Lecture 18: Nervous System I: Organization

I. Nervous System Organization

→ CC animal nervous systems
II. Glial Cells
→ CC glial cells
III. Central Nervous System
→ SEQ nervous system signal pathway
→ CC CNS, PNS
IV. Peripheral Nervous System
→ SEQ NS signal pathway
→ CC CNS, PNS
V. Vertebrate Brain
→ CC brain structures

● Big Picture
○ Sense, react to environment-BYA
○ increase in survival, reproduction in changing environments
○ Increase in body complexity → increase in NS complexity
○ Development of NS and the more derived NS correlate with other species
derived traits.

I. Nervous System Organization

A. Cnidarians
● Simplest animals with nervous systems
● Type of nervous system: Nerve net: interconnected neurons
○ No central control organ (no brain)
○ Impulse (stimulus) in both directions, spread through net
○ Signals are bidirectional-can move anywhere throughout the body

B. Echinoderms
● Nerve ring: Central control structure
 ○ Signals radial nerves → Signals muscles

C. Bilateria: Lots of Variation

● Platyhelminthes: Planarians, flatworms
Simplest clearly defined CNS
Brain, eyespots at anterior
Ladder type nervous system
2 longitudinal nerve cords (side of ladder)
Transverse nerves (“rungs)

● Annelids and Arthropods (e.g worms and cockroaches)

More complex brain
Ganglia: Segmentally arranged clusters of neurons
D. Vertebrates
● Brain and spinal cord→ CNS
● Nerves and ganglia→ PNS
E. Nervous System and Lifestyle
● Mollusks, even though in the same phylum…
○ Chitin: Slow moving→ Simple NS
○ Squid: fast moving→ Complex NS

Vertebrate Nervous System Now…

II. Glial Cells (Glia) (5 total in adults, 1 found embryonically= 6 total)

A. Adult glial cells
 3 parts: all in CNS
● Microglial Cells: Immune and waste management. Around the central nervous system
and cleans stuff up. Deals with pathogens (immune). Cleans fragments of dead cells.
Cleans anything not supposed to be there. Keeps things organized and clean.
● Astrocyte: “Star cells”. Interact with neurons to support development and survival of
neurons. Help maintain the blood brain barrier: The CNS is isolated from the rest of the
body by what can get in due to the blood brain barrier. There are things circulating in the
blood that are not supposed to be anywhere near the CNS and the cerebral fluid.
● Ependymal Cells: lines the cavity where the cerebral spinal fluid is. Do osmoregulation.
Not regulating the barrier, but directly maintaining the blood brain barrier and the
cerebral spinal fluid.

● Myelination: Layers of membrane wrapped around the axons of the neurons. Helps the
signal go faster.
○ Two types of cells responsible for myelination
■ Oligodendrocytes in CNS: reach out and wrap around the axon. This
forms the myelin sheaths which insulate the signal. Responsible for
myelination in CNS
■ Schwann Cells in PNS. Instead of having a cell body, schwann cells are
the myelin sheath itself. The cell itself wraps around the axon. Each
individual myelin sheath is an individual single schwann cell.
B. Radial Glia
● Not found in adults, only found embryonically
● Neurons have to migrate during embryonic development. When the brain forms,
there are 2 layers of the nerve tube. (Sleeve demo): tube forms over so the inner
layer ends up on the outside. Now at the anterior end, we have 2 layers: inner
layer and folded over layer. The neural cells develop on the inner layer and move
to the outer layer. The radial glial cells help with this.
● Form tracks in developing embryo
● Newly formed neurons migrate from neural tube along tracks
● Facilitate the migration of neurons in the folded over region of the CNS during
brain development
III. Central Nervous System
● Brain and spinal cord
A. Brain- Central Control Organ

● Ventricles: Fluid filled cavities filled with cerebrospinal fluid.

● Gray matter: outer layer of the brain. Mostly will be the cell bodies of neurons
and unmyelinated axons- axons which go short distance and have no myelin
sheath
● White matter: inner layer of the brain. Axons with myelin sheath. Long distance
communication. No cell bodies at all. White bc the myelin sheath is layers and
layers of membranes-lipids.
B. Spinal Cord
● Link between brain, rest of NS. Everything needs to go through the spinal cord
● Located dorsal, neck/back, within spin. Start at base of skull all the way to pelvis
● Structure: very narrow cord of nerve tissue surrounded by bone (spine)
● Small central canal with fluid
● Spinal cord gray matter and white matter is flopped from brain’s
○ Why? When the dorsal hollow nerve cord is formed, as the structure matures, it
differentiates. The anterior end becomes the brain by folding over and the
posterior portion becomes the spinal cord
○ Gray matter is inside. Gray matter surrounds canal
○ White matter is outside. White matter surrounds gray
 ● Spinal Cord Functions
○ Transmits impulses to/from the brain. Then, signals muscles what to do
○ Reflex actions: Rapid, involuntary response to stimulus. Only involve the spinal
cord, not the brain.
○ Example: Knee-jerk reflex
■ Quad stretch unexpectedly→ helps us stay upright

IV. Peripheral Nervous System

● Encompasses nerves outside the brain and spinal cords. Everything is not part of the brain
or spinal cord.
● Send signals from the spinal cord, and take signals from the spinal cord
● Nervous tissue not part of CNS: Transmits to and from CNS- sensory receptors, nerves
A. Sensory Receptors: major component
● Detection of stimuli and pass it through the PNS→ rest of the system; many different
types of sensory receptors
● Visual, auditory, chemical, etc
B. Nerves
Bundles of axons
● Cranial Nerves
○ Interact directly with brain, don’t go through spinal cord
○ Originate in hind part of brain, upper
○ Innervate head, upper body
● Spinal Nerves
○ Rest of nerves in body. Take info in from CNS and send it where it needs to go
○ Originate in spinal cord→
 ○ Innervate entire body

C. 2 Functional Components of PNS

Afferent Neurons and Efferent Neurons
● Afferent: inside
● Afferent (Sensory): Sensory receptor→ CNS
■ Receptors involved, not effectors (muscles)
○ 2 types of senses
■ Visceral: Not aware of e.g. blood pressure
■ Somatic: Are aware of e.g vision

● Efferent: outside
● Efferent (Motor)
■ CNS→ Effectors (Muscles, endocrine gland)
○ 2 components
■ Motor System
● Efferent Neurons→Skeletal muscles (fingers)
● Includes voluntary muscles and reflexes (involuntary)
■ Autonomic Nervous System
● Efferent Neurons→ Glands, heart, smooth muscle
● Not consciously controlled
● 3 divisions: Controls digestive, cardiovascular, excretory,
endocrine. The 3 divisions are Enteric division, Parasympathetic
division, and Sympathetic division.
● Enteric Division
○ Digestive tract, pancreas, gallbladder
● Parasympathetic vs. Sympathetic Division
○ Parasympathetic: Rest and digest
■ Set of responses which tell us to relax and digest our food
■ Slower heart rate, lower respiratory rate, stimulation of stomach and
pancreas
■ No acute stress
○ Sympathetic: Fight or flight
■ Lungs relax so more air gets in, heart rate increase, limit blood flow to
digestive muscles so it can go to skeletal muscle, release excess glucose
■ Deals with acute stress
● Pathway of signal through PNS and CNS
Stimulus→Sensory receptor→Afferent neuron→CNS→Efferent neuron→Motor or
autonomic nervous system→Effector (e.g a muscle)
V. Vertebrate Brain
A. Embryonic development
● Neural tube: Single tube of tissue
○ Anterior end→folds over→brain
○ Posterior end→ spinal cord
B. Comparison of Vertebrate Brains
● Relative size of 3 main regions varies based on environment
● Reflects importance of particular functions lifestyles

● Fish: have to deal with existing in a 3D environment. Blue part which deals with spatial
arrangement is larger in fishes than in mammals who live in a 2D environment.
● Birds: much more similar to mammals. Since they fly and deal with spatial arrangement,
the part of the brain which deals with balance and coordination is bigger in birds than
mammals and fish
C. Structures and Functions

● Cerebrum
 ○ Most prominent part of brain
○ Voluntary movement
○ Learning, emotion, memory, perception
○ Higher order thinking takes place here
■ Divisions:
● Left and right hemispheres
● Left/right reversed perception/control
● Corpus callosum: thick band of axons, connects L/R halves
● Cerebellum
○ Back of brain
○ Movement, balance
○ Motor skills/coordination/spatial arrangement
○ Position of joints, lengths of muscles
○ Input from ears, eyes
○ Damage leads to permanent loss of circulation
● Diencephalon: middle of the brain
○ Thalamus: main input center for sensory info to cerebrum. Takes in all the
sensory information from the rest of the body and sends it to the right part
of the cerebrum (auditory, visual, etc)
■ Routes to correct area
○ Hypothalamus: regulates pituitary and hunger, thirst, anger
■ Feeding, Fleeing, Fighting, Mating
● Brainstem (3 parts from top to bottom)
○ Midbrain, pons, Medulla oblongata
■ Midbrain: receives, integrates, routes sensory info.
● Sensory info comes up from the spinal cord, goes up first to
the midbrain, then gets routed up to the thalamus and then
gets sent to whatever part of the cerebrum it needs to get
sent to
■ Pons: respiratory and sleep centers
● Right below midbrain.
■ Medulla Oblongata: continuous with spinal cord, below pons
● Basic life functions- respiration, heartbeat, BP
● Swallowing, coughing, vomiting
Practice Question
Compare and contrast types of nervous systems. Which are components of both cnidarian and
vertebrate nervous systems?
I. Nerves II. Synapses III. Neurons IV. Brain
Answer: IV