Sasha Biggers, Physiology 2420, Lecture Notes Extra Credit

Chapter 9
The Central Nervous System
Welcome to Chapter 9 of your textbook. In chapter 9 we get to learn all about the central
nervous system, or the CNS. The CNS consists of your brain and spinal cord. It is really
fascinating how many tasks one brain and one spinal cord can manage! From thoughts,
emotions, and conscious movement, to automatic breathing, digesting, and regulation of every
organ systemthe CNS is in charge of it all!

General Anatomy of the Central Nervous System

Cells
The central nervous system is estimated to have about 100 billion neurons. Sounds like a
lot? Well, neurons arent the majority. The CNS is actually comprised of 75-90% glial cells.
Glial cells provide support and protection to the CNS. There are five types of glial cells:
Schwann cells, oligodendrocytes, microglia, ependymal cells, and astrocytes.
Schwann cells: form myelin sheaths around axons. One Schwann cell sheathes only one axon.
Think of a leg warmer insulating just one leg.
Oligodendrocytes: form myelin sheaths around axons. One oligodendrocyte can send out
processes that sheath several axons. Think of a glove insulating all fingers and a thumb.
Astrocytes: guide developing neurons to their correct destination and regulate the development
and maintenance of synapses. Big note on astrocytes: they are responsible for the development
of special capillaries that restrict the diffusion of hydrophobic molecules across their walls. This
is known as the blood-brain barrier. The barrier is created by the presence of tight junctions
between the capillary cells. The blood-brain barrier is very important in protecting the CNS
from harmful substances that may be present in the blood. Astrocytes also synthesize certain
molecules for use by neurons.
Microglia: work with astrocytes in protecting the CNS from toxic substances. Microglia also
function as phagocytes, removing bacteria and remnants of dead or injured cells.
Ependymal cells: epithelial cells lining the ventricles and central canal of the brain. Ependymal
cells contribute the synthesis of cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF.

Meninges
The consistency of the brain and spinal cord is quite similar to that of Jell-O. They are
quite soft, squishy, and vulnerable on their own. Thank goodness for the cranium and vertebrae!
But was about protecting the brain from mushing up again the inside of the cranium? How does
the spinal cord not squish between the vertebrae? Meninges, friends! Meninges are connective
tissue membranes that surround the soft tissue of the CNS, protecting it from surrounding bone.
There are three meninge membranes: dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater.

Dura mater: outermost meningeal layer. Dura is Latin for hard/durable. This layer is very
hard, tough, and fibrous.
Arachnoid mater: middle meninge. Arachnoid in Greek means, you guessed it, spider. The
middle meningeal layer is appropriately names due to its web-like structure.
Pia mater: Latin for tender, kind. This is the innermost layer of the meninges.
Normally, there is no space between the dura mater and the arachnoid mater. There is a
space between the arachnoid mater and pia mater, called the subarachnoid space, translated to
beneath the arachnoid. This space is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which provides
nutrients and cushioning to the CNS. The brain floats in a skull full of the stuff. The CSF
contributes to the normal ionic composition around neutrons, much like the plasma of the blood,
and is essential for excitability of neurons.

Gray and White Matter

Cell bodies, dendrites, and axon terminals are found in clusters in the CNS that construct
what we see as gray matter. We also see white matter in the CNS, which is comprised of axons.
Gray matter constitutes approximately 40% of the CNS and is the site of synaptic
communication and neural integration. That is, gray matter is where cells talk to each other.
Gray matter is where axon terminals of one or more cells will synapse with the dendrites or cell
bodies one or more other cells. As a stimulus, this leads to a graded potential, and of course, if
strong enough, or summated to threshold, an action potential will occur. Action potentials travel
down the axon in the white matter.
The outer view of the brain is gray matter only. The white matter lies under the gray
matter, and embedded in the white matter are smaller areas of gray matter known as nuclei. In
the spinal cord, the arrangement is reversed with the white matter on the outside and gray matter
on the inside.
The gray matter of the spinal cord is arranged in a butterfly-like shape with a dorsal
(back) horn and a ventral (front) horn. Afferent neurons, which are bringing signals into the
spinal cord, terminate in the dorsal horn. They either synapse directly with efferent neurons,
which send signals away from the spinal cord, or they synapse with interneurons which then
synapse with efferent neurons. Efferent neurons are located in the ventral horn of the gray
matter.
Afferent (incoming) and efferent (outgoing) axons (white matter) travel together in spinal
nerves, but separate into different bundles as the enter or leave the spinal cord. Because they
travel together in the spinal nerves, they are described as mixed nerves.
The white matter of the spinal cord consists of tracts that provide communication
between the brain and spinal cord. Ascending tracts send information from the spinal cord to the
brain, and descending tracts send information from the brain to the spinal cord. These tracts are
what link peripheral nerves, or nerves throughout the body, to the brain. For example, if you
touch a hot stove, the stimulus (hot stove) causes action potentials to release a neurotransmitter
(chemical brain communicator) that causes some interneurons to transmit the information along
the ascending tract to the brain. In turn, the descending tract sends signals from the brain, to the
spinal cord, to your skeletal muscles for you to move your hand off the hot stove.

SPINAL CORD http://cnx.org/content/m44749/latest/

BRAIN http://www.medinewsdigest.com/?p=3249

Anatomy of the Brain

Forebrain: the largest and most superior part of the brain, divided into a left and right
hemispheres. The forebrain contains the cerebrum and the diencephalon. The diencephalon
consists of the thalamus and the hypothalamus.
Cerebellum: Latin for little brain and is located inferior, or below, the forebrain.
Brain stem: is the tail of the brain and consists of three main regionsmidbrain, connects
to the forebrain; pons, connects to the cerebellum; and the medulla oblongata (my favorite just
because its fun to say), connects to the spinal cord.
The cerebral cortex is the outermost portion of the cerebrum. The cerebral cortex
consists of all the worm-like twists and turns we associate with the appearance of the brain.
These twists and turns are called sulci (sulcus, singular), and the ridges or grooves in between
the sulci are called gyri (gyrus, singular).
The cerebrum is divided into lobes, all with certain specialized functions, to be discussed
in the next section. There is the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and the occipital lobe.

Functions of the Brain

The cerebral cortex carries out the highest level of neural processing. As humans, the
evolution of our cerebral cortex has made us the vastly intelligent, multi-faceted creatures that
we are. In the cortex we perceive our environment, formulate ideas, experience emotions, form
memories, and instruct our bodies how to move.
Although the cerebral cortex is where the human thought/emotion/memory magic
happens, everything must pass through the thalamus. The thalamus is the relay center through
which all sensory information passes, with the exception of smell. The thalamus is a cluster of
nuclei that filters and refines sensory information before transmitting it to the cortex.
Stated earlier, the lobes of the cerebrum have specialized functions where sensory input is
transmitted from the thalamus and processed in the cortex for certain functions. The occipital
lobe is often referred to as the visual cortex because the processing of visual information occurs
there. A section of the temporal lobe is called the auditory cortex because it specializes in
hearing. The temporal lobe is also home to the neural processing and formation of memories,
emotions and language comprehension. The parietal lobe houses the primary somatosensory
cortex which is involved in processing of somatic (body) sensory information like touch, itch,
temperature, and pain. Proprioception, the awareness of muscle, joint, and limb positions, also
occurs in the parietal lobe. The frontal lobe is responsible for the initiation of voluntary
movement. It contains the primary motor cortex. The frontal lobe is also involved in language
and planning, and it is considered where our personality arises.
In physiology nothing is as simple as stated. The brain is certainly no exception.
Although certain areas or lobes can be held responsible for certain sensory processing, the
processing itself is very complex and requires integration of other areas and input of additional
information. Areas of the cortex involved in integral processing are called association areas.
Now lets talk about the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a talented little nut in the
brain. It is the major link between the two communication systems of the body, the endocrine
and nervous systems. In response to neural and hormonal input, the hypothalamus releases
tropic hormones that regulate the release of pituitary hormones. In short, perhaps very short, the
hypothalamus is the origin for the regulation of fluid levels in the body, satiety and hunger
sensations, thirst, thermoregulation, bonding (as in parent to child), sleep, and emotions.
Speaking of emotions! The hypothalamus is part of the limbic system, functioning in
motivation, memory, and emotions. The limbic system is one of the more primitive areas of
our brain, involved in basic drives, such as aggression and fear.

Integrated CNS Function: Reflexes

An automated, patterned response to a sensory stimulus is called a reflex. Reflexes can
be categorized into the following four groups:
Spinal or cranial
Somatic or autonomic
Innate or conditioned
Monosynaptic or polysynaptic

Neural pathways for reflexes are known are reflex arcs. These arcs consist of five
components: 1) sensory receptor, 2) an afferent neuron, 3) an integration center, 4) an efferent
neuron, 5) an effector organ. Basically, what you need to know for the test is that a stimulus is
detected by the sensory receptor, which triggers an action potential that travels along the afferent
neurons axon synapsing in the integration center (like the DMV but way more efficient), then
triggering an action potential that travels along the efferent neurons axon, synapsing with the
effector organ, producing a response. Can you dig it?
Lets look at the simplest example of a reflex, the muscle spindle stretch reflex. Im
pretty sure all of us have had a doctor, at some point, tap on our knee with a little rubber hammer
causing our leg to involuntarily kick out. In this reflex, the tapping of the patellar (knee) tendon
stretches the quadriceps muscle in the upper thigh. The receptor is the muscle spindle. The
stretch excites muscle spindles, triggering action potentials that travel in the afferent neurons to
the spinal cord (integration center). In the spinal cord, the afferent neurons make direct
excitatory synapses with efferent neurons that innervate the quadriceps muscle (effector organ),
stimulating the quadriceps to contract, kicking the leg forward.
A doctor has probably also checked your pupilary light reflex by shining a light in your
eyes. The light stimulus activates photoreceptors which activate afferent neurons that transmit
signals to the brainstem (integration center), then activating polysynaptic, autonomic efferent
neurons that innervate the smooth muscle around the pupils which respond by constricting.
The doctor checking these reflexes is testing the integrity of the nerve circuits. If no
reflex is present, he/she can assume there has been some kind of nerve damage, either in the
peripheral nervous system (PNS) or the central nervous system (CNS).

Integrated CNS Function: Language

The two main areas of the brain involved in language are the Wernickes area and the
Brocas area. Wernickes is located in the temporal lobe and the parietal lobe, and is involved in
language comprehension, including sound, written, and hand signals of language. If there is
damage to the Wernickes area, a person may be able to speak and enunciate clearly, but will
make no sense at all. For example, if you asked, What color is the sky? The person,
nonsensically, might answer, Pokey, fun, skeleton bath. The Brocas area, located in the
frontal lobe, is responsible for language expression. Should any damage happen to Brocas, the
person can understand language normally but loses the ability to form words properly and may
be slurring or stuttering.

Integrated CNS Function: Sleep

Sleep seems to still be a mystery to scientists as to why we do it and why we need it.
Most believe its function is mainly restorative. Some think sleep may be necessary because
dreaming is useful by providing an opportunity to mentally practice and refine behaviors without
actually having to perform them. For example, if you dream about a terrifying job interview, you
get to face your fears and practice preferable candidate behaviors before you actually wake up
and go to the interview.
Much of what is known about sleep is studied via electroencephalogram (EEG) which
measures brain waves throughout the course of a nights sleep. Slow-wave sleep (SWS) is

characterized by low frequency waves, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by
high-frequency waves. In SWS, muscle tone is present but diminished compared to the wakened
state. Spinal reflexes are still present. Sleep walking is most likely to occur during the deeper
stages of SWS. In REM sleep, postural muscles lose their tone and become paralyzed. An
overall increase in brain activity occurs in REM. Dreams and thoughts are more elaborate and
intense than in SWS.

Learning and Memory

Associative learning: the type of learning that requires making connections between two or
more stimuli. In the case of Pavlovs dog, the salivary reflex learned to associate the ringing of a
bell with the delivery of food, therefore triggering salivation at the sound of the bell.
Nonassociative learning: the type of learning that occurs in response to repetition. This
includes habituation, which is a decrease in response to a repeated stimulus, and sensitization,
which in an increase in response to a repeated stimulus. If we deem a stimulus as important, we
tend to become sensitized to it. If we deem a stimulus unimportant, we tend to be habituated to
it.
Procedural memory: the memory of learned motor skills and behaviors, like riding a bike or
playing an instrument.
Declarative memory: the memory of learned experiences, such as facts and events. Anything
that can be stated verbally is an example of declarative memory.
The processing of memories is complex and involves several, if not all, parts of the brain.
The entire central nervous system can change with experiences. Learning and memory are able
to occur because of nervous plasticity. Plasticity derives from both the fact that the function of
existing synapses can be altered for long periods of time, and the fact that new synaptic
connections can develop.
An example of plasticity in the nervous system is long-term potentiation (LTP). In LTP,
repetitive stimulation of a particular synapse eventually leads to a stronger synaptic connection.
Such increases in synaptic strength occur because of an increase in the size of excitatory
postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) that are generated in the postsynaptic cell. Increased synaptic
strength can be due to an increase in the postsynaptic cells sensitivity to the neurotransmitter
released by the presynaptic cell with each action potential. For example, at low levels of activity
in a presynaptic cell, glutamate binds to two different receptors: an AMPA and an NMDA
receptor. The presence of magnesium in the NMDA receptor prevents calcium influx. Overall,
the postsynaptic cell is depolarized due to sodium influx. But at high levels of activity in the
presynaptic cell, increased glutamate release allows even more sodium into the postsynaptic cell,
producing even greater depolarization which forces magnesium out of the NMDA receptor,
resulting in higher calcium influx. The calcium activates protein kinases, which in turn act on
the sodium channel, making it more sensitive to glutamate. Holy moly!
You may only be in ninth grade and a lot of this stuff may seem over your head. But trust
me, study hard and youll be super glad when you get to college that you tackled this stuff early!