Nervous system

Four primary functions

nervous system

1. Sensing the world

Touch, vision, hearing, smell &
taste.
2. Transmitting information.
3. Processing information.
4. Producing a response
( Motor).
Neurons

 The functional unit of the nervous system is the nerve

cell, the NEURON.

 They send electrochemical

messages around the body
Types of neurons

 Three types:
 Sensory neurons: Detect stimuli.
 Interneurons: relay sensory signals
to brain then return message back
to motor neurons.
 Motor neurons: pass message from
brain to rest of body for muscle
response.
Reflex arc
Reflex- is involuntary response to stimuli.
Reflex arc – receptor – afferent (sensory) neuron – center – interneuron- efferent
(motor) neuron- effectors.
 Parts of nervous system
Central Nervous  Peripheral 

System Autonomic 

Brain  Sympathetic 

Cerebrum  Fight or Flight 

Cerebellum  Parasympathetic 

Relaxation 
Brain Stem 
Somatic 
Spinal Cord 
Sensory and Motor 
information“ 
Nerves
”superhighway
Reflex Arc 
Central nervous system

Receives, interprets and sends

signals to PNS( peripheral nervous
system).
Has 2 main parts:
Brain – main control center
Spinal Cord – connects and
relays nerve impulses to the
brain
Peripheral nervous system

 Connects CNS to all organ systems

 Made up of:
 Sensory Neurons: detect stimuli
 Motor Neurons: carry signal to stimulate response

 2 major subsystems:
 Somatic – voluntary movement (balance, movement)
 Autonomic – involuntary movement (digestion, fight or flight)
Cerebrum

Functions:
Voluntary activity
Memory
Language
Receives and responds to
sensory signals
Controls motor functions
Cerebrum
 Frontal lobe
 Higher intellectual
functions
 
Control of voluntary
movements.
 Motor production of
speech (Broca’s Area)
 Parietal lobe
 Receives sensory inputs
 Temporal lobe
 Auditory cortex for
hearing
Olfactory cortex for sense
of smell
 Understanding of written
and spoken language
(Werinck’s area).
 Occipital lobe
 Visual cortex for vision
 Brain stem functions
 Midbrain
 Reflex centers for vision and hearing
 Pons
 Includes nuclei involved in the control of breathing.

 Medulla oblongata
· Contains important control centers
· Heart rate control
· Blood pressure regulation
· Breathing
· Swallowing
· Vomiting
· Sleep- awake cycle ( with pons)
Spinal cord

 Links brain and PNS

 Controls some involuntary functions –
spinal cord reflexes e.g. micturition,
defecation, stretch reflex etc.
 Protected by vertebral column
 31 pairs of spinal nerves
 Sensory Component
 Motor Component
Protection of central nervous
system
1. Scalp ( S-Skin C- Connective tissue, A- Aponuerosis L-
loose areolar connective tissue, P-pericranium) and
skin

2. Skull and vertebral column

3. Meninges

4. Cerebrospinal fluid.

5. Blood brain barrier.

Somatic Nervous System

Single motor neuron cell

leading from the CNS
directly to the muscle.
Cell body of motor
neurons located in CNS.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

The part of the nervous system

that control visceral function
( involuntary) eg. Heart, blood
vessel, GIT…
Work automatically – autonomous
= independence
 Two divisions of ANS:- differ in
function & anatomy
1. Sympathetic.
2. Parasympathetic.
Sympathetic nervous system

Anatomical origin thoraco-lumbar

spinal cord.
Physiological: fight or flight eg.
Emergency or stress.
Prepare the body for fight or flight.
Its catabolic.
 Distribution and effects of sympathetic

 Eye:- dilate the pupil

 Skin:- blood vessels constriction
 Heart: increase heart rate ( tachycardia)
 Coronary artery: dilatation
 GIT : inhibits motility, constrict the sphincters
 Urinary bladder: relaxation and sphincter
constriction.
 Genital tract: ejaculation
Sympathetic division
 Parasympathetic division

 Origin: cranio – sacral from the brain stem and

sacral segment of the spinal cord.
 cranio: through vagus (10th) nerve mainly,
3rd ,7th ,9th cranial nerves.
 Vegetative functions in relaxed state eg.
Secretion (saliva, gastric juice).
Actions of Parasympathetic :

Constricts
Pupil
Bronchioles
Slows heart rate ( bradycardia )
Stimulates
Digestion
Insulinrelease
Urination (contraction of the bladder and
relaxation of sphincters).
Erections
Parasympathetic Division
Organization of neurons in ANS:-
 Two order neurons:-
1. Preganglionic neuron has its cell body in the CNS
2. Postganglionic neuron cell body in a ganglia.
Autonomic ganglia:
 Sympathetic ganglia (paravertebral)
 Parasympathetic ganglia are found in the target organs and not easily seen.
 Sympathetic has a short preganglionic neuron and a long postganglionic
neuron
 Parasympathetic has a long preganglionic neuron and a short
postganglionic neuron
Comparison of sympathetic and
Parasympathetic Pathways
 Neurotransmitter
 Acetylcholine (Ach)
 Norepinephrine
 Receptors:
 Nicotinic
 Muscarinic
 Adrenergic: alpha or beta
 Physiology of
Special senses
Physiology of vision
 Optics of vision
 Path of the light in eye
 Cornea - aqueous humor-lens -vitreous humor-retina.
 Refraction of the light
 Refraction: is the process of bending rays
of light at surface b/t 2 media.
 To reach the retina, light must pass through refractive interfaces of
the cornea and lens, both are transparent.
 Cornea is responsible of 2/3 of eye refractive power. Corneal
refractive power is fixed.
 The refractive power of the lens is adjustable. Un-accommodated lens

contribute 1/3 of eye’s refractive power .

 Accommodation
 Is adjustment of eye lens for various distances.
 Sympathetic relaxes the ciliary muscle to decrease
the refractive power of eye lens and provides clear
vision for long distance.
 In case of parasympathetic stimulation of ciliary
muscle, it contracts, lens ligament relax, lens get
more spherical, refractive power increases and eye
can see clear near objects.
 In addition, constriction of the pupil and
convergence of the eyeballs enable us to see near
objects clearly.
Structure of the retina

 Specialized Sensory epithelium.

 Retinal cells include:

Photoreceptors.
Interneurons- bipolar cells,
horizontal cell, & amacrine
cell.
Ganglionic cells.
 Synapses

Two plexiform layers

Layers of the retina
Photoreceptor cells

 Two types:
1. Rods.
2. Cones.
 The outer segments contains
rhodopsin- light-sensitive
pigments.
 Inner segments contain
mitochondria & nucleus.
Functions of rods & cones

1. Color vision- only cones are involved.

2. Sensitivity to light
 Cones- high intensity light – day (photopic) vision.
 Rods: low intensity light- night (Scotopic) vision

3. Visual acuity
 Cones: high acuity, present on fovea.
 Rods: low acuity, not present on fovea.

4. Dark adaptation
 Cones: adapt early.
 Rods: adapt late.
Physiology of taste
 Receptors: Taste Buds.
 They are found in:
 Tongue
 Fungiform papillae
 Circumvallate papillae
 Foliate papillae
 Epiglottis
 Palate.
 Pharynx.
Primary taste modalities
Transduction of taste
Taste pathways

 The sense of taste is transmitted to CNS via

1. Facial nerve – anterior 2/3 of the tongue.
2. Glossopharyngeal nerve- posterior 1/3 of the tongue.
3. Vagus nerve – epiglottis, palate pharynx.
 These three nerves enter the brain stem.
 Synapse in solitary nucleus in the medulla.
 Send impulses to
 Ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus.
 Gustatory cortex.
Clinical considerations

 Ageusia – complete loss of taste.

 Dysguesia - disrupted taste sensation.
 Hypogeusia.
 Hypergeusia.
Physiology of Smell-
olfaction
 Primitive sense in humans.
 The sensory organ of smell is olfactory epithelium.
 The epithelium consists of:
1. Supporting cells.
2. Basal cells.
3. Olfactory receptor cells.
Olfactory transduction

 Odorants bind to specific receptor proteins.

 Activation of G proteins.
 G proteins activates adenylate cyclase enzymes.
 Synthesis of cyclic AMP as second messenger.
 Cyclic AMP opens Na+ channels.
 Na+ Influx leads depolarization & impulse transmission.
Olfactory pathways

 Three pathways leading to CNS:

1. Pathway to the medial olfactory area.
2. Pathway to the lateral olfactory area.
3. Pathway to the posterior parts of orbitofrontal cortex-
area for smell analysis.
Clinical considerations

 Anosmia – loss of the sense of smell.

 Parosmia - alteration in smell.
 Hyperosmia – increased acuity in sense of smell.
 Hyposmia - decreased acuity in sense of smell.
Physiology of Hearing
 Structure of the ear:
 The three region of the ear are the external ear, middle ear and inner
ear.
 The external ear:
 consists of the auricle or pinna and the external acoustic meatus.
 The auricle consists of the helix, is somewhat thicker, and its fleshy, and lobule
(“earlobe”) lacks supporting cartilage
 The auricle directs sound waves into external acoustic meatus.
 The external acoustic meatus is a short tube of about 2.5 cm, extends from the auricle to
the eardrum.
 The entire canal is lined with skin bearing hairs, sebaceous glands, and modified apocrine
sweat glands called ceruminous glands which secret yellow-brown waxy cerumen.
 Sound waves entering the external acoustic meatus eventually hit the tympanic
membrane, or eardrum
 Middle ear:
 The middle ear, or tympanic cavity, is a small, air-filled,
mucosa-lined cavity in the petrous portion of the temporal
bone.
 The tympanic cavity is spanned by the three smallest bones in
the body: the auditory ossicles. These bones, are the malleus,
the incus and the stapes
 The ossicles transmit the vibratory motion of the eardrum to
the oval window, which in turn sets the fluids of the internal
ear into motion, eventually exciting the hearing receptors.
 Inner ear: hearing and balance
Functional anatomy of the cochlear
 Steps of auditory
transduction
 Sound waves are directed to the tympanic membrane.
 Tympanic membrane vibrates.
 Ossicles vibrate.
 The stapes is pushed into the oval window.
 vibration of the organ of Corti
 Bending of hair cell Celia.
 Cochlear microphonic potential.
 Cortical Auditory
processing
 Perception of pitch.
 Detection of loudness.
 Localization of sound

 direction from which sound

comes.
 By two means:
 Relative intensity.
 Relative timing.
 Synaptic &
Neuromuscular
junction
transmission
Synaptic transmission

A synapse is the junction

between two neurons
where the electrical
activity of one neuron is
transmitted to the other.
1. Axosomatic synapse: Synapse
between axon of neuron and
cell body of another neuron.
2. Axo-axonic synapse: between
two axons
3. Axodendritic – between axon
of one neuron and dendrites
of another neuron.
 Pre-synaptic Neuron: the neuron
that sends the impulse.
 Post-synaptic neuron: the neuron
that receives the impulse.
 Synaptic cleft: is a tiny space
filled with interstitial fluid which
separates the two neurons.
Steps of synaptic transmission

 Arrival of action potential at the

terminal end of pre-synaptic neuron.
 Opening of Ca2+ channels & influx of
Ca2+ into the cell.
 The intracellular Ca2+ attracts the
vesicles to fuse with the membrane.
 Release their contents by exocytosis.
Steps of synaptic transmission
cont.
 The released transmitter diffuses
into the synaptic cleft.
 Binds specific receptor on the
post-synaptic membrane.
 Thischanges the permeability of
the postsynaptic membrane to
specific ions & results in
postsynaptic potential.
Termination of the effects of
the neurotransmitter
 by one of three mechanisms:
1. Degradation by enzymes ex.
Acetylcholine.
2. Re-uptake by presynaptic
terminal ex. Norepinephrine.
3. Diffusion away from the
synapse.
 Excitatory and Inhibitory
Postsynaptic Potentials

 If a neurotransmitter depolarizes (opens

voltage-gated Na+ channels and influx of
Na+) the postsynaptic membrane, an
excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP)
results.
 EPSP induces action potential at threshold level.
 If a neurotransmitter hyperpolarizes (opens K+
or Cl- channels) the postsynaptic membrane, an
inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
results.
 IPSP – do not produce an action potential.
Neuromuscular junction
transmission
 Neuromuscular Junction
 the synapse between nerves
and skeletal muscle fibers.
 Motor Unit
 comprises a single motor
nerve and the muscle fibers it
innervates.
Sequence of events at the
neuromuscular junction
 Arrival of the action potential at
nerve terminal.
 Opening of voltage-gated Ca2+
channels & influx of Ca2+ into the cell.
 The intracellular Ca2+ attracts the
vesicles to fuse with the membrane.
 Release of the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine (ACh).
Sequence of events at the
neuromuscular junction cont.
 ACh diffuses across the synaptic
cleft to the motor-end plate.
 ACh binds acetylcholine receptor
(nicotinic receptor) at motor-end
plate.
 This opens Na+ channels on the end-
plate and produces depolarization
called the end-plate potential.
End Plate Potential
-Bidirectional
-Local
-Leads to action
potential if large
enough
-Usually 50-70mV
Termination of action of
acetylcholine
 AChis degraded to choline and
acetate by acetylcholinesterase
(AChE) on the motor end plate.

 Choline is taken back into the

presynaptic terminal to be used
again for synthesis of new Ach.