6F: PERCEPTION AND COORDINATION

Central Nervous System

The human nervous system is a highly specialized ● composed of the brain

system, responsible for the control and integration
of the body’s many activities.
Main function
- Responsible for the control of motor, sensory ● major areas:
activities, autonomic activities, cognitive
activities, and behavioral activities.
2 Major Parts:
1. Central Nervous system
2. Peripheral Nervous system
a. consists of cranial nerves, spinal nerves,
and autonomic nervous system
Neuron
● basic functional unit of the brain
● composed of
○ dendrites
■ branch types structure for receiving
electrochemical changes
○ Axon
■ long projection that carries electrical
impulses away from the body. some
axon have myelinated sheath that
increases speed of conduction.
○ ganglia or nuclei
■ nerve cell bodies occurring in
clusters. while the center is a cluster
of cell bodies with the same function.
Neurotransmitters
● communicate messages from one neuron to
another or from a neuron to a target cell like
muscle cells or endocrine cells
● stored in synaptic vesicles
○ as an electrical action potential moves
along with the axon and reaches the
nerve terminal, neurotransmitters are Grey Matter
released into the synapse. it is then
transported into the synapse, binding to
receptors on the postsynaptic cell
membrane = excitatory function or
inhibitory function.
White Matter
● Innermost layer
○ fun fact: the brain covers 2% of the total
body weight, weighing 1,400 grams
average in a young adult while in an
older adult weighs 1,200 grams
○ Cerebrum
■ contains thalamus, hypothalamus,
basal ganglia
■ further divided into 2 hemispheres:
left and right hemisphere
■ frontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal
lobe, temporal lobe
○ brain stem
■ midbrain, pons, and medulla
○ Cerebellum
Cerebrum
● composed of:
○ Ganglia
■ folded layers to increase the
surface area of the brain and
is responsible for the high
level of activity carried out by
a small appearing organ.
○ Sulcus
■ located between each gyrus,
serves as an anatomical
division
○ great longitudinal fissure
■ located in between the
cerebral hemispheres. which
divides the cerebrum into left
and right hemispheres, they
are joined in the lower fissure
by the corpus callosum
● External layer
○ about 2-5 mm deep
● contains billions of neuron cell bodies
given its grey appearance
 ● Composed of myelinated nerve fibers and ○ Is inferior to the frontal and parietal
neuraglia cells lobe
○ that form pathway connecting ○ Contains the auditory receptive
various parts of the brain with one areas.
another. These pathways also ■ plays a role in memory of
connect the cortex and the lower sound in understanding of
portions of the brain and spinal cord language and music
○ tip: your temporal lobe is close to
CEREBRAL LOBES your ear so when you remember its
The cerebral hemispheres are divided into two (2) function, you hear music, you hear
pairs of lobe voices, or you hear through your
● Frontal lobe ears.
○ is the largest lobe
○ located in front of the brain CORPUS CALLOSUM
○ the function are the following: ● Is a thick connection of nerve fibers that
■ Concentration connects the two hemispheres of the brain
■ Abstract thought ● It is responsible for the transmission of
■ Storage information from one side of the brain to the
■ Control of speech other
● because brocha’s ● Information transferred includes:
area is located in the ○ Sensation
left hemisphere ○ Memory
■ Person’s affect, judgement, ○ Learned discrimination
personality & inhibitions ● from video:
○ tip to remember the functions of the ○ Idea about people being left or right
frontal lobe: brain
■ If you are trying to think you ○ what determines which side has
always touch your forehead dominance happens before we’re
then you will have an idea on born, in the womb where our spines
what are the functions of develop, the way they wire up to our
your frontal lobe developing brains determines which
● Parietal lobe side is dominant
○ Is a predominantly sensory lobe ○ why do we have a dominant side?
posterior to the frontal lobe ■ Lateralization
○ Functions: ● refers to some brain
■ Analyzes sensory information function taking place to
■ Relays information to other one hemisphere or one
cortical areas side rather than the other
○ Essential to a person’s awareness of ■ each hemisphere controls a
body position in space, size & shape different body side as well
discrimination, right & left ■ your dominant brain side
orientation. connects to your dominant
● Occipital lobe body side
○ Is located posterior to the parietal ■ the left side of the brain
lobe controls the right side of the
○ It is responsible for visual body and the right side, the
interpretation and memory left
● Temporal lobe
 ■ this cross-wiring of neural
pathways means if you’re
left-handed you’re more reliant
on the right side of the brain
and vice versa
■ how does it affect our thinking
style
● the left side and the right
side are responsible for
very distinct thinking
patterns
● generally the right brain
thinks in pictures instead
of words using intuition
and focusing on the
bigger picture
● the left focuses on actual
words thinking in a very
verbal way, honing into
details first and then
putting them together to
form a whole picture
● it is widely agreed upon
that the right side is
creative and the left is
logical
■ how is language affected?
● the left side is good for
Vocabulary, grammar,
and literal meanings
● the rights side is great for
Intonation and
accentuation, basically
how we speak
■ How is music heard in the
brain?
● Right side of brain:
focuses on melody
● Left side of brain: focuses
on motor skills your
hands need to play the
instrument
Math ● Left: math
● Right: estimating amount of
objects
Memories ● Hippocampus: associated with
memory and occupies both side
of the brain
● Left: storing and retrieval of
memory
● Right: reciting like multiplication
tables
In survival ● Right: surviving in warm
● Left: in cold, more of ability to
survive because of spatial
awareness and logic
Damage ● Damage of right: self-harm like
suicide, depression and angst,
problems of language and
reception (lack of emotion when
speaking)
● Damage of left: vision problems
reduction of spatial frequency,
grammatical errors in speech
(broca’s aphasia)
Thalamus
● Located in either side of the ventricle
● Relay station for all sensation except for
smell, memory and pain impulses
Hypothalamus
● Located anterior and inferior to the thalamus
and beneath and lateral to the third ventricle
● Plays an important role in endocrine system
● Regulates pituitary secretions of hormones
that influences metabolism, reproduction,
stress, response and urine production
● Works with fluid balance and
thermoregulation
● Responsible for appetite control,
sleep-wake cycle, bp, aggressive and
sexual behavior, emotional responses and
control of ANS, optic chiasm and
mammillary bodies
Basal Ganglia
● Masses of nuclei located deep in the
cerebral hemisphere
● Responsible for fine motor movement
BRAIN STEM
Midbrain
 ● Connects pons and cerebellum w the ○ Posterior fossa: cerebellum and
cerebral hemis brainstem
● Sensory and motor pathways
● Center for auditory and visual reflexes Meninges
● CN III & IV originate in the midbrain ● Fibrous CT that cover the brain and SC
● Protection, support, nourishment
Pons ● 3 layers:
● Front of cerebellum; bet midbrain and 1. Dura mater
medulla a. Outermost
● Bridge bet midbrain and medulla b. Covers brain and SC
● CN V and VIII - originate in pons c. Tough, thick, inelastic, fibrous and
● Sensory and motor pathways gray
● Regulatory mechanism for respiration d. 3 major extensions:
i. Falx cerebri
Medulla 1. Folds bet hemis
● Motor fiber from brain to spinal cord ii. Tentorium
● Sensory fibers from spinal cord to brain 1. Fold bet occipital lobe
● CN IX and XII and cerebellum =>
● Reflex centers for: respiration, bp, hr, tough shelf
coughing, vomiting, swallowing, sneezing iii. Falx cerebelli
● Center for reticular formation 1. Right and left sides of
● Connects with numerous high structures cerebellum

● Increased ICP → tissue compressed

CEREBELLUM
against dural folds and displaces them →
● Posterior to midbrain and pons, below herniation
occipital lobe ● Extracellular spaces in brain = same fluid
● Sensory info to provide smooth coordinated found in ventricles = promotes homeostasis
movement ● Epidural space - between the dura and
● Fine movement, balance, and position or skull, between periosteum and dura in
proprioception vertebral column
● Subdural space - below dura
STRUCTURES PROTECTING OUR BRAIN ● Blood and abscesses can accumulate in
these spaces → disturbances in neuro
system

2. Arachnoid
a. Middle
b. Extremely thin and delicate
c. “Spider web”
d. CSF = subarachnoid space
SKULL i. Presence of blood or bacteria
● Protects ii. Obstruction = communicating
● Bones are joined at suture lines hydrocephalus
● Form base of skull e. Arachnoid villi: finger-like projections
● Fossae: indentations in the brain that absorb CSF to the venous
○ Anterior fossa: Frontal lobe system
○ Middle fossa: temporal lobe
 3. Pia mater
a. Innermost
b. Thin, transparent layer
c. Hugs brain and extends throughout
the surface
CEREBROSPINAL FLUID
● Clear, colorless fluid produced in the
choroid plexus of the ventricles
● Circulates around the surface of the brain
and spinal cord
● Blockage of the flow of the CSF anywhere
in the ventricle system is called obstructive
hydrocephalus
● Role: Immune and metabolic function of the
brain
● Choroid plexus produces 500mL of
CSF/day
● Ventricles and subarachnoid space contains
150mL out of the 500mL CSF produced by
the choroid plexus per day
● CSF is used to test for presence of
immunoglobulins or bacteria
CEREBRAL CIRCULATION
● The brain does not store nutrients however,
it requires constant supply of oxygen
● The brain receives 15% or 750mL/min of
the cardiac output
● Cerebral circulation is unique because:
○ Arterial and venous vessels are not
parallel (as in other organs in the
body)
■ Due in part to the role of the
venous system play in the
CSF absorption
○ The brain has collateral circulation
through the CIRCLE OF WILLIS
■ Allowing blood flow to be
redirected on demand
○ Blood vessels in the brain have two
(rather than 3) layers only
■ May make them more prone
to rupture when weakened or
under pressure
CEREBRAL ARTERIES
Anterior brain
● Blood originates from common carotid
artery
The circle of willis consists of:
● anterior cerebral artery
● anterior communicating artery
● internal carotid artery
● posterior communicating artery
● posterior cerebral artery
Posterior circulation of the brain
● Supply comes from subclavian arteries
● At the level of the brain stem, vertebral
arteries join to form the basilar artery
● The basilar artery divides to form the 2
branches of the posterior cerebral artery
● The posterior and anterior portions of the
circulation usually remains separate, but if
one of the vessels supplying it becomes
occluded or ligated, the circle of willis can
still provide blood supply through collateral
circulation through communicating
arteries
● The bifurcation along the circle of willis are
frequent sites of aneurysm formation
Cerebral Venous Circulation
● The veins reach the brain's surface and join
large veins then cross the subarachnoid
space and empty into the dural
sinuses(vascular channels of the dura)
● The network of the sinuses carries venous
outflow from the brain and empties into the
internal jugular veins returning the blood
flow into the heart
● Cerebral veins→ DO NOT have valves to
prevent backflow and depend both on
gravity and blood pressure for the flow
Spinal Cord
● Is continuous with the medulla extending
from the cerebral hemispheres and serving
as the connection between the brain and
the periphery
● 45 cm or 18 inches long and the thickness
of a finger
● It is surrounded by meninges
 ● The cross-sectional view, the spinal cord
has an H-SHAPED CENTRAL CORE of
nerve cell bodies or the gray matter
surrounded by ascending and descending
tracts or the white matter
Anterior Horns
● Cell fibers that form the anterior motor root
● Is essential for the voluntary and reflex
activity of the muscles
Upper Horns
● Serves as a relay station in the
sensory/reflex pathway
Lateral horns
● Contains cells that give rise to the
autonomic fibers of the sympathetic division
● The fibers leave the signal spinal cord
through the anterior roots in the thoracic
and upper lumbar segments
Spinal Tract
● 8 descending tract which controls muscle
activity
● There are 3 vestibulospinal tract involved in
some autonomic functions like sweating
pupil dilation and circulation and involuntary
muscle control
● Corticobulbar tract→ conducts impulses
responsible for voluntary head and facial
muscle movement and process at the level
of the brainstem
● Rubrospinal and reticulospinal tract→
conducts a process involved with the
involuntary muscle movement
● Vertebral column
○ Surround and protect the spinal cord
○ Consists of 7 cervical vertebrae, 12
thoracic vertebrae and 5 lumbar
vertebrae
○ The sacrum is a fused mass of 5
vertebrae and terminate in the
coccyx
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Consists of the ff:
● Cranial Nerve
○ 12 pairs of cranial nerve
○ OOTTAFVGVAH (Oh, Oh, To Touch And
Feel Very Good Velvet such A Heaven)
○ CN 1,2,7→ purely sensory
○ CN 3,4,6,11, & 12→ motor
○ CN 5,7,9,10 → sensory and motor
● Spinal Nerve
○ Composed of 31 pairs of spinal nerves (8
cervical, 4 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral and
1 coccygeal)
○ Each spinal nerve has a dorsal root and
ventral root
■ Dorsal root
● sensory
● transmits sensory impulses from
specific areas of the body known
 as dermatomes to the dorsal horn more blood to the
ganglia primary organs (i.e.,
● Sensory fiber may be: heart and brain)
○ Somatic→ like pain, ■ Vasoconstriction of the
temperature, touch and peripheral blood vessels
position → when touched skin
○ sense or proprioception→ feels cool but shunting
from the tendons, joints and blood to the essential
body surfaces organs
○ Visceral→ carrying ○ Gastrointestinal system →
information from the internal increased production of
organs glucose by the liver
■ Ventral root ■ quick energy and slow
● Motor peristalsis
● Transmits impulses from the ■ Dilation of pupils
spinal cord to the body ■ Increased perspiration
● Fibers are either somatic or ● Sympathetic neurons
visceral ○ located in the thoracic and
○ Visceral→ include autonomic lumbar segments of the
fibers that control the cardiac spinal cord
muscles and glandular ■ Parasympathetic Nervous System
secretions ● Controls mostly visceral functions
● Regulated by centers in the spinal
● Autonomic Nervous system cord, brainstem and
○ Regulates the activities of the internal hypothalamus
organs, maintenance and restoration of ● Acetylcholine
internal homeostasis ○ primary neurotransmitter
○ It has 2 major divisions: ● Impulses from the
■ Sympathetic Nervous System parasympathetic fibers or the
● Has predominantly excitatory cholinergic during quiet non
response or “fight or flight stressful situations
response” ● Fibers of the parasympathetic
○ Sympathetic impulses system are located in two
increases greatly the “flight sections; The Midbrain and the
or fight response” Medulla Oblongata, and the
○ Best observed during spinal segments below L2 or your
physical and emotional craniosacral division.
stress ● The Parasympathetic Nervous
● Stressed → body releases System is responsible for the rest
epinephrine and norepinephrine and digest response of the body.
○ Respiratory system →
bronchodilation for easier
The Motor and Sensory Pathways of the Nervous
gas exchange System
○ Cardiovascular system
● The Corticospinal Tract begins in the
■ heart contracts faster
motor cortex, which is a vertical bend within
■ Vasodilation → coronary
each frontal lobe, and controls voluntary
arteries and voluntary
movement of the body
muscles → provide
● To start a movement, these particular cells
must send a stimulus along their fibers, an
electric current, and also causes the
muscles to contract
● En route to the pons, the motor fibers
converge into a tight bundle known as the
internal capsule
● Small injury to the internal capsule results in
a more severe paralysis.
● Involuntary motor activity is mediated
through reflex arcs which is seen in deep
tendon reflex testing
The Upper and Lower Motor Neurons
● The voluntary motor system consists of two
of two groups of neurons which are the
upper and lower motor neurons
● The Upper Motor Neurons originate in the
cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and the brain
stem
● The fibers that make up the descending
motor pathways are located entirely in the
CNS
● The Lower Motor Neurons are located in
both the CNS and the peripheral nervous
system
● Lower motor neurons receive the impulse in
the posterior part of the cord and run to the
myoneural junction located in the peripheral
muscle
The Coordination of Movement
● Coordination of voluntary movement is
complex
● Motor function depends on the integrity of
the corticospinal tracts, pathways from the
Basal Ganglia, and the Cerebellum.
● The Basal Ganglia and the Cerebellum
are responsible for the smoothness,
accuracy, and strength that characterize the
muscular movements of a normal person.
● The Basal Ganglia plays an important role
in coordination of movements and posture.
It also inhibits unwanted muscular activity.
The Sensory System Function
● In receiving sensory impulses, afferent
impulses travel from their point of origin to
the cerebral cortex via different pathways
depending on the sensation carried.
● It is comparable to public mass
transportation with its designated route.
Sensory impulses are the passengers, the
axon is the highway, and the posterior ray
column is the entrance.
● Pain and temperature sensory impulses
ride on the same public transportation. From
the axon, it passes through the posterior
gray columns of the spinal cord along the
route and crosses immediately to the
opposite side of the cord. Then it navigates
upward to its final destination which is the
thalamus.
● Sensory impulses like touch, light
pressure, and localization are all being
carried by fibers that do not connect
immediately with the second neuron.
● The Axon terminal and the receiving
neuron maintain a distance once these
impulses take time to travel to the receiving
neuron and the receiving or the secondary
neuron traverses the cord, crosses in the
medulla and the process then proceeds to
the thalamus.
● The Muscles, joints, and brain send in
stimuli. These stimuli are conveyed and
cross all the way to the brain stem by the
axon of the primary neuron.
● The Thalamus collects and integrates all
sensory impulses except olfaction (smell).
The thalamus is responsible for the
following: Conscious Awareness of pain,
Recognition of changes in temperature,
Ability to recognize the size, shape, and
quality of objects, and sense of movement.
● From the thalamus, these sensory
information is passed on to the parietal
lobe for interpretation.