lOMoARcPSD|4522452

Seeley's Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology Chapter 8

Fundamental Human Form and Function (University at Buffalo)

StuDocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)
 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

Ch. 8: Nervous System

● Functions of the Nervous System

○ Sensory Input
■ Sensory receptors monitor stimuli
○ Integration
■ Brain and spinal cord process sensory input and can initiate
responses
○ Control of Muscles/Glands
○ Maintain Homeostasis
■ Able to detect, interpret, and respond to changes in conditions
○ Mental Activity
■ Brain is center of mental activity (consciousness, memory, thinking,
etc.)

● Divisions of the Nervous System

○ Central Nervous System (CNS): brain & spinal cord
○ Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): nerves & ganglia (everything outside
CNS)
■ Functions to link CNS with various parts of the body
■ Sensory (toward) Division → PNS conducts action potentials from
sensory receptors to CNS
● Sensory Neuron: neuron that extends from sensory
receptors in periphery to CNS
■ Motor (away) Division → PNS conducts action potentials from
CNS to effector organs like muscles and glands
● Motor Neuron: neuron that transmits action potential from
CNS toward periphery
● Subdivisions of Motor Division:
○ Somatic Nervous System: CNS to skeletal muscle;
sensations!
○ Autonomic Nervous System: CNS to cardiac
muscle, smooth muscle, and glands (involuntary)
■ Sympathetic
■ Parasympathetic

■ Enteric Nervous System (ENS): unique subdivision of PNS; has

both sensory & motor neurons within digestive tract
● CNS sensory neurons
● ANS motor neurons

● Cells of Nervous System

○ Neurons

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Nerve cell that receives input at dendrites, process input via

passive physics, and produce response w/ action potential (all-or-
none)
■ Requires oxygen & glucose (very limited storage)
■ Parts of Neuron:
● Soma (cell body)
● Dendrites
● Axon
● Soma (cell body):
○ Contains 1 nucleus
○ Processes stimulus (integration)
● Dendrites:
○ Receive information from other neurons or from
sensory receptors and transmit information toward
neuron cell body
● Axon:
○ Single, long cell processes that transmits stimulus
○ Axon Hillock → area where axon leaves cell body
○ Sensory neuron axons conduct action potentials
toward CNS
○ Motor neuron axons conduct action potentials away
from CNS
○ May remain unbranched, or may branch to form
Collateral Axons
○ Can be surrounded by myelin sheath (highly
specialized insulating layer of cells)

■ Types of Neurons:
● Multipolar → CNS & most motor neurons
● Bipolar → Eye & Nasal cavity
● Pseudo-unipolar → Sensory neurons
● Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheaths around axons in CNS!
● Schwann Cells form myelin sheaths around axons in PNS!
● Blood-Brain Barrier: cellular and matrix barrier made of blood vessel
endothelium and astrocytes; allow small substances to pass from circulation into
the brain but does NOT allow large substances to pass.
○ Myelin Sheath
■ Fatty protective wrapping around axons, specialized insulating layer
■ Formed by:
● Oligodendrocytes in CNS

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Schwann cells in PNS

■ Prevents almost all ion movement across cell membrane
■ Excellent insulator (saltatory conduction)
■ Node of Ranvier: gap in myelinated sheath between adjacent
oligodendrocytes/schwann cells
● Ion movement occurs here! (Sodium-Potassium Channels
found here)
■ Myelination of an axon increases speed & efficiency of action
potential generation along an axon
■ Unmyelinated axons lack myelin sheaths → occur slowly
● Typical small nerve has more unmyelinated axons than
myelinated axons
● Pain fibers have unmyelinated axons
○ Multiple Sclerosis:
■ Disease of myelin sheath in CNS that causes loss of muscle
function

○ Organization of Nervous Tissue

■ Gray matter → dendrites and cell bodies
● Located on the surface of the brain → cortex
● Clusters deeper in the brain → nuclei
● Cluster of neuron cell bodies in PNS → ganglion
■ White matter: axons and their myelin sheaths
● White matter of CNS forms nerve tracts (conduction
pathways)
○ Nerve tracts propagate action potentials from one
area of CNS to another
● Bundles of axons in PNS and associated connective tissue
form nerves

● Electrical Signals & Neural Pathways (within → electrical, between → chemical)

○ Resting Membrane Potential
■ Inside of cell → negatively charged (K+)
■ Outside of cell → positively charged (Na+)
■ Uneven distribution of charge = Polarized = Resting Membrane
Potential (compared from INSIDE TO OUTSIDE)
■ Resting Membrane Potential = -70 mV

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Generated by 3 factors:
● Higher concentration of K+ inside cell membrane
● HIgher concentration of Na+ outside cell membrane
● Greater permeability for K+ than Na+

■ Leak Channels: always open; K+ channels

■ Gated Channels: closed until opened by specific signals (Na+
channels) → opened at -55 mV
● Chemically-gated (Ligand) Channels: opened by
neurotransmitters
● Voltage-gated Channels: opens by change in membrane
potential
● Gated channels channels can change membrane potential
○ Responsible for action potential!
■ Net negative charge inside (K+ and proteins), net positive charge
outside (Na+)
● As K+ leaks out via leak channels, cell becomes more
negative because of impermeable proteins inside that can’t
exit (decreases force of diffusion)
○ Negative charge inside cell attracts K+
■ State of equilibrium = Resting Membrane
Potential

■ Sodium-Potassium Pump:
● Required to maintain greater concentration of Na+ outside
cell and K+ inside cell
● Active transport of K+ into cell, Na+ out of cell
● Consumes a large amount of energy (~25% of all ATP
stored in cell, 70% in neuron)!
● Counteracts the constant leak of K+ ions

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

○ Action Potentials
■ Muscle cells & nerve cells → excitable cells
■ Voltage-gated channels for Na+ and K+ are responsible for action
potential
■ Occurs at the Axon Hillock
● At rest, voltage-gated channels are closed
● Steps:
○ Stimulus applied, neurotransmitter activate
chemically-gated channels and Na+ channels allow
Na+ to diffuse into cell
■ Local current of Na+ movement causes
depolarization (inside of cell become positive)
○ Depolarization causes local potential
○ If depolarization is large enough, Na+ enters until
local potential reaches threshold
○ Reaching threshold results in more voltage-gated Na+
channels to open → membrane becomes permeable
to Na+
■ Voltage-gated K+ channels also open while
Na+ channels are open!
○ Since inside of cell is now positively charged, Na+
channels close and more K+ channels open
■ Na+ stops entering cell
■ K+ leaves cell due to opened K+ channels
■ Repolarization
○ Depolarization and repolarization make an action
potential (4 ms → 4 milliseconds)
○ At the end of repolarization, charge on cell membrane
is more negative than RMP → Hyperpolarization
■ Elevated permeability to K+ lasts very briefly

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

○ RMP is set by activity of leak channels

○ When stimulated, chemically-gated channels open and initiate local
potential
○ When strong enough, local potentials activate voltage-gated channels to
initiate action potential
■ Action potential happens (4 ms) in all-or-none fashion (always
same magnitude)
● Stronger stimuli, however, can produce a greater frequency
of action potentials (but do not increase size of each action
potential)
○ Action potential conducted slowly in unmyelinated axon, rapidly in
myelinated axons

■ Unmyelinated axons have action potential conduct current along

entire axon cell membrane → Continuous Conduction
■ In myelinated axons, action potential at one node of Ranvier
causes local current to flow through surrounding extracellular fluid
and through cytoplasm of axon to next node of Ranvier to stimulate
the next action potential
● Action potentials “jump” from one node of Ranvier to the next
● Saltatory Conduction
■ ‘Saltatory Conduction’ greatly increases conduction speed because
nodes of Ranvier make it unnecessary for action potential to travel
across entire cell membrane → no ion channels in axon, only at
nodes of Ranvier!
● Heavier, wide-diameter myelinated axons conduct action
potentials quickest!
■ Myelinated axons require less energy for sodium-potassium pump

○ The Synapse
■ Where an axon attaches to a muscle, gland, organ, or other neuron
■ Involved w/ release of neurotransmitters (i.e. neuromuscular
junction)
● End of the axon forms the presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters are stored in synaptic vesicles in
the presynaptic terminal

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Membrane of the dendrite or effector cell is the postsynaptic

membrane
● Space is the synaptic cleft
■ When action potential reaches presynaptic terminal, voltage-gated
Ca2+ channels open which allows Ca2+ to move into the cell
● Causes a release in neurotransmitters via exocytosis from
the presynaptic terminal
○ Neurotransmitters diffuse across synaptic cleft and
bind to specific receptor molecules on postsynaptic
membrane
○ Causes chemically-gated channels for Na+,
K+, and Cl- to open or close in the postsynaptic
membrane (depends on type of
neurotransmitter)
■ If Na+ channels open, postsynaptic cell
becomes depolarized (action potential)
■ If K+ or Cl- channels open, inside of
postsynaptic cell becomes more
negative (hyperpolarized) which inhibits
action potential
■ Acetylcholinesterase is located in high concentration in junctional
folds (secondary synaptic cleft)
■ Neurotransmitter substances are normally broken down by
enzymes within synaptic cleft or are transported back into
presynaptic terminal
● Reflexes
○ Involuntary reaction in response to a stimulus applied to the periphery and
transmitted to the CNS
■ Allow a person to react to stimuli more quickly than is possible if
conscious thought is involved
○ Reflex Arc: neuronal pathway by which a reflex occurs
■ Has 5 components:
● Sensory Receptor → pick up stimulus in skin
○ Detection
○ Perception (involves consciousness)
● Sensory (Afferent) Neuron → sends stimulus to
interneurons in spinal cord
● Interneuron (Association neuron) → in CNS, connect to
motor neurons and process stimulus
● Motor (Efferent) Neuron → from CNS
● Effector Organ
■ Simple reflex arcs do not have interneurons
○ Most reflexes occur in spinal cord or brainstem (not in higher brain
centers)!

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Neuronal Pathways
○ Neurons are arranged within CNS to form pathways ranging from simple
to complex
○ Two pathways:
■ Converging Pathway: two or more neurons converge on the same
neuron
● Allows information to be transmitted in more than one
neuronal pathway to converge into a single pathway
■ Diverging Pathway: axon from one neuron divides and synapses
with more than one neuron
● Allows information transmitted in a single neuronal pathway
to diverge into multiple pathways
○ Summation: summation of signals in neuronal pathways to reach
threshold and produce an action potential
■ Allows integration of multiple subthreshold local potentials
● Summation of the local potentials can bring membrane
potential to threshold (causing an action potential)
■ Spatial Summation: local potentials originate from different
locations
■ Temporal Summation: local potentials overlap in time

● Spinal Cord
○ Extends from foramen magnum to 2nd lumbar vertebra
■ Cauda Equina → inferior end of spinal cord where spinal nerves
exiting resemble horse’s tail
○ White matter consists of myelinated axons, gray matter is a collection of
neuron cell bodies
○ Babinski Reflex → when no inhibition by CNS is present; stroke of bottom
of foot causes flexion in babies
■ White matter is divided into 3 columns:
● Dorsal
● Ventral
● Lateral
■ Each column has 2 types of pathways:
● Ascending Tracts → consist of axons that conduct action
potentials toward the brain
● Descending Tracts → consist of axons that conduct action
potentials away from brain
○ Gray matter has:
■ Posterior (Dorsal) Horns: contains axons which synapse w/
interneurons

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Anterior (Ventral) Horns: contain somatic (motor) neurons

■ Lateral Horns: contain autonomic neurons
○ Central Canal: fluid-filled space in center of the spinal cord
○ Ventral Root: motor (efferent) root of spinal nerve
○ Dorsal Root: sensory root of spinal nerve
■ Dorsal Root Ganglion
● Cell bodies of pseudo-unipolar sensory neurons are located
in the dorsal root ganglia
○ Axons of psuedo-unipolar sensory neurons originate
in periphery and pass through spinal nerves and
dorsal roots to posterior horn of gray matter
■ In posterior horn, axons either converge with
interneurons or pass into white matter and
ascend/descend
○ Ventral and Dorsal Root combine to form spinal nerve!
○ Axons from motor neurons form ventral roots and pass into spinal nerves

Spinal Cord Reflexes

○ Knee-Jerk Reflex (Patellar Reflex):
■ Stretch reflex (simple)
■ When patellar ligament is tapped, quadriceps femoris muscle
tendon and the muscles themselves are stretched
● Sensory receptors within these muscles are also stretched
and the stretch reflex is activated
■ Clinicians use knee-jerk reflex to see if higher CNS centers that
influence this reflex are functional
○ Withdrawal Reflex (flexor reflex):
■ To remove a limb or another body part from painful stimulus
■ Sensory neurons conduct action potentials through dorsal root to
spinal cord, where sensory neurons synapse with interneurons,
which turn synapse w/ motor neurons
● Motor neurons then stimulate flexor muscles to remove limb
from source of painful stimulus
● Spinal Nerves (31 Pairs)
○ Peripheral nerves exiting from spinal cord
○ Dorsal root → carries sensory info toward CNS
○ Ventral root → carries motor info away from CNS
○ Contain sensory and motor nerves → mixed nerves
○ Dermatome: area of skin supplied w/ sensory innervation by pair of spinal
nerves
○ Each of the spinal nerves except C1 has a specific cutaneous sensory
distribution
○ Plexuses (3): neurons of several spinal nerves come together and
intermingle
■ Cervical Plexus
■ Brachial Plexus

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Lumbosacral Plexus

● Brain
○ Brainstem
■ Connects spinal cord to brain
■ Consists of:
● Medulla oblongata
○ Extends from foramen magnum to pons
○ Contains nuclei for functions such as regulation of
heart rate and blood vessel diameter, breathing,
swallowing, vomiting, coughing, sneezing, balance,
and balance
○ Pyramids: involved in conscious control of skeletal
muscle
● Pons
○ Relay information from cerebrum and cerebellum
(functional bridge between them)
○ Controls chewing and salivation (pons only), as well
as functions such as breathing, swallowing, and
balance (like medulla oblongata)
● Midbrain
○ Located between pons and diencephalon
○ Colliculi: four mounds on dorsal part of midbrain
■ 2 inferior colliculi → relay centers for auditory
nerve pathways in CNS
■ 2 superior colliculi → visual reflexes and
receive touch/auditory input
○ Contains nuclei involved in coordinating eye
movements, controlling pupil diameter, lens shape
and reward/reinforcement
○ Contains substantia nigra: black nuclear mass which
regulates general body movements
■ Damage to brainstem causes death, whereas damage to cerebrum/
cerebellum does not cause death

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Reticular Formation: loose network of neuron cell bodies

scattered throughout brainstem; involved in regulation of cycles
such as sleep-wake cycle (reticular activating system) →
Norepinephrine
● Also regulates cyclical motor functions like respiration,
walking, chewing, arousing and maintaining consciousness,
sleep-wake cycle
● Damage to the cells of reticular formation can cause coma
○ Cerebellum
■ Attached to brainstem by cerebellar peduncles
● Provide routes of communication between cerebellum and
other parts of CNS
■ Coordinated movement and learning
○ Diencephalon
■ Between brainstem and cerebrum
■ 3 Main Components:
● Thalamus
○ Largest part of diencephalon
○ Connected in center by interthalamic adhesion
○ Relay for sensory information!
○ Influences mood
○ Registers unlocalized, uncomfortable perception of
pain
● Epithalamus
○ Superior to thalamus
○ Small, few nuclei involved in emotional/visceral
response to odors
○ Pineal Gland: influences onset of puberty; plays role
in controlling long-term cycles influenced by light-dark
cycle

● Hypothalamus
○ Inferior part of diencephalon
○ Maintenance of homeostasis
○ Regulate body temperature, hunger, thirst

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

○ Sensations like sexual pleasure, rage, fear,

relaxation, “nervous perspirations” (emotional
responses)
○ Infundibulum: extends from bottom of hypothalamus
to pituitary gland
■ Hypothalamus plays role in secretion of
hormones from pituitary gland (controls
pituitary gland)
○ Mammillary bodies form visible swellings on
backside of hypothalamus → emotional responses to
odors and memory
○ Cerebrum
■ Largest part of brain
■ Divided into left and right hemispheres by a longitudinal fissure
■ Has many folds called gyri (increase surface area of cortex)
■ Has intervening grooves called sulci
■ Divided into lobes:
● Frontal lobe:
○ Control of voluntary motor functions (Phineas Gage),
motivation, aggression (impulsivity), mood, and smell
● Parietal lobe:
○ Evaluates sensory information such as touch, pain,
temperature, and balance (sensation)
● Occipital lobe:
○ Vision
○ Not separate from other lobes
● Temporal lobe:
○ Hearing, smell, memory

● Sensory Functions
○ Sensory input to brainstem and diencephalon helps maintain homeostasis
○ Input to cerebrum and cerebellum keeps us informed about our
environment and allows CNS to control motor functions
○ Small portion of sensory input results in perception (conscious
awareness of stimuli)

● Ascending (Sensory) Tracts

○ Pathways in brain and spinal cord
■ Dorsal Column: fine touch!
■ Spinothalamic Tract: carries info on pain!

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Nociceptor
■ These 2 pathways take different, independent routes
○ Send info via action potentials toward brain
○ Each tract is involved in a limited type of sensory input since each tract
has axons from specific, specialized receptors for particular stimuli only;
made of 2-3 neurons in sequence

● Cerebral Cortex
○ Surface of cerebrum, composed of gray matter
○ Controls thinking, communicating, remembering, understanding, and
initiates involuntary movements
○ Interpret action potentials!

● Sensory Areas of Cerebral Cortex

○ Primary Sensory Areas: location of sensation perception; ascending
tracts project to these specific regions in the cerebral cortex
○ Primary Somatic Sensory Cortex: general sensory area; located in
parietal lobe posterior to central sulcus
■ Sensory fibers relay information to primary sensory cortex
○ Association Areas: regulation; adjacent to primary sensory areas

● Motor Functions
○ Motor system of CNS maintains posture and balance
■ Also, moves trunk, head, limbs, tongue, and eyes, and
communicating through facial expressions and speech
○ Involuntary Movements → occur without conscious thought
○ Voluntary movements → consciously activated to achieve a specific goal
■ Stimulation of upper and lower motor neurons
● Upper motor neuron: located in cerebral cortex; axons of
upper motor neurons form descending tracts that connect to
lower motor neurons
● Lower motor neuron: located in spinal cord and brainstem;
axons leave CNS and extend through spinal/cranial nerves
to skeletal muscles → they form motor units

● Motor Areas of Cerebral Cortex

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

○ Primary Motor Cortex: posterior frontal lobe; control voluntary movement

of skeletal muscle
■ Upper motor neurons project from this cortex to parts of the body
○ Premotor Area: frontal lobe; motor functions are organized here before
they’re actually initiated in primary motor cortex
○ Prefrontal Area: anterior frontal lobe; control motivation, regulation of
emotional behavior and mood
● Descending Tracts:
○ Project from upper motor neurons in cerebral cortex to lower motor
neurons in spinal cord and brainstem
■ Direct → extend directly from upper motor neurons to lower motor
neurons
■ Indirect → no direct connection between cortical and spinal neurons
○ Control different types of movements

● Basal Nuclei: functionally related nuclei; important in planning, organizing,

coordinating movements and posture
○ Corpus Striatum and Substantia Nigra are two primary basal nuclei
○ Basal nuclei have feedback loops, stimulatory and inhibitory
■ Stimulatory circuits facilitate muscle activity
■ Inhibitory circuits facilitate actions of stimulatory circuits by
inhibiting antagonist muscle activity
● Inhibit random movements of trunk and limbs
● Decrease muscle tone when at rest
○ Parkinson disease (dopamine neurons in Substantia Nigra die),
Huntington disease (random movements), and cerebral palsy are basal
nuclei disorders → difficulty resting from a sitting position

● Cerebellum
○ Maintenance of balance, muscle tone, and fine motor movement (learning
motor skills)
○ Major function is that it compares motor cortex and peripheral structures
■ If a difference is detected, cerebellum sends action potentials to
motor neurons in motor cortex and spinal cord to correct difference
● Proprioceptive Neurons → innervate joints, tendons, and muscles
● Other Brain Functions
○ Communication between Right & Left Hemisphere
■ Right hemisphere deals w/ left half of body
■ Left hemisphere deals w/ right half of body
■ Shared information through commissures (bundle of nerve fibers
passing from one side to other side)

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Corpus Callosum: largest commissure; thick band of nerve

tracts
■ Left hemisphere → analytical (mathematics and speech)
■ Right hemisphere → 3D, spatial perception, musical ability

○ Speech
■ Left hemisphere
■ Sensory Speech Area (Wernicke Area):
● Parietal lobe
● Understanding and formulating coherent speech
■ Motor Speech Area (Broca Area):
● Frontal lobe
● Controls speech movement
■ Damage to these two areas causes Aphasia (absent, defective
speech or language comprehension)

○ Brain Waves and Consciousness

■ Electroencephalogram (EEG): detect simultaneous action
potentials in large numbers of neurons
● Normally irregular since the brain is not synchronous
● Sometimes produce patterns known as Brain Waves
○ Alpha Waves: person is awake in quiet state
○ Beta Waves: higher frequency than alpha, occur
during intense mental activity
○ Delta Waves: occur during deep sleep, in infants, and
in those with severe brain disorders
○ Theta Waves: seen in children or in frustrated adults

○ Memory
■ Working, short-term, and long-term (declarative or procedural)
■ Working Memory: briefly stored information required for immediate
performance of a task
● Lasts a few seconds
● Occurs in frontal cortex
● Limited to about 7 bits of information
■ Short-Term Memory: lasts longer than working memory (minutes
to days)
● Stored by increased synaptic transmission
● Transferred to long-term memory
■ Long-Term Memory: minutes to permanent by consolidation
(gradual process involving formation of newer, stronger synaptic
connections)
● Length of storage depends on frequency of use
● Declarative (Explicit) memory: retention of facts
● Procedural (Reflexive) memory: development of motor
skills

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

● Long-term memory involves structural and functional

changes in neurons that lead to long-term enhancement of
synaptic transmission
○ Memory engrams are involved in long-term retention

○ Limbic System and Emotions

■ Olfactory cortex and deep cortical regions/nuclei of cerebrum and
diencephalon
■ Influences long-term declarative memory, emotions, visceral
responses to emotions, motivation, and mood
■ Olfactory nerves is source of sensory input to limbic system
● Responds to olfactory stimulation by initiating responses for
survival (hunger, thirst, etc.)
■ Problems in limbic system can result in voracious appetite,
increased sexual activity, and docility

● Meninges, Ventricles, and Cerebrospinal Fluid

○ Meninges: 3 connective tissue membranes (dura mater, arachnoid mater,
and pia mater) that surround and protect brain and spinal cord
■ Dura Mater: outermost meningeal covering of brain and spinal cord
● Thickest
● 2 layers:
○ Dural folds (hold brain in place)
○ Dural venous sinuses (collect blood from veins of
brain and empty into jugular veins to exit skull)
■ Arachnoid Mater: second meningeal membrane, very thin
● Space between dura mater and arachnoid mater is subdural
space (small amounts of serous fluid)
■ Pia Mater: tightly bound to brain and spinal cord
● Between arachnoid mater and pia mater is subarachnoid
space (filled w/ cerebrospinal fluid and blood vessels)
○ Ventricles: fluid filled cavities
■ Lateral ventricle: large cavity in both hemispheres (bilaterally
symmetrical)
■ Third ventricle: at center of diencephalon between two halves of
the thalamus
● Connected to lateral ventricles by foramina
■ Fourth ventricle: base of cerebellum
● Connected to third ventricle via cerebral aqueduct
● Continuous with central canal of spinal cord, opens into
subarachnoid space
○ Cerebrospinal Fluid: cushions CNS
■ Produced by Choroid Plexus of brain (specialized structures made
of ependymal cells)

● Cranial Nerves

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

○ 12 pairs
○ Sensory functions entail senses (vision, touch, etc.)
○ Motor functions are divided into:
■ Somatic Motor
● Innervate skeletal muscles in head and neck
■ Parasympathetic
● Innervate glands, smooth muscle throughout body, and
cardiac muscle

Peripheral Nervous System (Autonomic vs. Somatic)

● Autonomic Nervous System

○ Consists of motor neurons from CNS that carry action potentials to
periphery
○ Innervates smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands
○ Involuntary
○ Autonomic neurons do NOT extend all the way from CNS to target tissues,
but there are many
■ Somatic motor neurons do (extend from axons in CNS to skeletal
muscle)
○ Preganglionic Neurons and Postganglionic Neurons synapse in
autonomic ganglia outside the CNS

○ Autonomic nervous system is composed of:

■ Sympathetic division
■ Parasympathetic division

○ Anatomy of Sympathetic division

■ Sphlanic nerves
■ Collateral ganglia
○ Anatomy of Parasympathetic division
■ Vagus nerve (branches to heart, lungs, liver, stomach)

○ Autonomic Neurotransmitters
■ Sympathetic → norepinephrine
■ Parasympathetic → acetylcholine

○ Functions of Autonomic Nervous System

○ Divisions can each produce both stimulatory and inhibitory effects
○ Both can actually act together to coordinate activity of multiple targets
■ In males, parasympathetic initiates penis erection and the
sympathetic stimulates release of secretions and helps initiate
ejaculation
● Enteric Nervous System (ENS)
○ Plexuses within wall of digestive tract which include:

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)

 lOMoARcPSD|4522452

■ Sensory neurons that connect digestive tract to CNS

■ Sympathetic and Parasympathetic neurons that connect CNS to
digestive tract
■ Enteric neurons within Enteric Plexuses
● Enteric neurons monitor and control digestive tract
independently of the CNS through local reflexes (although
they also work together occasionally)
○ i.e. stretching of digestive tract is detected by enteric
sensory neurons which stimulate enteric interneurons
■ Interneurons stimulate enteric motor neurons
which stimulate glands to secrete
● CNS control of parasympathetic branches of vagus nerve
and splanchnic nerve can override actions of enteric
neurons.
○ Independent subdivision of PNS that is integrated with the ANS

● Effects of Aging on Nervous System

○ Sensory function gradually declines with age due to decrease in number
of sensory neurons, decrease in functioning of remaining neurons, and
decrease in CNS processing
■ Decreases touch sensation, balance, coordination, etc.
■ Reflexes slow
■ Brain size/weight decreases
■ Short-term memory decreases
● Thinking, problem-solving, intelligence declines

Downloaded by Tr?n Trân (trantran9716@gmail.com)