The Nervous System

By Janelle Liane V. Tabaldo

 What is Nervous System?

 One of the two main communication systems in

the body
 Coordinates all the activities of the body carrying
messages from one cell to the next
 Enables the body to respond and adapt to
changes that occur inside and outside the body
 Basic structural unit is the NEURON or nerve cell
Functions of the Nervous System

 Sensory input
 Integration
 Homeostasis
 Mental activity
 Control of muscles and
glands
Divisions of the Nervous System

• Central Nervous System

• Peripheral Nervous System

Divisions of the Nervous System

• Central Nervous System

-Consist of the brain and the
spinal cord

• Peripheral Nervous System

-Consist of the nerves and
ganglia
 Central Nervous System
 BRAIN – mass of nerve tissue protected
by membranes and skull

Regions of the Brain

1. Cerebrum
2. Cerebellum
3. Diencephalon
4. Brain stem
 Cerebrum
 Largest and highest section
 Has convolutions (folds) that separates the lobes
 4 lobes:
 Frontal
 Parietal
 Temporal
 Occipital
CEREBRUM: 4 LOBES
Responsible for
FRONTAL reasoning, planning,
movement, emotions
and problem solving

• Concerned with
movement, orientation,
PARIETAL recognition and
perception of stimuli
• (Integrates sensory
information)

Processing visual
information from the
OCCIPITAL
eyes (visual
processing)
Concerned with the
perception and recognition
TEMPORAL of auditory information
from the ears , memory
and speech
 Frontal lobe
 Links all components of behaviors
 Impulse control
 Injury here may cause lose of function
on one side of the body
 Speech may become halted or
disorganized
 Personality changes can occur
 Social rules are disregarded
 Sustained attention and “insight” are
affected
 Temporal lobe
 Perceives and recognizes verbal material
 Most commonly injured
 Causes misunderstandings in what is said
 Emotional changes such as unexplained
panic or tearfulness can occur
 Left temporal lobe involved in production of
speech, naming and verbal memory
 Right temporal lobe involves musical
ability, foreign language, visual memory
and comprehension of the environment
Cerebral Cortex
 Parietal lobe
 Construction of language
 Recall of long term memories may be mixed
up in time and sequencing
 Easily lost or confused about left/right
 Difficulty recognizing and naming what they
see
 May affect ability to read, write or perform
calculations
 Conscious sensation and voluntary movement
is affected
 Injury to front part of the lobe may cause loss
of body sensation
Cerebellum
 Occipital lobe
 Injury usually results in
blindness to part or all of the
visual field
 People may experience “blind
spots” or “holes”
 May misperceive pictures
they see
Midbrain
 Recognition of colors may be
Pons
distorted
Medulla
 Specialized Areas of the Cerebrum
 Somatic sensory area
– receives impulses
from the body’s sensory
receptors
 Primary motor area –
sends impulses to
skeletal muscles
 Broca’s area – involved
Pons
in our ability to speak
Medulla
 Cerebellum
Belowcerebrum
Responsible for
muscle coordination,
balance and posture,
muscle tone
 Diencephalon
 Section between the
cerebrum and midbrain
 Contains 2 structures
 Thalamus – acts as a relay
center and directs sensory
impulses to the cerebrum
 Hypothalamus – regulates
and control the autonomic
nervous system,
temperature, appetite, water
balance, sleep, etc. Also
involved in emotions such as
fear, anger, pleasure, pain
and affection
Brain Stem
The brain stem is a name for
the area of the brain between the
thalamus and spinal cord. The
brain stem includes the medulla,
pons and midbrain.
 Midbrain
 Below the cerebrum and top of the brain stem
 Responsible for conducting impulses between brain
parts and certain eye and auditory reflexes
 Pons
 Below the midbrain and in the brain stem
 Responsible for conducting messages to other parts
of the brain, chewing, tasting, saliva production and
assists with breathing
 Medulla oblongata
 Lowest part of the brain stem
 Connects with the spinal cord and is responsible for
breathing, heartbeat, swallowing, coughing and blood
pressure
SPINAL CORD
 Continues down from the
medulla oblongata
 Ends at the first or second
lumbar vertebrae
 Surrounded and protected
by vertebrae
 Responsible for many reflex
actions and carrying afferent
and efferent nerves
 Protection of the Central Nervous
System
 Scalp and skin
 Skull and vertebral column
 Meninges
 Cerebrospinal fluid
 Blood brain barrier
 Meninges
 3 membranes that cover and protect the brain and
spinal cord
 Dura mater – outer layer
 Arachnoid membrane – middle, delicate layer
 Pia mater – attached to the brain and contains blood
vessels that nourish the nerve tissue
 The Peripheral Nervous
System
• Nervous structures outside the brain and spinal
cord
• Nerves allow the CNS to receive information and
take action
• Functional components of the PNS
• Sensory inputs and motor outputs categorized as
somatic or visceral
• Sensory inputs also classified as general or special
Functional Classification of the
Peripheral Nervous System

 Sensory (afferent) division

-Nerve fibers that carry information to the
central nervous system

 Motor (efferent) division

-Nerve fibers that carry impulses away
from the central nervous
 Motor (efferent) division

Two subdivisions
 Somatic nervous system = voluntary
 Autonomic nervous system = involuntary
 Nervous Tissue: Support Cells
(Neuroglia or Glia)
 Astrocytes
 Abundant, star-shaped cells
 Brace neurons
 Form barrier
between capillaries
and neurons
 Control the chemical
environment of
the brain (CNS) the
chemical
environment of
 Nervous Tissue: Support Cells
 Microglia (CNS)
 Spider-like phagocytes
 Dispose of debris
 Ependymal cells (CNS)
 Line cavities of the
brain and spinal cord
 Circulate
cerebrospinal
fluid
 Nervous Tissue: Support Cells
 Oligodendrocytes(CNS)

 Produce myelin sheath

around nerve fibers in the
central nervous system
rain (CNS)
 Neuroglia vs. Neurons
• Neuroglia divide.
• Neurons do not.
• Most brain tumors are “gliomas.”
• Most brain tumors involve the neuroglia
cells, not the neurons.
• Consider the role of cell division in
cancer!
 Support Cells of the PNS
 Satellite cells
 Protect neuron cell bodies
 Schwann cells
 Form myelin sheath in the peripheral nervous
system
 Nervous Tissue: Neurons
 f Neurons = nerve cells

 Cells specialized to transmit messages

 Major regions of neurons
 Cell body – nucleus and metabolic
center of the cell
 Processes – fibers that extend from the
cell body (dendrites and axonsS)
 Neuron Anatomy
 Cell body
 Nucleus
 Large nucleolus
vironmentof
the brain (CNS)
 Neuron Anatomy
 iExtensions outside
the cell body
 Dendrites – conduct
impulses toward the
cell body
 Axons – conduct
impulses away from
the cell body (only 1!)

environment of
the brain (CNS)
Neuron Anatomy
 Axons and Nerve Impulses
 Axons end in axonal terminals
 Axonal terminals contain vesicles with
neurotransmitters
 Axonal terminals are separated from the
next neuron by a gap
 Synaptic cleft – gap between adjacent
neurons
 Synapse – junction between nerves
 Nerve Fiber Coverings
 Schwann cells – produce
myelin sheaths in jelly-roll
like fashion
 Nodes of Ranvier – gaps in
myelin sheath along the axon
 Neuron Cell Body Location
 Most are found in the central nervous
system
 Gray matter – cell bodies and unmylenated
fibers
 Nuclei – clusters of cell bodies within the
white matter of the central nervous system

 Ganglia – collections of cell bodies

outside the central nervous system
 Functional Classification of
Neurons
 Sensory (afferent) neurons
 Carry impulses from the sensory receptors
 Cutaneous sense organs
 Proprioceptors – detect stretch or tension

 Motor (efferent) neurons

 Carry impulses from the central nervous
system
r
 Functional Classification of
Neurons
chemical
environment of
thInterneurons (association neurons)

 Found in neural pathways in the central

nervous system
 Connect sensory and motor neurons
e brain (CNS)
 Neuron Classification
chemical
environment of
the brain (CNS)
 Structural Classification of
Neurons

- Multipolar neurons
-Bipolar neurons
-Unipolar neurons

rain (CNS)
chemical

Multipolar neurons – many extensions from the cell

body

the brain (CNS)

chemical

fBipolar neurons – one axon and one dendrite

the brain (CNS)

chemical
environment of

Unipolar neurons – have a short single process

leaving the cell body

CNS)
 How Neurons Function
 vIrritability – ability to respond to stimuli

 Conductivity – ability to transmit an

impulse
 The plasma membrane at rest is
polarized
 Fewer positive ions are inside the cell than
outside the cell
ironment of
the brain (CNS)
 Starting a Nerve Impulse
 bDepolarization – a
stimulus depolarizes the
neuron’s membrane
 A depolarized membrane
allows sodium (Na+) to flow
inside the membrane
 The exchange of ions
initiates an action potential
in the neuron
rain (CNS)
 The Action Potential
 If the action potential (nerve impulse)
starts, it is propagated over the entire
axon
 Potassium ions rush out of the neuron
after sodium ions rush in, which
repolarizes the membrane
 The sodium-potassium pump restores the
original configuration
 This action requires ATP
 Nerve Impulse Propagation
 The impulse
continues to move
toward the cell body
 Impulses travel faster
when fibers have a
myelin sheath
 Nerve Impulse between Neurons

 nImpulses are able to cross the synapse

to another nerve
 Neurotransmitter is released from a nerve’s
axon terminal
 The dendrite of the next neuron has
receptors that are stimulated by the
neurotransmitter
 An action potential is started in the dendrite
(CNS)
 How Neurons Communicate at
Synapses
chemical
environment of
the brain (CNS)
 The Reflex Arc
 Reflex – rapid, predictable, and involuntary
responses to stimuli
 Reflex arc – direct route from a sensory neuron, to
an interneuron, to an effector
n (CNS)
Simple Reflex Arc
 Types of Reflexes and
Regulation
 (Autonomic reflexes

 Smooth muscle regulation

 Heart and blood pressure regulation
 Regulation of glands
 Digestive system regulation
 Somatic reflexes
 Activation of skeletal muscles
 Diseases/disorders
 Traumatic disorders – caused by injury:
 Concussion.
 Brain contusion.
 Congenital disorders – present at birth:
 Spina bifida.
 Hydrocephalus.
 Cerebral palsy.
 Cerebrovascular accident (CVA).
 Encephalitis.
 Epilepsy.
 Meningitis.
 Multiple sclerosis (MS)
 Neuralgia.
 Paralysis.
 Parkinson’s disease.
 Dementia.
 Alzheimer’s disease.
 Spina Bifida
 Opening in the spinal column
 At delivery, spinal cord and nerves are exposed
causing nerve damage
 Results in paralysis
 Cerebral Palsy
 Caused by brain damage at birth
 Lack of oxygen, birth injuries, infection, etc.
 Symptoms:
 Tense muscles leading to
contractures
 Tremors
 Mental retardation
 Treatment:
 Therapy, anticonvulsants, braces, surgery
Cerebrovascular accident(CVA)
 a.k.a. stroke
 Blood flow to the brain is impaired
resulting in brain tissue damage
 Causes
 Cerebral hemorrhage
 Aneurysm
 Weak blood vessels
 Blood clot
 Treatment depends on cause
 Encephalitis
 Inflammation of the brain resulting in
weakness, visual disturbances, vomiting, stiff
neck and back, coma
 Caused
 Virus
 Chemical
 Bacteria
 Treatment is supportive including medications
and monitoring
 Epilepsy
 Seizure syndrome
 Disorder associated with abnormal electrical
impulses in the neurons of the brain
 Causes
 Trauma
 Toxins
 Idiopathic (spontaneous)

 Treated with medications

 Hydrocephalus
 Excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the
ventricles
 Symptoms include abnormally large head, prominent
forehead, irritability, retardation
 Treated with
surgical shunt
between ventricles
Meningitis
 Inflammation of the meninges of the
brain and/or spinal cord
 Caused by bacteria or virus
 High fever, headaches, back and
neck pain, n/v, delirium,
convulsions and death
 Treatment includes medications
and anticonvulsants
 Multiple sclerosis
 Chronic, progressive
disabling condition resulting
from degeneration of the
myelin sheath
 Occurs between 20 and 40
y.o.
 Cause is unknown
 Progresses at different rates
depending on the person
 No cure
 Neuralgia
 Nerve pain
 Caused by inflammation, pressure,
toxins and other disease
 Treatment directed at eliminating the
cause of the pain
Paralysis
 Usually results from brain or
spinal cord injury
 Hemiplegia
 Paralysis on one side
 Quadriplegia
 Paralysis
of the arms, legs, and body
below the spinal cord injury
 No cure, treatment is supportive
 Parkinson’s disease

 Chronic, progressive
degeneration of brain cells
usually in people over 50 y.o.
 Tremors, stiffness, muscular
rigidity, forward leaning position,
shuffling gait, mood swings, etc.
 Treatment is supportive and
symptomatic
 Shingles
 Herpes zoster
 Inflammation of nerve cells caused by
herpes virus
 Same virus that causes chicken pox
 Occurs in thoracic area on one side of
the body and follow path of affected
nerves
 Itching, fever, increased skin
sensitivity
 Treatment is to relieve pain and
itching until inflammation subsides
 Dementia
 General term defining a loss in
at least two areas of complex
behavior such as language,
memory, visual/spatial abilities
or judgment
 Does not mean that everyone
that is forgetful has dementia
 Alzheimer’s disease
 Progressive disease where initial symptom is
usually a problem with remembering recently
learning information
 Nerve endings in the cortex of the brain
degenerate and block signals
 Cause is unknown and has 3 stages:
 1st stage lasts 2-4 years and involves short-term
memory loss, anxiety and poor judgment
 2nd stage lasts 2-10 years and increases memory
loss, difficulty recognizing people, motor problems,
loss of social skills
 3rd stage lasts 1-3 years and includes inability to
recognize self, weight loss, seizures, mood swings,
and aphasia (loss of speech).