Nervous System

 Employs electrical and chemical means to send messages from cell to cell.

Nervous system

1) Receive information and transmit coded messages 

2) CNS: processes this information 
3) CNS issues commands

Central Nervous System

 Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System

 All the nervous system except the brain and spinal cord; composed of nerves and ganglia.

Nerve (structure)

 A bundle of nerve fibers (axons) wrapped in fibrous connective tissue.

Ganglion

 A knot-like swelling where neuron cell bodies are concentrated.

Subdivisions of Nervous System

Sensory (afferent) Division

 Carries signals from receptors to CNS.

Motor (efferent) Division

 Carries signals from CNS to effectors glands and muscles.

Somatic sensory division

 Carries signals from receptors in the skin, muscles, bones, and joints to CNS

Visceral sensory division

 Carries signals from viscera (heart, lungs, stomach and urinary bladder)

Somatic motor division

 Carries signals to skeletal muscles

Visceral motor division (autonomic nervous system)

 Carries signals to glands, cardiac and smooth muscle

Sympathetic division of Visceral Motor Division (Autonomic Nervous system)

 Tends to arouse body for action -flight /fight 
 Heart rate and respiration up 
 digestive and urinary systems down

Parasympathetic system of Visceral Motor Division (Autonomic Nervous System)

 Tends to have a calming effect 
 Heart rate and respiration go down 
 Digestive and urinary systems go up

3 Characteristics of Neurons

 Excitability
 Conductivity
 Secretion

3 classes of Neurons

 Sensory (afferent) neurons

 Interneurons (association neurons)
 Motor (efferent) neurons
Sensory (afferent) neurons
 Conduct signals from receptors to the CNS
Interneurons (association) neurons
 Receive signals from neurons and carry out integrative functions 
 Confined to the CNS
Motor (efferent) neurons
 Conduct signals from the CNS to effectors such as muscles and glands
Dendrites
 Branches that come off the soma and receive signals
Axon Collaterals
 Branches of axon, extensively on distal end
 Specialized for rapid conduction of signals to distant points
Synaptic knob
 Small swelling that forms a junction (synapse) with the next cell 
 Have synaptic vesicles (Ach)
Multipolar Neuron
 One axon and multiple dendrites

Bipolar neuron
 One axon and one dendrite 
 Olfactory cells, retina, inner ear

Unipolar neuron
 Single process leading away from soma 
 Sensory cells from skin and organs to spinal cord

Neuroglia (Supportive Cells)

 Protect and assist neurons
 bind neurons together, form framework for nervous tissue 
 In fetus, guide migrating neurons to their destination
 Covers synapse of unused mature neuron
(Prevents neurons from touching each other, gives precision to conduction pathways)
Types of neuroglia
 Oligodendrocytes 
 Ependymal Cells 
 Microglia 
 Astrocytes
 Schwann cells* in PNS
Oligodendrocytes

 Form myelin sheaths in CNS that speed signal conduction

Ependymal Cells

 Line internal cavities of the brain; secrete and circulate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

Microglia

 Wonder through CNS looking for debris and damage 

 Developed from white blood cells and become concentrated in areas of damage

Astrocytes

 Most abundant glial cell in CNS

Functions:
 Form supportive framework
 Uses (perivascular feet) to contact blood capillaries and form a seal called the blood-brain
barrier
 Converts glucose to lactose for neurons 
 Secrete nerve growth factors 
 Absorbing excess neurotransmitters and ions

Astrocytosis or sclerosis
 When neuron is damaged, astrocytes form harden scar tissue and fill in space
Schwann cells
 Envelope nerve fibers in PNS 
 produce a myelin sheath that winds repeatedly around a nerve fiber
 assists in regeneration of damaged fibers
Myelin Sheath
 Insulation around a nerve fiber, plasma membrane of glial cells ( 20/80 for protein and lipids ) 
*Oligodendrocytes in CNS
*Schwann Cells in PNS
Myelination
 Production of the myelin sheath 
-begins at week of fetal development 
-completed in late adolescence 
-dietary fat is important to CNS development
Neurolema

 Thick outermost coil of Schwann Cell

Nodes of Ranvier

 Gap b/w myelin segments

Tumors

 Masses of rapidly dividing cells

Brain Tumors arise from :

 Meninges (protective membranes of CNS)

 Metastasis from nonneuronal tumors in other organs

Gliomas

 Grow rapidly and are highly malignant

Multiple Sclerosis

Oligodendrocytes and myelin sheaths in the CNS deteriorate

 Myelin replaced by harden scar tissue

 Nerve conduction disrupted (double vision, tremors, numbness, speech defects )

Tay-Sachs disease

 Abnormal accumulation of glycolipid GM2 in myelin sheath (normally decomposed by lysosomal

enzyme)
 Enzyme missing in individuals homozygous for Tay-Sachs allele
 GM2 disrupts conduction of nerve signals
 Blindness, loss of coordination and dementia
 Hereditary disorder infants of Eastern European Jewish ancestry

Electrophysiology

 Cellular mechanisms producing electrical potentials and currents

*neural communication and muscle contraction

Electrical potential

 A difference in concentration of charged particles b/w one point and another

*cells are polarized and have a resting membrane potential

Electrical current

 Flow of charged particles from one point to another

*currents are movements of ions, such as Na+ or K+ through channels in the plasma membrane