The Nervous System**

**1. Anatomy and Physiology Divisions:**

- **Anatomical Divisions:**

- Central Nervous System (CNS): Brain and spinal cord.

- Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Everything outside the CNS.

- **Functional Divisions:**

- Sensory: Responsible for sensation.

- Integration: Responsible for processing information.

- Motor: Responsible for generating responses.

- All functional areas exist in both central and peripheral anatomy.

**2. Specific Structures and Names:**

- CNS Structures:

- Nucleus: Collection of neuron cell bodies.

- Tract: Bundle of axons.

- Gray Matter: Nuclei-containing region.

- PNS Structures:

- Ganglion: Collection of neuron cell bodies.

- Nerve: Bundle of axons.

- White Matter: Region containing tracts.

**3. Types of Nervous Tissue:**

- Neurons: Responsible for electrical signal communication.

- Glial Cells: Support cells maintaining the neuronal environment.

- In CNS:

- Astrocytes, Oligodendrocytes, Microglia, Ependymal cells.

- In PNS:

- Satellite Cells, Schwann Cells.

**4. Function of Nervous Tissue:**

- Sensation:

- Initiated by activation of sensory endings.

- Electrical signals transmitted through axons.

- Integration in the spinal cord and brain.

- Motor response initiated through the motor pathway.

**5. The Action Potential:**

- Electrical signals in the nervous system.

- Basis is the controlled distribution of ions across the membrane.

- Action potential involves depolarization, repolarization, and hyperpolarization.

- Propagation: Continuous in unmyelinated axons, saltatory in myelinated axons.

**6. Communication Between Neurons:**

- Action potential propagation along the axon.

- Input required for neuron to generate action potential.

- Graded potentials based on stimulus strength.

- Types of graded potentials: Generator, Receptor, Postsynaptic (Excitatory/Inhibitory).

- Synapses: Chemical or electrical contacts between neurons.

- Neurotransmitters, such as cholinergic, amino acids, biogenic amines, and neuropeptides.

**7. Special Division: Enteric Nervous System:**

- Responsible for controlling digestive organs.

- Overlaps with parts of the autonomic nervous system.

- Found exclusively in the periphery within digestive organs.

34. When running on a treadmill, various responses are generated by the nervous system to
coordinate and control the activity. Examples of tissues under nervous system control include:

- **Muscle Tissue (Skeletal Muscle):** The nervous system stimulates skeletal muscles to contract
and produce movement. During running, motor neurons release neurotransmitters at neuromuscular
junctions, leading to muscle contraction. For example, the release of acetylcholine initiates an action
potential in muscle cells.

- **Cardiac Muscle:** The autonomic nervous system regulates heart rate. When running, the
sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system is activated, leading to an increase in heart
rate. This is an example of how the nervous system modulates cardiac muscle activity.

- **Smooth Muscle:** In the walls of blood vessels, the nervous system helps regulate blood flow.
During exercise, sympathetic stimulation causes vasodilation in skeletal muscles to increase blood
supply, optimizing oxygen delivery.

35. When eating, the perceptual experience involves both anatomical and functional divisions of the
nervous system:

- **Anatomical Divisions:** The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is involved in transmitting sensory
information from the digestive organs to the central nervous system (CNS). The vagus nerve, for
instance, plays a crucial role in conveying signals from the digestive tract to the brain.

- **Functional Divisions:** The autonomic nervous system, specifically the parasympathetic division,
dominates during the resting and digesting phase. It promotes activities like salivation, peristalsis,
and digestion, enhancing the overall eating experience.

36. In multiple sclerosis, the most likely target cell is the **oligodendrocyte**. Oligodendrocytes are
responsible for myelinating axons in the central nervous system (CNS). In multiple sclerosis, the
immune system mistakenly attacks and damages the myelin sheath, leading to demyelination. This
results in impaired nerve signal transmission, causing various neurological symptoms.

37. The type of neuron best suited for relaying information directly from one neuron to another is
the **interneuron**. Interneurons, also known as association neurons, have short, highly branched
processes, allowing them to form connections with neighboring neurons. They facilitate
communication and integration of signals within the central nervous system.

38. In a structural or anatomical context:

- **Afferent** refers to sensory fibers or pathways that carry signals towards the central nervous
system (CNS) from sensory receptors or peripheral tissues.

- **Efferent** refers to motor fibers or pathways that carry signals away from the CNS to muscles
or glands to initiate a response.
39. If a person has a motor disorder and cannot move their arm voluntarily but retains muscle tone,
it suggests that the **lower motor neurons** are affected. Lower motor neurons, located in the
spinal cord or brainstem, directly innervate muscles and are responsible for voluntary movement.

40. An "all or none" event in the context of an action potential means that once a neuron is
stimulated to reach its threshold, it will generate a full-strength action potential. If the stimulus is
subthreshold, no action potential occurs; if it is at or above the threshold, the action potential is of a
consistent magnitude and cannot be further influenced by the strength of the stimulus.

41. The conscious perception of pain is delayed because pain signals need to travel along
unmyelinated C fibers, which transmit nerve impulses more slowly than myelinated fibers. This
slower transmission results in a delay in the conscious perception of pain, allowing time for the brain
to process and interpret the signals.

42. If a postsynaptic cell has synapses from five different cells, with three causing excitatory
postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and two causing inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), a series of
depolarizations and hyperpolarizations leading to the neuron reaching threshold might look like this:

- EPSP from cell 1 (+1 mV)

- EPSP from cell 2 (+2 mV)

- IPSP from cell 3 (-1 mV)

- EPSP from cell 4 (+1 mV)

- IPSP from cell 5 (-2 mV)

- Summing these potentials: 1 + 2 - 1 + 1 - 2 = +1 mV

The net effect is a depolarization of +1 mV, bringing the neuron closer to the threshold.

43. The receptor is the important element determining the effect a neurotransmitter has on a target
cell because different receptors are specific to particular neurotransmitters. The binding of a
neurotransmitter to its specific receptor on the target cell triggers a specific response. For example,
the binding of acetylcholine to a nicotinic receptor on a muscle cell leads to muscle contraction,
while the binding of the same neurotransmitter to a different receptor might have a different effect
on a different type of cell. The receptor determines the cellular response to the neurotransmitter.