Activity 6

THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

(Part B)
(Afferent and Efferent Nerve Fibers)
Ramos, Serabani, Tapia, Tatel Zarandona
[BS BIO 3C - GROUP 5]
 QUESTIONS
Ramos 1. What are the efferent nerve fibers?
Efferent nerve fibers carry nerve impulses away from the central nervous system to effectors such as
muscles or glands.

2. To what structures are they distributed?

Efferent is a motor output that may be somatic, skeletal muscles or visceral to smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle and glands and spherical visceral efferent to striated muscles derived from the
branchial arches.

Tatel 3. What is an Efferent neuron?

These are motor neurons, which transmit neural impulses from the central nervous system to muscles, causing
movement. In response to sensory information, efferent neurons carry messages from the brain to the muscles,
glands, and organs of the body. So, efferent neuron is motor output that may be somatic to skeletal muscles or
visceral to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands and special visceral efferent to striated mscles derived from
branchial arches. The efferent neurons convey the motor stimulus to the muscles or to sum up, efferent is the act or
the effect.
4. What peripheral organs are this nerve fibers connected?
Both skeletal and smooth muscle are controlled by the efferent nerve fibers of motor neurons.
Efferent neurons send signals from the brain to the muscles, glands, and organs of the body in
response to sensory input. Efferent neurons can be further subdivided into general somatic efferent,
general visceral efferent and special visceral effferent neurons. General somatic efferent neurons are
carried by cranial nerves III ,IV, VI and XII that carry information related to skeletal muscles including
extra ocular and tounge muscles. General visceral efferent neurons are carried out by cramial
neurons III, VII, IX and X. These nerves innervate involuntary smooth muscles or glands including
visceral motor neurons that make up the cranial outful of the parasymphatic dividion of autonomic
nervous system. This includes visceral organs that play a role in them that rest and digest function of
the parasympathetic nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract and there are special viscelar
efferent neurons which innervate skeletal derived from the branchial arches including the muscles of
mastication and facial expression and the palatal pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles. Innervation to
these muscles is through cranial nerve V, VII, IX and cranial X.
5. What are their combined functions? Tapia
Generally, the afferent or sensory neurons receives the impulses and carry it from the sense
organ to the spinal cord and the brain. Afterwards, these interneurons main role is to be able to
connect the sensory and motor neurons and be able to interpret the impulses. Lastly, the motor
neurons acts that carry the impulses all the way from the brain and spinal cord to muscle or glands.
The sensory neurons, motor neurons an interneurons are the three primary types of neurons that
works together that is all responsible for everything.
6. Where do these fibers meet?
These fibers meet at the chemical synapse or in a neuromuscular junction also known as the myoneural
junction.Theseneuromuscular junction straightly refers to a synapse between a motor neuron and muscle fiber;
activity that are essential for muscle contraction and as well as for movement. At the neuromuscular junction, the
synaptic boutons of a motor neuron are located over a specialized region of muscle called the end plate. The synaptic
boutons release acetycholine, which travels across the synaptic cleft and activates acetylcholine receptors on the
muscle fiber. This causes excitation of the muscle cell, and muscle contraction. Excess acetylcoholine is removed
from the synaptic cleft by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase.The neuronal junction is the site of transmission of
electric nerve impulses between the neurons and effector cell.

7.. What is this place of meeting called? Serabani

Synapse, also called neuronal junction, the site of transmission of electric nerve impulses between two nerve cells
(neurons) or between a neuron and a gland or muscle cell (effector).

8.. Where do the afferent fibers leave the spinal cord?

Efferent neurons exit the spinal cord from the ventral root before interfacing with their target muscles because the
ventral roots is predominantly consist of efferent somatic motor fibers.
9. How about the efferent?
The efferent or the motor neurons are the one who is responsible in carrying the information or the efferent
impulses from central nervous system towards the body tissues that will now produces the reflexes in
response to the relayed information. And it is subdivided into (1) General Somatic Efferent which carry
information related to skeletal muscle including extra ocular and tongue muscle, (2) General Visceral
Efferent that these nerves drives the involuntary smooth muscle or glands that plays in the role of rest and
digest function in the gastrointestinal tract and lastly the (3) Special Visceral Efferent that facilitates the
skeletal muscles.
10. What is mixed nerved?
Mixed nerves are composed of both motor and sensory fibers, and transmit messages in both directions at
once. Together, the nerves make up the peripheral nervous system where all the nerves that lie outside of the
central nervous system.
 Zarandona
Generalization: (of the video)
Cranial nerves are pairs of nerves that connect the brain to different parts of the head, neck, and trunk . The
cranial nerves are all located on the underside of the brain inside the skull. There are 12 cranial nerves and
each of them may have one or a combination of the sensory and motor functions. Each pair has a different
function for sense or movement. The modalities of the cranial nerves can be broadly categorized as sensory
also known as afferent neurons and motor also known as efferent neurons. Afferent is sensory input; efferent is
motor output that may be somatic to skeletal muscles or visceral to smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and
glands, and special visceral efferent to striated muscles derived from the branchial arches. General refers to
those components that may be carried by cranial nerves as well as spinal nerves. Special refers to functional
components that are carried by cranial nerves only.The difference between sensory and motor neurons is that
motor or efferent neurons carry information from the central nervous system towards the body tissues whereas
sensory or afferent neurons carry information from body tissues back towards the central nervous system.
Each pair of cranial nerves serves a specific purpose in the body, and function as either a motor nerve, sensory
nerve, or both. Sensory cranial nerves help a person to see, smell, and hear on the other hand motor cranial
nerves help control muscle movements in the head and neck. Each nerve has a name that reflects its function
and a number according to its location in the brain. Scientists use Roman numerals from I–XII to label the
cranial nerves in the brain.