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■ Types of Neurons:
● Multipolar → CNS & most motor neurons
● Bipolar → Eye & Nasal cavity
● Pseudo-unipolar → Sensory neurons
● Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheaths around axons in CNS!
● Schwann Cells form myelin sheaths around axons in PNS!
● Blood-Brain Barrier: cellular and matrix barrier made of blood vessel endothelium
and astrocytes; allow small substances to pass from circulation into the brain but does
NOT allow large substances to pass.
○ Myelin Sheath
■ Fatty protective wrapping around axons, specialized insulating layer
■ Formed by:
● Oligodendrocytes in CNS
● Schwann cells in PNS
■ Prevents almost all ion movement across cell membrane
■ Excellent insulator (saltatory conduction)
■ Node of Ranvier: gap in myelinated sheath between adjacent
oligodendrocytes/schwann cells
● Ion movement occurs here! (Sodium-Potassium Channels
found here)
■ Myelination of an axon increases speed & efficiency of action
potential generation along an axon
■ Unmyelinated axons lack myelin sheaths → occur slowly
● Typical small nerve has more unmyelinated axons than
myelinated axons
● Pain fibers have unmyelinated axons
○ Multiple Sclerosis:
■ Disease of myelin sheath in CNS that causes loss of muscle
function
■ Sodium-Potassium Pump:
● Required to maintain greater concentration of Na+ outside cell
and K+ inside cell
● Active transport of K+ into cell, Na+ out of cell
● Consumes a large amount of energy (~25% of all ATP stored in
cell, 70% in neuron)!
● Counteracts the constant leak of K+ ions
○ Action Potentials
■ Muscle cells & nerve cells → excitable cells
■ Voltage-gated channels for Na+ and K+ are responsible for action
potential
■ Occurs at the Axon Hillock
● At rest, voltage-gated channels are closed
● Steps:
○ Stimulus applied, neurotransmitter activate chemically-
gated channels and Na+ channels allow Na+ to diffuse
into cell
■ Local current of Na+ movement causes
depolarization (inside of cell become positive)
○ Depolarization causes local potential
○ If depolarization is large enough, Na+ enters until
local potential reaches threshold
○ Reaching threshold results in more
voltage- gated Na+ channels to open →
membrane becomes permeable to Na+
■ Voltage-gated K+ channels also open while
Na+ channels are open!
○ Since inside of cell is now positively charged, Na+
channels close and more K+ channels open
■ Na+ stops entering cell
■ K+ leaves cell due to opened K+ channels
■ Repolarization
○ Depolarization and repolarization make an action
potential (4 ms → 4 milliseconds)
○ At the end of repolarization, charge on cell
membrane is more negative than RMP →
Hyperpolarization
■ Elevated permeability to K+ lasts very briefly
○ RMP is set by activity of leak channels
○ When stimulated, chemically-gated channels open and initiate local
potential
○ When strong enough, local potentials activate voltage-gated channels to initiate
action potential
■ Action potential happens (4 ms) in all-or-none fashion (always
same magnitude)
● Stronger stimuli, however, can produce a greater frequency of
action potentials (but do not increase size of each action
potential)
○ Action potential conducted slowly in unmyelinated axon, rapidly in
myelinated axons
○ The Synapse
■ Where an axon attaches to a muscle, gland, organ, or other neuron
■ Involved w/ release of neurotransmitters (i.e. neuromuscular
junction)
● End of the axon forms the presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters are stored in synaptic vesicles in the
presynaptic terminal
● Membrane of the dendrite or effector cell is the postsynaptic
membrane
● Space is the synaptic cleft
■ When action potential reaches presynaptic terminal, voltage-gated Ca2+
channels open which allows Ca2+ to move into the cell
● Causes a release in neurotransmitters via exocytosis from the
presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters diffuse across synaptic cleft and bind
to specific receptor molecules on postsynaptic
membrane
○ Causes chemically-gated channels for Na+, K+, and
Cl- to open or close in the postsynaptic membrane
(depends on type of neurotransmitter)
■ If Na+ channels open, postsynaptic cell
● Reflexes becomes depolarized (action potential)
■ If K+ or Cl- channels open, inside of
postsynaptic cell becomes more negative
(hyperpolarized) which inhibits action
potential
■ Acetylcholinesterase is located in high concentration in junctional folds
(secondary synaptic cleft)
■ Neurotransmitter substances are normally broken down by
enzymes within synaptic cleft or are transported back into
presynaptic terminal
○ Involuntary reaction in response to a stimulus applied to the periphery and
transmitted to the CNS
■ Allow a person to react to stimuli more quickly than is possible if
conscious thought is involved
○ Reflex Arc: neuronal pathway by which a reflex occurs
■ Has 5 components:
● Sensory Receptor → pick up stimulus in skin
○ Detection
○ Perception (involves consciousness)
● Sensory (Afferent) Neuron → sends stimulus
to interneurons in spinal cord
● Interneuron (Association neuron) → in CNS, connect to
motor neurons and process stimulus
● Motor (Efferent) Neuron → from CNS
● Effector Organ
■ Simple reflex arcs do not have interneurons
○ Most reflexes occur in spinal cord or brainstem (not in higher brain
centers)!
● Neuronal Pathways
○ Neurons are arranged within CNS to form pathways ranging from simple to
complex
○ Two pathways:
■ Converging Pathway: two or more neurons converge on the same
neuron
● Allows information to be transmitted in more than one
neuronal pathway to converge into a single pathway
■ Diverging Pathway: axon from one neuron divides and synapses with
more than one neuron
● Allows information transmitted in a single neuronal pathway to
diverge into multiple pathways
○ Summation: summation of signals in neuronal pathways to reach
threshold and produce an action potential
■ Allows integration of multiple subthreshold local potentials
● Summation of the local potentials can bring membrane
potential to threshold (causing an action potential)
■ Spatial Summation: local potentials originate from different
locations
■ Temporal Summation: local potentials overlap in time
● Spinal Cord
○ Extends from foramen magnum to 2nd lumbar vertebra
■ Cauda Equina → inferior end of spinal cord where
spinal nerves exiting resemble horse’s tail
○ White matter consists of myelinated axons, gray matter is a collection of
neuron cell bodies
○ Babinski Reflex → when no inhibition by CNS is present; stroke of
bottom of foot causes flexion in babies
■ White matter is divided into 3 columns:
● Dorsal
● Ventral
● Lateral
■ Each column has 2 types of pathways:
● Ascending Tracts → consist of axons that conduct
action potentials toward the brain
● Descending Tracts → consist of axons that conduct
action potentials away from brain
○ Gray matter has:
■ Posterior (Dorsal) Horns: contains axons which synapse w/
interneurons
■ Anterior (Ventral) Horns: contain somatic (motor) neurons
■ Lateral Horns: contain autonomic neurons
○ Central Canal: fluid-filled space in center of the spinal cord
○ Ventral Root: motor (efferent) root of spinal nerve
○ Dorsal Root: sensory root of spinal nerve
■ Dorsal Root Ganglion
● Cell bodies of pseudo-unipolar sensory neurons are located in
the dorsal root ganglia
○ Axons of psuedo-unipolar sensory neurons originate in
periphery and pass through spinal nerves and dorsal roots
to posterior horn of gray matter
■ In posterior horn, axons either converge with
interneurons or pass into white matter and
ascend/descend
○ Ventral and Dorsal Root combine to form spinal nerve!
○ Axons from motor neurons form ventral roots and pass into spinal nerves
● Hypothalamus
○ Inferior part of diencephalon
○ Maintenance of homeostasis
○ Regulate body temperature, hunger, thirst
○ Sensations like sexual pleasure, rage, fear, relaxation,
“nervous perspirations” (emotional responses)
○ Infundibulum: extends from bottom of hypothalamus to
pituitary gland
■ Hypothalamus plays role in secretion of
hormones from pituitary gland (controls
pituitary gland)
○ Mammillary bodies form visible swellings on
backside of hypothalamus → emotional
responses to odors and memory
○ Cerebrum
■ Largest part of brain
■ Divided into left and right hemispheres by a longitudinal fissure
■ Has many folds called gyri (increase surface area of cortex)
■ Has intervening grooves called sulci
■ Divided into lobes:
● Frontal lobe:
○ Control of voluntary motor functions (Phineas Gage),
motivation, aggression (impulsivity), mood, and smell
● Parietal lobe:
○ Evaluates sensory information such as touch, pain,
temperature, and balance (sensation)
● Occipital lobe:
○ Vision
○ Not separate from other lobes
● Temporal lobe:
○ Hearing, smell, memory
● Sensory Functions
○ Sensory input to brainstem and diencephalon helps maintain homeostasis
○ Input to cerebrum and cerebellum keeps us informed about our
environment and allows CNS to control motor functions
○ Small portion of sensory input results in perception (conscious
awareness of stimuli)
● Cerebral Cortex
○ Surface of cerebrum, composed of gray matter
○ Controls thinking, communicating, remembering, understanding, and
initiates involuntary movements
○ Interpret action potentials!
● Motor Functions
○ Motor system of CNS maintains posture and balance
■ Also, moves trunk, head, limbs, tongue, and eyes, and
communicating through facial expressions and speech
○ Involuntary Movements → occur without conscious thought
○ Voluntary movements → consciously activated to achieve a
specific goal
■ Stimulation of upper and lower motor neurons
● Upper motor neuron: located in cerebral cortex; axons of
upper motor neurons form descending tracts that connect to lower
motor neurons
● Lower motor neuron: located in spinal cord and
brainstem; axons leave CNS and extend through
spinal/cranial nerves to skeletal muscles → they form
motor units
● Cerebellum
○ Maintenance of balance, muscle tone, and fine motor movement (learning motor
skills)
○ Major function is that it compares motor cortex and peripheral structures
■ If a difference is detected, cerebellum sends action potentials to motor
neurons in motor cortex and spinal cord to correct difference
● Proprioceptive Neurons → innervate joints, tendons, and muscles
● Other Brain Functions
○ Communication between Right & Left Hemisphere
■ Right hemisphere deals w/ left half of body
■ Left hemisphere deals w/ right half of body
■ Shared information through commissures (bundle of nerve fibers
passing from one side to other side)
● Corpus Callosum: largest commissure; thick band of nerve
tracts
■ Left hemisphere → analytical (mathematics and speech)
■ Right hemisphere → 3D, spatial perception, musical ability
○ Speech
■ Left hemisphere
■ Sensory Speech Area (Wernicke Area):
● Parietal lobe
● Understanding and formulating coherent speech
■ Motor Speech Area (Broca Area):
● Frontal lobe
● Controls speech movement
■ Damage to these two areas causes Aphasia (absent, defective
speech or language comprehension)
○ Memory
■ Working, short-term, and long-term (declarative or procedural)
■ Working Memory: briefly stored information required for immediate
performance of a task
● Lasts a few seconds
● Occurs in frontal cortex
● Limited to about 7 bits of information
■ Short-Term Memory: lasts longer than working memory (minutes to
days)
● Stored by increased synaptic transmission
● Transferred to long-term memory
■ Long-Term Memory: minutes to permanent by consolidation
(gradual process involving formation of newer, stronger synaptic
connections)
● Length of storage depends on frequency of use
● Declarative (Explicit) memory: retention of facts
● Procedural (Reflexive) memory: development of motor
skills
● Long-term memory involves structural and functional changes
in neurons that lead to long-term enhancement of synaptic
transmission
○ Memory engrams are involved in long-term retention
● Cranial Nerves
○ 12 pairs
○ Sensory functions entail senses (vision, touch, etc.)
○ Motor functions are divided into:
■ Somatic Motor
● Innervate skeletal muscles in head and neck
■ Parasympathetic
● Innervate glands, smooth muscle throughout body, and
cardiac muscle
○ Autonomic Neurotransmitters
■ Sympathetic → norepinephrine
■ Parasympathetic → acetylcholine