THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

• 86 billions of neurons in brain

• Each neuron has 7,000 connections
• Between 100-500 trillions of synapsis in the brain
equated to stars in milky way.
• The most intricate and elaborated systems in the
human body allowing all information to process at
the same time.
• Nervous system particularly the brain is responsible 1.
to all of the activities that we have.
• Mental processes, emotions, personalities etc.
• A complex collection of nerves and specialized cells
known as neurons that transmit signals between
different parts of the body. 2.
1. Central Nervous System (CNS) 3.
• Brain & spinal cord
2. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) 4.
• Ganglia (clusters of neurons) and nerves
(leading into and from brain & spinal cord)
that connect to one another.
5.
6.
Dendrites
• Branch-like extensions that receive
impulses and carry them toward cell body.
• Dendrites receive impulses from many
other axons.
Soma
• Life support center of the cell.
Axon Hillock
• For signal integration.
Axon:
• Single extension of the neuron that carries
impulses away from the cell body.
• The axon branches out at ending to send
impulses to many different neurons.
Myelin sheath
• Covers the axon and boosts the speed at
which neuron can fire off signals.
Axon terminal
• Bottom-like swelling that form junction with
other cells.

NEURAL ZONES
Four functional zones
1. Signal reception
o Dendrites and
the cell body (soma)
o Incoming signal
received and converted
Cervical (8)
to change in membrane
Thoracic (12)
potential
Lumbar (5)
2. Signal integration
Sacral (5)
o Axon hillock
Coccygeal(1)
o Strong signal is
converted to an action
potential (AP)
3. Signal conduction
o Axon (some
wrapped in myelin
NEURONS
sheath)
• Neurons are basic functional unit of nervous o AP travels
system. down axon
• There are about 100 billion neurons in the brain of 4. Signal transmission
an average size. o Axon terminals
• Basic parts are: Dendrites, Soma (cell body), Axon o Release of
hillock, Axon, Myelin sheath and Axon terminal. neurotransmitter
STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION OF NEURONS
1. Multipolar neurons
o Many extensions from the cell body.
2. Bipolar neurons
o One axon and one dendrite.
3. Unipolar neurons
o Have a short single process leaving the cell
body
FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF NEURONS
A. Sensory (Afferent) neurons
o Carry impulses from the sensory receptors
(eyes, ears & other sensory organs.
o Cutaneous sense organs
o Proprioceptors – detect stretch or tension
B. Interneurons (Association neurons)
o ‘Middle-men’
o Found in neural pathways in the central nervous
system
o Connect sensory and motor neurons
C. Motor (Efferent) neurons
o Carry impulses from the central nervous system
to muscles & glands.
GLIA CELLS or NEUROGLIA
• Besides neurons, there are others cells in the CNS.
The neuroglia (Greek word means “glue” are the
most abundant cells, outnumbering the neurons 10
to 1
• Function is to provide support to neurons.
• Astroglia (Star-shaped)- the largest glia cells.
• 2 types are:
1. Oligodendrocytes in the CNS
2. Schwann cells in the PNS
PROPERTIES OF NEURONS
• Irritability – ability to respond to stimuli
• Conductivity – ability to transmit an impulse
SYNAPSE
• A microscopic gap about eighteen-millionths of an
inch wide between axon of one neuron and
dendrites of another neurons.
• It allows neurons to communicate one another.
• There are 10 to 100 trillion synapses in the brain
alone.
• Axon terminal buttons contains small packets call
synaptic vesicles where chemical transmitter
substance are stored.
NEUROTRANSMITTER
• Referred to as the body’s chemical messengers.
• They are the molecules used by the nervous
system to transmit messages between neurons,
or from neurons to muscles.
• A neurotransmitter can be excitatory and
inhibitory.
SOME NEUROTRANSMITTER
• GABA or Gamma-aminobutyric acid
o Inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps to balance
any neurons that might be over-firing.
o This becomes especially helpful when it comes
to anxiety or fear because the release of GABA
helps to calm you down.
• Dopamine
o It also plays a role in attention, problem-solving,
and memory.
o Helps control the brain's reward and pleasure
centers.
o Helps regulate movement and emotional
responses, and it enables us not only to see
rewards, but to take action to move toward
them.
o Low dopamine can cause Parkinson's Disease
and prone to addiction.
• Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT)
o An inhibitory neurotransmitter (it doesn’t give the
next neuron the signal to fire)
o Involved in mood, sleep cycle, pain control, and
digestion.
• Alzheimer’s Disease (Low in Acetylcholine)
o Characterized by memory loss and the
eventual inability for self-care.
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Low
level of GABA, norepinephrine and serotonin)
o Difficulties in the areas of attention, overactivity,
impulse control, and distractibility.
• Schizophrenia (High in dopamine level)
o A disorder that impacts how a person thinks,
feels, and acts.
o Antipsychotic drugs such as chlorpromazine
and clozapine- Lower the amount of dopamine.
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS)
• Made up of brain and spinal cord
• Acts as body’s control center, coordinates body’s
activities
o Impulses travel through the neurons in your
body to reach the brain

• Acetylcholine
o Neurotransmitter used at the neuromuscular
junction—in other words, it is the chemical that
motor neurons of the nervous system release in
order to activate muscles.
o Effects ranging from paralysis to convulsions.
Central Nervous System is yellow in this diagram.
• Noradrenaline/Norepinephrine
o Excitatory neurotransmitter that helps to activate A. THE BRAIN
the sympathetic nervous system, which is your • The most complex organ
“fight or flight” response to a stressor. • Covered and protected by cranial bones.
o Also plays a role in attention, emotion, sleeping • It weights 3 pounds and contains 90% of body’s
and dreaming, and learning. neurons
o When it is released into the bloodstreams, it • Covered by membranes known as “Meninges”
helps to increase heart rate, release glucose o Dura mater
energy stores, and increase blood flow to the o Arachnoid mater
muscles. ▪ Subarachnoid space
o Pia mater
IMBALANCES OF NEUROTRANSMITTER CAN LEAD INTO:
• Depression (Low in serotonin level)
o Anti-depressant such as fluoxetine (Prozac)-
SSRI

• Parkinson’s Disease (Low dopamine level)

o Disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that
affects the neurons responsible for movement
in the body.
REGION OF THE BRAIN: A.1 Cerebrum: Four lobes
• Cerebrum • Wernicke’s (Receptive) Aphasia
o Two main divisions are left and right hemisphere o In this form of aphasia, the ability to grasp the
o Has four lobes: Frontal, Parietal, Temporal & meaning of spoken words and sentences is
Occipital impaired, while the ease of producing connected
• Diencephalon speech is not very affected.
o Sits on the top of the brain stem o Therefore, Wernicke’s aphasia is also referred to
o Enclosed by the cerebral hemisphere as ‘fluent aphasia’ or ‘receptive aphasia’.
o 3 parts (Thalamus, Hypothalamus & o Discovered by German neurologist Carl
Epithalamus) Wernicke.
• Brain stem • Broca’s Aphasia
o Connects brain & spinal cord o Inability or difficulty producing speech.
o Consist of midbrain, pons, and medulla o Broca’s area is a region in the frontal lobe of the
oblongata. dominant hemisphere, usually the left with
o Breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion functions linked to speech production.
(involuntary) o Discovered by Dr. Pierre Paul Broca, a French
• Cerebellum physician, anatomist and anthropologist.
o Controls body movement (voluntary)

A. 1 Cerebrum: Brain Hemisphere A.2 Diencephalon

• The left side of the brain is responsible for • Thalamus
controlling the right side of the body. It also performs o Sensory relay station
tasks that have to do with logic, such as in science o Transfer impulses to the correct part of the
and mathematics. cortex for localization & interpretation.
• Right hemisphere coordinates the left side of the • Hypothalamus
body, and performs tasks that have do with creativity o Under thalamus
and the arts. o Important autonomic nervous system center
(body temperature, controls water balance,
regulates metabolism)
o Important part of limbic system (emotion)
o Pituitary gland is attached to hypothalamus
• Epithalamus
o Houses the pineal body
A.3 Brain stem
• The central trunk of the mammalian brain, consisting
of the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain, and
continuing downward to form the spinal cord.
o MIDBRAIN-contains cerebral aqueduct
(connects 3rd & 4th ventricles)
o MEDULLA OBLONGATA- essential for
breathing, swallowing, BP regulation,contains
tracts etc.
o PONS- Latin for "bridge“, contains different
cranial nerves, corticospinal tract, spinothalamic
tract etc.

A.4 Cerebellum

PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (PNS)

• Made up of all the nerves that carry messages to
and from the central nervous system.
• Similar to telephone wires that connect all of our
houses in the community
B. Spinal Cord • Central Nervous System and Peripheral Nervous
• The spinal cord is a long, System work together to make rapid changes in your
thin, tubular bundle of body in response to stimuli.
nervous tissue and support
cells that extends from the
medulla oblongata in the
brainstem to the lumbar
region of the vertebral
column.
• Divided into 5 regions (31 pairs/
62 spinal nerves)
o Cervical (C1-C7)
o Thoracic (T1-T12)
o Lumbar (L1-L5) Peripheral Nervous System is green in this diagram.
o Sacral (S1-S5)
o Coccygeal or Coccyx • Somatic Nervous System
(Tailbone) (1) • Relay information between skin, skeletal
muscles and central nervous system
• You consciously control this pathway by
MENINGEAL LAYERS deciding whether or not to move muscles
• Dura mater: (except reflexes)
• outer layer of spinal cord • Reflexes: Automatic response to stimulus
• subdural space: • Autonomic Nervous System
o between arachnoid mater and dura • Relay information from central nervous
mater system to organs
• Arachnoid mater: • Involuntary: You do not consciously control
• middle meningeal layer these
• subarachnoid space: • Sympathetic Nervous System: controls in
o between arachnoid mater and pia mater times of stress, such as the flight or fight
o filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) response
• Pia mater: • Parasympathetic Nervous System:
• inner meningeal layer controls body in times of rest