Central Nervous System

 Composed of Brain and Spinal cord

 Brain is responsible for integrating most sensory information and coordinating body
function, both consciously and unconsciously.
 Spinal cord serves as a conduit for signals between the brain and the rest of the body. It
also controls simple musculoskeletal reflexes without input from the brain.
 Covered by meninges, three layers of connective tissue that protect and nourish the CNS
o Dura Mater
o Outermost meningeal layer, consisting of dense irregular connective tissue
o Arachnoid Mater
o spiderweb-like meningeal layer, interposed between the dura and pia.
o Pia mater
o separate the neural tissue from the blood vessels in the subarachnoid space,
adding to the efficacy of the blood-brain barrier.
 Subarachnoid space is filled with cerebrospinal fluid
o Cushions the brain and spinal cords, nourishes the CNS, and removes waste materials.
 Electrical activity of the CNS is governed by neurons located throughout the sensory and motor
neural pathways
o Neurons-Send and receive signals from your brain
 Cell body –carries genetic information, maintains the neuron’s structure, and
provides energy to drive activities.
 Dendrites – dendrites receive and process signals from the axons of other
neurons
 Axon – long, tail-like structure which joins the cell body at a specialized junction
called the axon hillock.

Brain

 Located in the cranial cavity

 Brain has four major divisions:
 Cerebrum
o Contains two hemispheres split by a central fissure.
o Comprised of two different types of tissue
 Grey matter forms the surface of each cerebral hemisphere (known as
the cerebral cortex), and is associated with processing and cognition.
 White matter forms the bulk of the deeper parts of the brain. It consists
of glial cells and myelinated axons that connect the various grey matter
areas.
o 4 lobes
 Frontal lobe is important for cognitive functions and control of voluntary
movement or activity
  The parietal lobe processes information about temperature, taste, touch
and movement
 The occipital lobe is primarily responsible for vision
 Temporal lobe processes memories, integrating them with sensations of
taste, sound, sight and touch.

 Diencephalon
o Lies beneath the cerebral hemispheres
o Consists of the thalamus and hypothalamus
 Hypothalamus –responsible for regulating many Body
functions including water balance, appetite, vital signs
(temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rate),
sleep cycles, pain perception, and emotional status.
 Thalamus –translates neural impulses from various receptors
to the cerebral cortex.

 Brain stem
o Located between the cerebral cortex and the spinal cord
o Consists of mostly nerve fibers
o 3 parts
 Midbrain –acts as a conduit between the forebrain above and
the pons and cerebellum below
 Pons – group of nerves that function as a connection between
the cerebrum and cerebellum
 Medulla Oblongata – houses essential ascending and
descending nerve tracts as well as brainstem nuclei.
 Cerebellum
o Located behind the brain stem and under the Cerebrum
o Primary functions include coordination and smoothing of voluntary
movements, maintenance of equilibrium, and maintenance of
muscle tone.
Spinal Cord
o Long, fragile tubelike structure that begins at the end of the brain stem and continues
down almost to the bottom of the spine.
o Consists of bundles of nerve axons forming pathways that carry incoming and outgoing
messages between the brain and the rest of the body.
o Responsible for simple reflex activity.
Neural Pathways
 Is a passage between the nervous system. An area of the nervous system is connected
to another area by neural pathways.
 Communicate information from one area to another area of the nervous system.
Lobe of the Cerebral Hemispheres and their Function
 Frontal- is the most anterior (front) part of the brain.
- It extends from the area behind the forehead back to the precentral gyrus.
-responsible for higher cognitive functions such as ;
a. memory,
b. emotions,
c. impulse control,
d. problem solving,
e. social interaction, and
f. motor function.
 Parietal- behind the frontal lobe, separated by the central sulcus.
a. -Areas in the parietal lobe are responsible for integrating sensory
information, including
b. touch,
c. temperature,
d. pressure and
e. pain
 Occipital-  the visual processing area of the brain.
-It is associated with
a. visuospatial processing
b. distance and depth perception
c. color determination
d. object and face recognition and
e. memory formation
 Temporal - largely responsible for creating and preserving both conscious and long-
term memory.
-It plays a role in visual and sound processing and is crucial for both object
recognition and language recognition.

Cross section of the spinal cord 

-reveals white matter arranged around a butterfly-shaped area of gray matter.
-The white matter consists of myelinated fibres, or axons, that form nerve tracts ascending to
and descending from the brain.
-The white matter is grouped into discrete sectors called funiculi.

 Posterior horn
 Posterior root
 Posterior root ganglion
 Afferent sensory fiber
 Anterior horn
 Anterior horn cell
 Anterior root
 Efferent sensory fiber
 Muscles
 Spinal cord- is a complex organization of nerve cells responsible for movement and sensation.
It carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body

 Brain
 Brain stem
 Spinal cord
 Spinal nerve coccyx
 Cervical spine (C1-8)
 Thoracic spine (T1-12)
 Lumbar spine (L1-5)
 Sacral nerves (S1-5)

Sensory (ascending) neural pathway

-The ascending tracts refer to the neural pathways by which sensory information from the
peripheral nerves is transmitted to the cerebral cortex.
-In some texts, ascending tracts are also known as somatosensory pathways or system.

 Thigh area
 Trunk area
 Parietal lobe
 Arm area
 Face area
 Thalamus
 Lower medulla
 Spinothalamic tract
 Spinal cord T5
  Spinal cord L4
 Posterior root
 Posterior colomn

Peripheral Nervous System

 Carries information to and from the Central Nervous System.
 Consists of the nerves and ganglia outside the brain and spinal cord and connects the
CNS to the limbs and organs, serving as a relay between the brain and spinal cord.
 Consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves

Cranial Nerves

 transmit motor or sensory messages

 Has Twelve pairs of cranial nerves
 Offactory
 Optic
 Oculomotor
 Trochlear
 Trigeminal
 Abducens
 Facial
 Acoustic
 Glossopharngeal
 Vagus
 Spinal Accessory
 Hypoglossal

Spinal Nerves

  carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. 
 Has 31 pairs of spinal nerves.
 8 Cervical
 12 Thoraic
 5 Lumbar
 5 Sacral
 1 coccygeal
Autonomic Nervous System
 Known as peripheral nerves have a special function which carries
impulses by both cranial and spinal nerves.
 Maintains the internal homeostasis of the body, incorporates the
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

 Sympathetic Nervous System

o also known as (“fight-or-flight” system)
o is activated during stress and elicits responses such as decreased
gastric secretions, bronchiole dilatation, increased pulse rate, and
pupil dilatation.

 Parasympathetic Nervous System

o functions to restore and maintain normal body functions by
decr3easing heart rate.