Physiology of Nervous Spinal

Cord
Brain

System
Nerves

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 Introduction
➢The nervous system is organized:
✓ central nervous system (CNS), consisting of the brain
and spinal cord
✓ The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of nerve
fibers that carry information between the CNS and
other parts of the body.
✓ The afferent division of the PNS sends information
about the external and internal environment to the CNS.
✓ The central nervous system contains more than 100
billion neurons

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Introduction cont’d

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 …cont’d
✓ Sensory nervous system
▪ All sensory pathways begin with a stimulus, which acts on sensory
receptors, which convert the stimulus in neural signals, which are
transmitted by sensory neurons to the brain, where they are
integrated
▪ Sensory experience can either cause immediate reaction from the
brain, or memory of the experience can be stored in the brain for
minutes, weeks, or years and determine bodily reactions at some
future date
▪ A stimulus is a change detectable by the body.
▪ Stimuli exist in a variety of energy forms, or modalities, such as
heat, light, sound, pressure, and chemical changes.

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 Introduction cont’d
Motor part of the nervous system
➢ Nervous system controls various bodily activities; contraction of
skeletal muscles, contraction of smooth muscles, and secretion of
active chemical substances by exocrine and endocrine glands

➢ This function of NS is the motor functions of the nervous system

Skeletal motor nerve axis of the nervous system controls skeletal
muscle contraction

➢ Autonomic nervous system controls smooth muscles and glands

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6
 …Cont’d
❖ The nervous system may be classified as:
➢ Central Nervous System (CNS)
✓ Composed of the brain and the spinal cord Spinal
Brain
Cord
✓ The center of integration and control
➢ Peripheral nervous system(PNS)
Nerves
✓ The nervous system outside of the brain
and spinal cord
✓ Compose the spinal nerves and cranial
nerves
✓ Carry information to and from the spinal
cord & brain
✓ Consists of:-31 pairs of Spinal nerves
-12 pairs of Cranial nerves 7
 Peripheral Nervous System:
• Somatic Nervous System
– Relay information between skin, skeletal muscles and
central nervous system
– You consciously control this pathway by deciding
whether or not to move muscles
• Autonomic Nervous System
– Relay information from central nervous system to organs
(Cardiac muscle ,smooth muscle and glands)
– Involuntary: You do not consciously control these
– Sympathetic Nervous System: controls in times of
stress, such as the flight or fight response
– Parasympathetic Nervous System: controls body in
times of rest
 Peripheral Nervous System…
• Each system is dominant under certain conditions.

▪ The sympathetic system predominates during emergency

‘‘fight-or-flight’’ reactions and during exercise.

– The overall effect of the sympathetic system under these

conditions is to prepare the body for strenuous physical activity

▪ Parasympathetic system dominated during resting condition

that enhance digestion and absorption of food.

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…cont’d

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 The Central nervous system
➢ The nervous system is one of the two
regulatory systems in the human body
➢ The CNS contains more than 100
billion neurons.
➢ Consists of:-Brain and Spinal cord.
➢ The Function of CNS:
✓ Receives input from sensory
neurons.
✓ Directs activity of motor neurons.
✓ Association neurons (interneurons)
maintain homeostasis in the internal
environment 11
 Spinal cord
• Extends from foramen magnum – 2nd lumbar vertebra
• Has central grey H-shaped portion & peripheral white
portion.
• Close to spinal cord, sensory and motor nerve fibers separate
into dorsal and ventral root.
• Spinal nerves are 31 pairs:
8 … Cervical
12 … Thoracic
5 … Lumbar
5 … Sacral
1 … Coccygeal (coccyx)

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 The Spinal Cord
➢ The spinal cord has two functions:
1. Common passageway for ascending
and descending tracts.

2. Center for reflexes

- Integrate incoming sensory
information & respond with motor
impulses that control muscles or
glands.
- Reflex -Fast & involuntary
response to a stimulus that doesn’t
involve conscious thought. 13
 The Brain
➢ Microscopically, the CNS contains 2
neural elements:
– Neuron cell bodies (clusters are
known as nuclei)
– Nerve fibers (axons) in bundles
called tracts.
➢ Viewed macroscopically, CNS tissues
can be distinguished by color:
– Gray matter consists of somata,
dendrites and unmyelinated axons.
– White matter consists primarily of
myelinated axons.
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 Brain Regions
1. Cerebrum
2. Basal ganglia
3. Diencephalon
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
4. Brainstem
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla ob.
5. Cerebellum

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Cerebellum
 Cerebrum
• Largest portion of the brain (80% by mass).
• Responsible for higher mental functions concerning:
– Perception of fine sensation
– Learning, memory, speech
– Judgment
– Planning
• Corpus callosum:
– Major tract of axons that functionally
interconnects right & left cerebral hemispheres.

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 Cerebral Cortex
3 types of functional areas:
1. Motor
- control voluntary motor
functions.
M
2. Sensory S

- allow for conscious A

recognition of stimuli.
3. Association
- integration.
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Cerebral cortex …

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Cerebral cortex …
• Each hemisphere contains 4 lobes:
– frontal, parietal, occipital & temporal.
• Has an outer cortex of gray matter surrounding
an interior that is mostly white matter, except
for a few small portions.
• The surface is marked by ridges called gyrus
separated by grooves called sulcus.
– Each gyrus contains one or more functional areas
called Brodmann´s areas.
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Brodmann´s areas of cerebral cortex

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 Medulla oblongata
➢ Contains sensory (ascending) tracts
and motor (descending) tracts.
➢ Reticular formation (also in pons,
midbrain, and diencephalon) functions
in consciousness and arousal.
➢ Vital centers regulate heartbeat,
breathing (together with pons), and
blood vessel diameter.
➢ Other centers coordinate swallowing,
vomiting, coughing, and sneezing
Medulla oblongata
 Pons and Midbrain
➢ Pons: Contains sensory tracts and motor
tracts.
✓ Together with the medulla, helps control
breathing.
➢ Midbrain: Contains sensory tracts and
motor tracts.
✓ Superior colliculi coordinate movements of Pons
head, eyes, and trunk in response to visual
stimuli.
✓ Inferior colliculi coordinate response to
auditory stimuli.
✓ The substantia nigra and red nucleus
contribute to control of movement. Midbrain
 Thalamus, Hypothalamus & Pineal gland
Thalamus
➢ Thalamus: Relays almost all
sensory input to the cerebral cortex.
✓ Contributes to motor functions by
transmitting information from the
cerebellum and basal ganglia to
motor areas of the cerebral cortex.
✓ Also plays a role in maintaining
consciousness. Hypothalamus
➢ Pineal gland: Secretes the hormone Pineal gland
melatonin.
Hypothalamus
• Part of the diencephalons,
• Located near the bottom of
the brain (below thalamus).
• Represents <1% of the brain mass, about 5 gm.
– regardless of its size, it plays most important role in
controlling homeostasis.
– it is the main brain structure involved in regulating
hormonal levels in the body.

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 Function of Hypothalamus
1. Controls the ANS
• Anterior nuclei acts as a parasympathetic center.
• Posterior nuclei acts as a sympathetic center.
2. Endocrine function
- Controls:
• Adenohypophyseal hormones.
• Neurohypophyseal hormones.
• Adrenal medulla.

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 Function of Hypothalamus…
3. Regulation of body temperature
• Heat losing center (anterior HT)
• Heat gaining center (posterior HT)
• Thermostat center (anterior preoptic area)
4. Controls food intake (hunger sensation):
- Feeding center (lateral HT)
- Satiety center (ventromedial HT)
5. Control of water-electrolyte balance
- Thirst center (lateral HT)
- Osmoreceptors (anterior HT)
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Language Areas
✓ Wernicke’s area
→ understanding oral
& written words.

✓ Broca’s area
→ speech production.

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 Language areas …
❖ Broca’s area (area 44,45)

– Involves articulation of speech.

– In damage, unable to speak (aphasia) but

comprehension of speech is unimpaired.

❖ Wernicke’s area (area 39)

– Involves language comprehension.

– In damage, language comprehension is destroyed and

speech is rapid without any meaning.
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 Language areas …
• Damage to Wernicke's area loss of the ability to
understand language
– person can speak clearly, but the words that are put
together make no sense.
– This way of speaking has been called "word salad" because
it appears that the words are all mixed up like the vegetables
in a salad
• Damage to Broca's Area
– person can understand language words but he can't
properly formed speech or slurred speech.

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 Language areas …
Angular gyrus:

➢ Allows us to associate multiple types of language-related

information whether auditory, visual or sensory

➢ If we want speak object to see or the word we heard the brain

transfer this information from first site of perception to angular
gyrus for integration then wenick’s area

– Damage produces aphasias.

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 Language areas …

❖ Arcuate fasciculus (neural pathway)

✓ Nerve fiber that connect language areas
– To speak intelligibly, words originating in Wernicke’s
area must be sent to Broca’s area.
– Broca’s area sends fibers to the motor cortex which
directly controls the musculature of speech.

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Language areas …

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 Lateralization
• The fact that certain activities
are almost exclusively dominant
on 1 of the 2 hemispheres.
– In most people, the left hemisphere has a more control
over language, math, & logic.
– While the right hemisphere is geared towards musical,
artistic activities
• Most individuals with left cerebral dominance are right-
handed.

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 Cerebellum& Cerebrum
Cerebellum
➢ Cerebellum :-Compares intended movements
with what is actually happening to coordinate
complex, skilled movements. Regulates posture
and balance.

➢ Cerebrum:-Cerebrum has 3 functional areas

➢ Sensory areas are involved in the perception of
sensory information
➢ motor areas control the execution of voluntary
movements, and
➢ association areas deal with more complex
integrative functions such as memory,
personality traits, and intelligence.
 Cerebral Cortex has 5 lobes
Limbic lobe, pariental lobe, ocipital
lobe, temporal lobe, frontal lobe
Frontal
lobe Parietal Lobe
Limbic lobe (Insula):
– Implicated in memory encoding.
– Integration of sensory information
with visceral responses.
Occipital
– Coordinate cardiovascular lobe
response to stress.

Prefrontal Cortex (frontal lobe)

• Involved in analysis, cognition,
thinking, personality, conscience Limbic
lobe
Temporal lobe
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 Cerebral Cortex
Temporal lobe:
1. Contain auditory areas that receive
sensory fibers from cochlea (inner ear).
2. The auditory association or interpretation Fronta
area. l lobe Parietal
-Function: Interpretation and association of Lobe
auditory and visual information.
Occipital lobe:
1.The visual sensory area : Primary visual Occipital
lobe
area responsible for vision and
coordination of eye movements.
2.The visual association or interpretation Limbic
area: It is concerned with interpretation of lobe Temporal lobe
visual impulses into meaningful written
words
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 THANK YOU !

&
GOD BLESS Ethiopia !

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