- Right eye also constricts – optic nerve send info
into bran, joins oculomotor nerve joins to both Sensory and MOTOR
eyes. If both pupils don’t constrict, then there is
a blockage of the oculomotor nerves
Innervates skeletal muscles that move the eyeball up,
down and medially

IV) Trochlear Innervates skeletal muscle to move eyeball down and Sensory and MOTOR
laterally
V) Trigeminal Innervates chewing muscles Sensory and motor
VI) Abducens Innervated skeletal muscle that moves the eyeball Sensory and MOTOR
Nerve laterally
VII) Facial Nerve Facial expressions, nose, salivary glands, swallowing.
VIII) Vestibuloco Balance, hearing
chlear
Nerve
IX) Glossophary Swallowing
ngeal Nerve Sensory and motor
X) Vagus nerve Long nerve, wonders down body. From brain to thoracic
cavity, heart, abdomen

Innervates skeletal muscles of pharynx, larynx and

smooth muscle. Glands of thoracic and abdominal
cavities.

XI) Accessory Neck muscles Sensory and MOTOR

Never
XII) Hypoglossal Tongue muscles Sensory and MOTOR
Nerve

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Autonomic nerves system

- Operates outside our awareness
- Sympathetic division
o Triggered only during exercise, stress or emergency
o Increases alertness , metabolic rate, muscular abilities
o Fight or flight; blood goes to muscles, lots of glucose, HR increases. Eyes dilate.
o Nerves go to organ in a hub and then long nerves go to affecter organs
o Heightens mental alertness, resp rate, HR rate, sweating
o Epinephrine and norepinephrine are neurotransmitters
- Parasympathetic Division
o Rest and digest.
o Lots of blood goes around body. Long nerves from CNS and then short nerves to organs
o HR decreases, stimulates urination, increase motility, promotes sedentary activities
o Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter
- Work in opposites

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Spinal cord
Spinal cord, Spinal nerves and Reflexes

- Information highway between brain and body

- Information taken to brain via spinal cord, then sent back out to periphery, via spinal cord
- Extends through vertebral canal from foremen magnum to L1
- Receives signals and issues motor signals to muscles and glands
- Spinal cord is part of CNS
- Involved with reflexes, involuntary before the brain is even informed.
- Part of PNS

Cross section of spinal cord

White mater: myelinated

nerves, the axons of neurons. Fast
conducting path of neurons.

Grey matter: nerve cell bodies, shaped

like butterfly. Unmyelinated.

Protective structures
- Vertebral column

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- CSF (produced in ventricles, in the coracoid plexuses, within the ependymal cells) is present in
the subarachnoid space around the spinal cord and acts as protective cushion for the spinal
cord as well as brain
- Denticulate ligaments
o Extend from the pia mater through the arachnoid mater to the dura mater.
o The ligaments protect the spinal cord against sudden displacement that could result in
shock
o Saw tooth pattern along the length of the spinal column on both sides prevents lateral
movement and secures it to bony walls of the vertebral column.

- Spi
nal

meninges (fibrous tissue) –

o Series of specialised membranes that provide physical stability and shock absorption for
the spinal cord
o The tissue is continuous with the cranial meninges—same layers, same order as around
the brain.
o The top of the spinal cord is connected to the fourth ventricle

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Spinal meninges
Pia mater
- Innermost meningeal layer, stuck
onto brain and spinal cord
- Meshwork of elastic and collagen
fibres
- Bound to underlying nervous
tissue

Arachnoid mater
- Middle meningeal layer
- Made of simple squamous
epithelium called the arachnoid
membrane
- Network of collagen and elastic
fibres connecting to pia mater
- Subarachnoid space
o Contains CSF which acts
of shock absorber
o A spinal tap (lumbar
puncture) withdraws CSF
via a needle from the
subarachnoid space

Dura mater
- Outermost
- Dense collagen

Epidural space
- Between dura and vertebral canal
- Contains connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves and protective adipose tissue (adipose = fat)
- The fat acts as a protective cushion
- Epidural is injected into the epidural cavity so that the
drug numbs the nerves at the source.

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External anatomy of Spinal Cord

- Spinal cord starts in medulla, goes through big hole in the skull (foramen magnum)
- Two enlargements in cervical (upper limbs and shoulders) and lumber regions (lower limbs and
pelvis)
o They are enlarged because there are lots of nerves coming off to supply upper and
lower limbs.

The vertebral column is longer than the spinal cord

- Because spinal cord ends when the vertebral column becomes extremely narrow (at the point
of cauda Medullaris)
- After Cauda Medullaris, the spinal cord becomes one filament called filum terminale (an
extension of the pia mater) and travels down to pelvic region/ coccyx where it terminates. Filum
Terminale provides longitudinal support to the spinal cord.

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- Horses hair shit happens at the point called cauda equina, where all the nerves branch off from
the bottom tip, (not as in the superior swelling around the shoulders where the nerves come
out a bit more organised).

Connective tissue coverings of spinal nerves

Endoneurium: covering surrounding each individual axon.

- Capillaries here supply axons, Schwann cells and fibroblasts*

* A fibroblast is a type of cell that is responsible for making the extracellular

matrix and collagen

Perineurium: outer covering of fascicles which contain bundles of axons.

- Branching blood vessels from epineurium continue to form capillaries in endoneurium

Epineurium: outermost covering of entire nerve

- Made up of dense network of collagen fibres

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Spinal nerves

Spinal nerve has both sensory neurons and motor neurons. Carries info into spinal cord (where
integration happens) as well as back out to periphery.

- Sensory neurons enter CNS (spinal cord) via DORSAL /Posterior Root
- Motor neurons exit via VENTRAL /anterior Root

31 pairs of spinal nerves

- Cervical 8
- Thoracic 12
- Lumber 5
- Sacral 5
- Coccygeal 1

Dorsal root: contains axons of neurons whose cell bodies are in the Dorsal Root Ganglion

Dorsal Root Ganglion: contains sensory neuron cell bodies. Each spinal segment contains one on each
side. When sensory nerves come from periphery there is a bulge just before spinal nerve carries info to
spinal cord. The bulge is a result of the cell bodies of all the sensory neurons.

Ventral root: contains axons of motor neurons extending into periphery to control muscles, glands and
visceral organs

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Reflex Arc
Spinal reflex:
- Rapid, automatic response
- Preserve homeostasis by making rapid adjustments
- Do not consult with brain during reflex. Brain is only told about the nerves’ executive decisions
after the decisions have been made

1. Receptor
2. Sensory Neuron
3. Integrating Centre
4. Motor Neuron
5. Effector

Interneuron: integration nerve,

synaptic sort of reflex in spinal cord

- One interneuron between

sensory and motor neuron
– monosynaptic
- More than one interneuron
between sensory and motor neuron – polysynaptic

An example:

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In spinal cord there are huge amounts of interneurons.

They connect to both biceps and triceps.
If your hand touches something it shouldn’t, one muscle contracts (would be your bicep), the other
inhibits (in this case your triceps relax.
The bicep and triceps are antagonist muscles because they work opposite each other.
The relaxation of the triceps is called Reciprocal inhibition.

After the reflex, info goes to brain and brain is like, oh wow, thanks spinal cord you saved me, probs
shouldn’t touch that shit again ay.

Stretch Reflex
The stretch reflex operates as a feedback mechanism to control muscle length by causing a muscle
contraction via muscle spindles which respond to change in length.

Muscle spindles are like little leaches in muscle fibre that are sensitive to change in length of muscle.

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- If you overstretch muscle, you get a reflex to move it back and contract that muscle, so you
don’t pull muscle fibres
- Muscle spindles are small dudes
- Run in the same grain as the big muscle fibres (intrafusal)
- Gamma motor nerves – alter tension in the spindles and control sensitivity of receptor
- Alpha motor Neurons – stimulate big muscle fibres

Tendon Reflex
The tendon reflex operates as a feedback mechanism to control muscle tension by causing relaxation.

- If muscle force becomes too great, tendons may be torn off bone.
- Golgi Tendon: if you contract, too much tension in lifting, it makes you relax.

An example:

Knee jerk reaction:

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When you hit the patella, it pulls the muscle forward (quads stretch)
Response is to stop stretching and relax (so muscle moves backward to contract, (quads shorten)
This flings out the knee.
Hamstrings relax, lengthens, (reciprocal inhibition) because mechanics tells you that you can’t contract
both; one contracts while one stretches.

Crossed extensor reflex

- Right foot receives info and hamstring muscles contract (and quads relax) to lift the leg,
Information crosses spinal cord, left legs’ hamstring relaxes (quad contract) to hold the weight.

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