NERVOUS SYSTEM

● General: Acts as a communication system,

receiving signals from and sending commands to
different areas of the body

FUNCTIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

● Receiving sensory input
- Sensory receptors monitor numerous external
and internal stimuli like vision, hearing, touch,
pain, etc.
● Integrating Information
- Brain and spinal cord processing sensory input
● Controls muscles and glands
● Maintain homeostasis
- Ability to detect, interpret, and respond to
changes in internal and external conditions
● Establishing and maintaining mental activity
DIVISIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
1. Central Nervous System
- Brain and spinal cord
- Integration and processing
2. Peripheral Nervous System
- 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 31 pairs of
spinal nerves and ganglia
- Communication link between the CNS
and the various parts of the body;
delivers information to and from the CNS
Under the PNS:
a. Sensory division or afferent division
- Conducts AP (Action Potential) from
sensory receptors to the CNS c/o
sensory neurons
b. Motor division or efferent division
- From the CNS to effector organs c/o
motor neurons.
- Can be subdivided based on the type of
effector being innovated (somatic
nervous system and autonomic nervous
system)
➔ Somatic nervous system -
transmits AP from CNS to skeletal
muscles
➔ Autonomic nervous system - from
CNS to cardiac, smooth muscle,
and glands
➢ Sympathetic nervous
system (fight or flight)
➢ Parasympathetic nervous
system (rest and digest)
3. Enteric Nervous System (ENS)
- Unique subdivision; has both sensory and motor
neurons contained wholly within the digestive
tract.
CELLS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
1. Neurons - nerve cells
- Receive stimuli, conduct action
potentials, and transmit signals to
other neurons or effector organs
PARTS:
● Cell body- contains a single nucleus and
a few organelles
● Dendrites - short, branching, extensions
of the cell body; receive information from
other neurons or from sensory receptors
● Axon - single long cell process extending
from the sell body
❖ Axon hillock - where the axon
leaves the cell body
● Myelin sheath- insulating layer of cells around
the axon.
2. Glial Cells - aka neuroglia
- Supportive cells of the CNS and
PNS
- Do not conduct AP
● PNS Glial Cell
➔ Schwann cells - produces myelin sheath
in the PNS
● CNS Glial Cell
➔ Astrocytes - major supporting cells in the
CNS; help maintain the blood brain
barrier
➔ Ependymal cells - line the ventricles and
produce CSF (cerebrus spinal fluid)
➔ Microglia - immune cells of the CNS
 ➔ Oligodendrocytes - produces myelin
sheath in the CNS.

MYELIN SHEATH - excellent insulator that prevents

almost all ion across the cell membrane
- Increases the speed and efficiency of action
potential generation.
- Nodes of ranvier : Gaps in the myelin sheath

a. Myelinated axon

b. Unmyelinated axon

Note: Opposite in the spinal cord (white matter has
myelin sheath, and gray matter has no myelin sheath)
PNS
● Ganglion - cluster of neuron cell bodies in the
PNS
● Nerves - bundles of axons and associated
connective tissue in PNS
SPINAL NERVES
● Arise along the spinal cord from the union of the
dorsal roots and ventral roots
● Exit the vertebral column between adjacent
vertebrae
● Categorized by the region of the vertebral
column from which they emerge - cervical,
thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal
 BRAIN
1. Brainstem - connects the spinal cord to the
remainder of the brain
- Involved in vital body functions, such as
the control of heart rate, blood pressure,
and breathing
- Parts: Medulla oblongata, Pons, Midbrain
➢ Midbrain - superior to the pons; smallest region
of the brainstem
- Visual reflexes and receive touch and
auditory input; coordinating eye
movements and controlling pupil
diameter and lens shape.
➢ Pons - Superior to the medulla oblongata
- Functions such as breathing, swallowing,
balance, chewing, and salivation.
➢ Medulla Oblongata - most inferior portion of the
brainstem
- Nuclei with specific functions, such as
regulation of heart rate, and blood vessel
diameter, breathing, swallowing,
vomiting, coughing, sneezing, balance,
and coordination.
➢ Reticular Formation - group of nuclei scattered
throughout the brainstem
➔ Major component of the reticular
activating system for arousing and
maintaining consciousness and in
regulating the sleep-wake cycle.
REFLEXES
● Involuntary reaction in response to a stimulus
applied to the periphery and transmitted to CNS
● Allow a person to react to stimuli more quickly
REFLEX ARC
● Pathway by which a reflex occur
● Basic functional unit of the nervous system
because it is the smallest, simplest pathway
capable of receiving a stimulus and yielding a
response.
● Five basic components
➔ A sensory receptor
➔ Sensory neuron
➔ Interneurons
➔ Motor neurons
➔ Effector organ
2. Diencephalon - between the brainstem and the
cerebrum
- 3 parts: thalamus, epithalamus,
hypothalamus
● Thalamus - largest part of the diencephalon
- Where most sensory input that ascends
through the spinal cord and brainstem
projects to
- Influences mood and registers an
unlocalized, uncomfortable perception of
pain.
3. Cerebrum (Cerebral cortex) - largest part of the
brain
- Divided into left and right hemispheres
- Gyri - folds on the surface of each
hemisphere; increases the surface area
of the cerebral cortex
- Sulci - intervening grooves

● Epithalamus - small area superior and posterior

to the thalamus
- Involved in the emotional and visceral
response to odors, and the pineal gland

SENSORY AREAS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

1. Primary sensory areas - regions of the cerebral
cortex where the ascending tracts project
● Primary somatic sensory cortex - parietal lobe;
where pain, pressure, and temperature sensory
fibers terminate
● Visual cortex - occipital lobe
● Primary auditory cortex - temporal lobe
2. Association areas - adjacent to the primary
sensory areas are involved in the process of
● Hypothalamus - most inferior part of the recognition.
diencephalon
- Plays a central role in the control of body
temperature, hunger, and thirst as well as
sensations such as sexual pleasure,
rage, fear, and relaxation after a meal.
 4. Cerebellum - attached to the brainstem
- Maintaining balance and muscle tone
and in coordinating fine motor movement
- Ensure smooth and coordinated
movements
MENINGES, VENTRICLES, CEREBROSPINAL FLUID
(CSF)
● Meninges - connective tissue membranes
- Surround and protect the brain and spinal
cord
- 3 layers: (1) dura mater, (2) arachnoid
mater, (3) pia mater

MOTOR AREAS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

● Primary motor cortex - control voluntary
movements of skeletal muscles
● Premotor area - where motor functions are
organized before they are actually initiated in the
primary cortex
● Prefrontal area - motivation and foresight to plan
and initiate movements
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND LEFT
HEMISPHERE
● Sensory information received by one
hemisphere is shared with the other through
connections between the two hemispheres
called commissures. The largest of these
commissures is the corpus callosum.

SPEECH FUNCTION
a. Sensory speech area (Wernicke area)-
understanding and formulating coherent speech
b. Motor speech area (broca area)- controls the
movement necessary for speech.

MEMORY
Three stages
1. Working memory - task-associated memory
which lasts only a few seconds to minutes
2. Short-term memory - can be retained for a few 3 LAYERS OF THE MENINGES
minutes to a few days; susceptible to brain ➢ Epidural space
trauma 1. Dura mater - most superficial and
3. Long-term memory - consolidated from thickest of the meninges; folds help hold
short-term memory the brain in place within the skull
➢ Subdural space
2. Arachnoid mater
➢ Subarachnoid space - filled with CSF and
contains BV
3. Pia mater - very tightly bound to the
surface of the brain & SC
 CRANIAL NERVES

VENTRICLES
● Fluid-filled cavities in the CNS

1. Lateral ventricle - found in each cerebral

hemisphere
2. Third ventricle - smaller, midline at the center of
the diencephalon between two halves of the
thalamus
3. Fourth ventricle - at the base of the cerebellum
and continuous with the central canal of the
spinal cord

“Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel Very Good Velvet AH!”

“Some Say Money Matter But My Brother Says Big

Boobs Matter Most”
● Cerebrospinal fluid - bathes the brain and spinal
cord, providing a protective cushion around the
CNS
➔ Choroid plexuses - produce the CSF;
made of ependymal cells and are located
in the ventricles
➔ Arachnoid granulations - where the CSF
passes from the subarachnoid space into
the blood
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
● Comprises motor neurons that carry action
potentials from the CNS to the periphery
● Innervate smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and
glands
● Largely controlled unconsciously
● Subdivisions: sympathetic division,
parasympathetic division
➔ Sympathetic division - “fight or flight”
division of the ANS
 - It prepares the person either to stand and face a
threat or to leave the situation as quickly as
possible
➔ Parasympathetic division - “rest and digest”
- Consistent with resting conditions
- Stimulates involuntary activities, such as
digestion, defecation, and urination

EFFECTS OF AGING ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM