The Nervous System, Third Edition

The Nervous System, Third Edition

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Contents

Chapters

Our Amazing Nervous System

Development of the Nervous System

Organization of the Nervous System

Sensation and Perception

Movement

Learning and Memory

Emotions and Reward Systems

Neuroendocrine and Neuroimmune Interactions

Sleep and Wakefulness

Diseases and Injuries of the Nervous System

Support Materials

Glossary

Bibliography

Further Resources

About the Author

Index

Chapters

Our Amazing Nervous System

Joshua poked at the embers of his campfire as he stared at the myriad of stars in the evening sky. The display of sunset colors had long faded from the sky, but the taste and aromas of his evening meal still lingered. Wildflowers filled the air with fragrance, and Joshua remembered noticing their beauty as he passed them during the day. A nearby stream trickled over the rocks, and the sounds of frogs and crickets filled the air. Rustling leaves and an occasional call from a night creature revealed the presence of forest animals.

Joshua nestled into his sleeping bag and soon fell asleep, dreaming of the natural wonders he had experienced that day. While Joshua slept, another natural wonder was actively at work, directing his dreams and regulating his breathing, his heartbeat, his body temperature, and the digestion of his evening meal. His amazing nervous system had received all the information he had observed during the day; interpreted it as beautiful sights, sounds, and aromas; and stored it for him to remember and enjoy. Every movement his body had made during his active day on the mountain trails had been under the control of his nervous system.

Protected within their bony casings of the skull and spinal column, the brain and spinal cord are the central core of the nervous system. A network of nerves branches out from them and acts as a fiber highway system for information coming in from the environment and commands going out to the muscles, glands, and body organs. Virtually every cell in the body is influenced by the nervous system. In turn, the nervous system is heavily affected by hormones and other chemicals produced by cells of the body.

Neuron Theory

Beginning with the ancient Greek philosophers, there have been centuries of debate over the brain and its functions. It was not until the end of the nineteenth century that the structure and function of the nervous system began to become clear. Because nervous tissue is so soft, fragile, and complex, it was very difficult to study. Although scientists had observed and drawn nerve cells, they could not view all of their connections under a microscope.

In 1838, the German botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden introduced the theory that all plants are made up of individual units called cells. The next year, the German physiologist Theodor Schwann introduced the theory that all animals are also made up of cells. Together, Schleiden's and Schwann's statements formed the basis of cell theory, which states that the cell is the basic unit of structure in all living organisms. Although cell theory quickly became popular, most scientists of the nineteenth century believed that the nervous system was a continuous network, or reticulum, of fibers, and was therefore an exception to cell theory. This concept of the organization of the nervous system became known as reticular theory.

A breakthrough came in 1873, when the Italian scientist Camillo Golgi reported his discovery of a special stain that made neurons (nerve cells) and their connections easier to study under a microscope. However, since his technique was not refined enough to show the connections between individual neurons, Golgi continued to adhere to reticular theory. He believed the nervous system was a vast network of cytoplasm with many nuclei.

In 1886, the Swiss anatomist Wilhelm His suggested that the neuron and its connections might, in fact, be an independent unit within the nervous system. Another Swiss scientist, August Forel, proposed a similar theory a few months later. Using Golgi's staining technique and improving upon it, Spanish scientist Santiago Ramón y Cajal showed in 1888 that the neuron and its connections were indeed an individual unit within the nervous system. In a paper published in 1891, the German anatomist Wilhelm Waldeyer coined the term neurone and introduced the neuron doctrine. Known today as neuron theory, Waldeyer's concept extended cell theory to nervous tissue. However, it was not until after the invention of the electron microscope in the early 1930s that definitive evidence became available to show that neurons could communicate between themselves.

Golgi and Cajal were awarded a shared Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1906 for their scientific studies of the nervous system. At the ceremony, each man gave a speech. Golgi's speech adhered to the reticular theory of nervous system structure. Cajal, on the other hand, spoke in enthusiastic support of neuron theory and gave evidence to contradict reticular theory. Since then, scientific studies have continued to support the neuron theory and have revealed more details that show how amazingly complex the nervous system really is. Although many questions remain to be answered, it is now clear that the nervous system is, in fact, made up of individual cells, just like the rest of the body.

Neurons

The basic signaling unit of the nervous system is the neuron. Neurons are found in the brain, spinal cord, and throughout the body. Scientists estimate that there are 86 billion neurons in the brain¹ and about one billion neurons in the spinal cord. Neurons come in many shapes and sizes and perform many different functions.

The number of different types of neurons may be as high as 10,000. Neurons are classified by either structure or function. Neurons can be divided into structural types based on the arrangement of their branches—the dendrites and axons. These structural types include unipolar neurons, bipolar neurons, pseudounipolar neurons, and multipolar neurons (see figure below).

The processes of neurons extend from the cell body in three basic patterns. Unipolar neurons (not shown) have only one process, an axon, that has multiple terminal processes. Because there are no dendrites, the cell body receives incoming information. Bipolar neurons have an axon and a dendrite that arise from opposite ends of the cell body. The pseudounipolar neuron, a type of bipolar neuron, has one fused process that branches near the soma into an axon and a dendrite. Most central nervous system neurons are multipolar neurons, which have multiple dendritic trees and usually one axon. Pyramidal cells are a type of multipolar neuron.

Source: Infobase Learning.

Functional types of neurons include sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons. Sensory neurons generate nerve impulses in response to stimuli from the internal and external environments. These nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain, where they are interpreted. Motor neurons send impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands, resulting in movements and glandular secretions. Interneurons relay information between two other neurons, to which they are connected.

Like other cells, the cell body, or soma, of a neuron has an outer plasma membrane, or cell membrane, that encloses the watery cytoplasm in which the cell nucleus (plural: nuclei) and a variety of organelles are found (see figure below). The nucleus is the control center of the cell. It directs the activities of the other organelles, which are responsible for all of the cell's functions. Unlike most other cells, neurons do not divide to reproduce themselves. Also unlike most other cells, neurons are able to transmit an electrochemical signal.

Neurons, or nerve cells, are the signaling units of the nervous system. The myelin sheath, composed of the wrapping of individual Schwann cells in peripheral neurons and processes of oligodendrocytes in central neurons around the axon, insulates the axon and helps the electrical impulses travel faster. The gaps between the wrapped segments of myelin are called nodes of Ranvier.

Source: Infobase Learning.

Neurons, or nerve cells, are the signaling units of the nervous system. The myelin sheath, composed of the wrapping of individual Schwann cells in peripheral neurons and processes of oligodendrocytes in central neurons around the axon, insulates the axon and helps the electrical impulses travel faster. The gaps between the wrapped segments of myelin are called nodes of Ranvier.

Most cells in the body have geometric shapes, they are squarish, cubical, or spherical. Neurons, on the other hand, are irregular in shape and have a number of spiderlike extensions, or processes, from the cell body. The neuron's processes send and receive information to and from other neurons.

In most neurons, extending from one end of the cell body are short processes called dendrites that branch in a treelike manner. In fact, their arrangement is referred to as the dendritic tree. A single neuron can have anywhere from 1 to 20 dendrites, each of which can branch many times. Dendrites receive messages from other neurons and carry them toward the cell body.

Dendritic spines are short, thornlike structures that appear on the dendrites. There may be thousands of dendritic spines on the dendrites of just one neuron. This greatly increases the surface area that the dendritic tree has available for receiving signals from other neurons. Together, these structures receive information from as many as 10,000 other neurons.

Each neuron generally has one axon, which extends from the cell body at the end that is opposite the dendrites. Axons carry messages away from the cell body. Although the cell body is usually just 5 to 100 micrometers, or μm, (0.0002 to 0.004 inches) in diameter, axons can range in length from 1 millimeter (0.039 inches) to as much as 1 meter (3.28 feet). Some axons, especially the longer ones, are myelinated—covered with a fatty protein known as myelin. This covering forms what is called a myelin sheath. Sometimes axons branch into one or more collateral axons, each of which ends in several small branches known as axon terminals. To relay messages, axons from other neurons contact the dendritic spines and the cell bodies of other neurons. Axons can end on other axons, on a muscle, on a tiny blood vessel, or in the extracellular fluid that bathes the cells of the body. A dendrite can also connect to another dendrite to communicate with it.

Many chemicals called neurotransmitters are synthesized and stored in the axon terminals. Some are synthesized in the cell body and transported down the axon to the terminals. When released from the axon terminal, neurotransmitters carry chemical messages to other neurons, to muscle fibers, and to organs and glands. Neurotransmitters trigger nerve impulses, stimulate muscle contraction, and affect the functions of organs and glands of the body systems.

The Synapse

How does a nerve signal travel from one neuron to another? Between the tip of each axon terminal and the point on the target neuron (usually a dendritic spine or the cell body) to which the axon sends a nerve signal, there is a tiny gap. It measures about 10 to 20 nanometers (3.94-7 to 7.87-7 inches) across and is called the synaptic cleft. The term synapse refers to the synaptic cleft and the areas on the two neurons that are involved in the transmission and reception of a chemical signal. The presynaptic neuron is the one that sends the message. It releases neurotransmitters into the synaptic cleft.

Every neuron produces one or more kinds of neurotransmitters and stores them inside spherical structures called synaptic vesicles that are located in the axon terminal. When a nerve signal travels down the axon and arrives at the axon terminal, calcium ions enter the terminal and trigger the synaptic vesicles to move to the presynaptic membrane, bind to it, and release their contents into the synaptic cleft.

Neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind to a neurotransmitter-specific receptor, a membrane protein that spans the plasma membrane of the postsynaptic (receiving) neuron (see figure below). A neurotransmitter molecule fits into its receptor protein like a key in a lock and causes an ion channel to open.

The synapse is the junction of a neuron with another neuron or a muscle fiber. The synaptic cleft is the tiny space between the axon ending of one neuron and the cell with which it communicates. Neurotransmitters carry the nerve signal as a chemical message across the synaptic cleft from the first (presynaptic) neuron to the second (postsynaptic) neuron. The neurotransmitter molecules bind to receptors in the membrane of the postsynaptic neuron.

Source: Infobase Learning.

Glia

Once thought to outnumber neurons 10 to 1, glia are now thought to comprise at least one-half of the cells in the brain. The number of glia in other parts of the nervous system has not yet been determined. Newer research techniques have revealed that glial cells not only provide support functions to neurons, but also play other important roles in the nervous system. Neurons and glia appear to play interdependent roles in the functions of the nervous system. It is now known that there are two-way communications between neurons and glia that make this possible.

Unlike neurons, glia are replaced constantly throughout a person's life. Like neurons, glia have many extensions coming off their cell bodies. Unlike neurons, however, most glia do not transmit electrical impulses. They have membrane receptors for neurotransmitters and other neurochemicals and respond with waves of calcium that activate them and cause the release of gliotransmitters to communicate with other glia and with neurons 

The discovery that a subtype of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPSs) generate electrical signals challenged the traditional view that no glial cells can do so. These special glial cells not only generate electrical impulses but also receive input from neuronal axons.

There are four main types of glial cells: astrocytes; myelin-producing oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells; ependymal cells; and microglia. Astrocytes surround neurons and provide structural support to hold neurons in place. They provide nutritional support by contacting nearby blood vessels and transporting glucose and other nutrients from the bloodstream. Among the other functions they perform are the uptake of neurotransmitters from the synapse, regulation of the extracellular potassium (K+) concentration, synthesis and release of nerve growth factors, and the scavenging of dead cells after an injury to the brain. 

An astrocyte has thousands of processes that can contact as many as two million neurons. Depending on the brain area, the end feet of astrocytic processes surround 60% to 100% of synapses to create what is known as a tripartite synapse (see figure below), which consists of the sending neuron, the receiving neuron, and the astrocytic process. Two-way communication between astrocytes and neurons allows astrocytes to monitor and regulate synaptic activity. The end feet of the processes of other astrocytes ensheathe blood vessels in the brain to induce and maintain the