Chapter 3: Biological Processes

7th March 2013

Objectives

Gain a general understanding of the nervous system Gain knowledge of the structure and function of the neuron Navigate your way around the major brain areas and understand their function

Nervous System Hierarchy

Central nervous system

Brain

Spinal cord

~2% of body weight, uses ~20% of resources Composed of bunches of neurons, which form nerves Complex tangle of nerves that stretch from brain to tailbone Collects & transmits info between brain and peripheral nervous system Also initiates reflexes: automatic responses to an event

Peripheral Nervous System

PNS links the CNS to the organs, muscles, and glands of the body PNS has two parts

Somatic (SNS): nerves controlling voluntary muscle movements Autonomic (ANS): controls glands, organs, blood vessels

ANS has two parts

Sympathetic: arouses body to prepare for action (fight or flight) Parasympathetic: slows down body to reserve energy

Sympathetic and Parasympathetic

The Neuron

All brain activity originates with the neuron The messengers of the brain-world

These cells receive signals from neurons or sense organs, process the signals, and send them to other neurons, muscles, or organs

Three types

Sensory: respond to sensory organ input Motor: send signals to muscles to control movement Interneurons: the go-between of sensory and

The Neuron

The Neuron: Structure

Cell body: houses nucleus Cell Membrane: skin of the cell Axon: cable extending from the cell body

Dendrite

Impulse from cell body travels along axon to its end, where terminal buttons release neurotransmitters (chemical messengers), received by other neurons Axon is covered by myelin sheath, which is composed of a fatty substance that helps impulses travel the length of the axon Branches extending from cell membrane that receive neurotransmitters from other neurons

The Dendrite

Increases receptive surface of the neuron Contacts occur along surface of dendrite

The Axon

Axon hillock Myelin sheath Nodes of Ranvier

The points just between the myelin sheaths

The Neuron in Action

When a neuron receives impulses from other neurons, the cell membrane allows open exchange of positively and negatively charged ions

Action potential (change in electrical charge) runs down axon to terminal buttons This all starts with the axon hillock the gatekeeper of the neuron Terminal buttons release neurotransmitters Neurotransmitters cross the synaptic cleft to the dendrite of the receiving neuron

The Neuron in action

Communication in the Neuron

All-or-nothing

Non-decremental

The action potential either happens or it doesnt

Action potentials dont change in amount (voltage) as they travel Neurons need 2ms to recover before they can transmit again The minimum level of stimulation required to trigger a neural impulse Once you reach the threshold, the action potential doesnt get bigger

Refractory period

Threshold

Several Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine (Ach)

Dopamine (DA)

Slows down the body, memory, and attention (involved in Alzheimers disease)
Voluntary movement, attention, and learning; high levels are associated w/ schizophrenia Reduce sensitivity to pain; linked with pleasure (opiate-like) Arousal, sleep; Prozac increases levels of serotonin Helps control alertness and arousal; low levels can depress mood

Endorphin

Serotonin

Norepinephrine

History of Studying the Brain

Franz Joseph Gall (1758 1828)

Phrenology
The study of the structure of the skull to determine a persons character and mental capacity 26 organs on the surface of the brain

History of Studying the Brain

Phrenological Map of the Skull

History of Studying the Brain

Flourens (1794 1867)

Emphasized the importance of experimental research of the brain Carefully controlled experiments on animals to determine localities of brain and their functions Moved the field of brain research into a more scientific arena

The Brain

Three main parts

Brain Stem Limbic System Cerebral Cortex

Areas of the Brain

Brain Stem

Region of the brain where the spinal cord enters the skull and swells Medulla

Regulates heart-rate, breathing, blood pressure, and motor movements Controls skilled motor movements

Cerebellum

Brain Stem

Pons

Connects the two hemispheres of the cerebellum

Sleep (Moruzzi & Magoun, 1961) Attention

Reticular formation

Thalamus

Relay center

Filters & organizes information from senses

Limbic System

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus

Feeding Reproductive behavior Temperature (Barbour, 1912)

Memory

Amygdala

H.M.

Feeding Memory Emotion

Cerebral Cortex

Two halves, four lobes

Frontal lobe

Parietal lobe

Motor cortex

Sensory cortex

Temporal lobe

Prosopagnosia Unilateral neglect

Occipital lobe

Auditory areas
Visual areas

Two Cerebral Hemispheres

Contralateral arrangement Corpus callosum

Thick band of nerve fibers connecting the hemispheres Its how the 2 hemispheres communicate

Right-brained vs. left-brained? OR

Left & Right Functions

Preserve Your Brain

This is a normal brain firing

This is a brain that has done too much ecstasy