Tessuto nervoso

Nervous tissue is composed of two main cell

types: neurons and glial cells. Neurons
transmit nerve messages. Glial cells are in
direct contact with neurons and often
surround them.

Caratteristiche della cellula nervosa:

Eccitabilit

Conducibilit

Tessuto nervoso

Eccitabilit

Tessuto nervoso

Il potenziale di membrana
Generato dai canali potassio

Tessuto nervoso

I protagonsti del potenziale elettrico:

I canali ionici nella
Membrana della cellula nervosa

Tessuto nervoso

Il potenziale elettrico

The neuron is the functional unit of the nervous system. Humans

have about 100 billion neurons in their brain alone! While
variable in size and shape, all neurons have three parts. Dendrites
receive information from another cell and transmit the message to
the cell body. The cell body contains the nucleus, mitochondria
and other organelles typical of eukaryotic cells. The axon conducts
messages away from the cell body

Le cellule della glia

Le cellule della nevroglia
Formano una fitta rete che
Riveste i corpi cellulari
i dendriti dei neuroni e le
Fibre nervose. Fanno da
Sostegno ai neuroni e da
Mezzo per gli scambi
Nutritizi e gassosi.
Ci sono sei tipi di nevroglia:
Gli oligodendrociti
Gli astrociti
Le cellule satelliti
Le cellule di Schwann
Cellule della microglia.
Oligodendrociti e astrociti
Derivano come i neuroni
Dallectoderma (tubo neurale)
Le altre tipologie derivano dalle
Creste neuronali

La cellula nervosa:
Si identificata e analizzata
Usando alcune importanti
colorazioni:
Impregnazione argentica:
Complesso di Golgi
Coloranti basici:
Sostanza di Nissl;
Coloranti argentici:
Neurofibrille
Ematossilina eosina

Structure of a neuron and the direction of nerve message transmission

Lassone della
cellula nervosa pu
Essere rivestito di
Mielina(fibre mieliNiche).

Cos la guaina mielinica

Come si forma la guaina mielinica dei

Nervi periferici

E nel sistema nervoso centrale

Three types of neurons occur. Sensory neurons typically have

a long dendrite and short axon, and carry messages from
sensory receptors to the central nervous system. Motor
neurons have a long axon and short dendrites and transmit
messages from the central nervous system to the muscles (or
to glands). Interneurons are found only in the central nervous
system where they connect neuron to neuron.

Sensory neuron
Afferent Neuron Moving away from a
central organ or point

Relays messages from receptors to

the brain or spinal cord

Motor neuron

Efferent Neuron Moving toward a central organ or point

Relays messages from the brain or spinal cord to the
muscles and organs

Interneuron
Relays message from sensory neurone to motor neurone
Make up the brain and spinal cord

Neurons differ from other

cells in the body because

1.Neurons have specialised extensions

called dendrites and axons. Dendrites
bring information to the cell body and
axons take information away from the
cell body.
2.Neurons communicate with each
other through an electrochemical
process.
3.Neurons contain some specialized
structures (for example, synapses) and
chemicals (for example,
neurotransmitters).

Synapses are the control switches of the nervous system

When a nerve impulse reaches the end of an axon, it

releases a neurotransmitter into the synaptic space.
The neurotransmitter molecules diffuse across the
synapse and bind to receptors on the postsynaptic cell,
a neuron in this case, passing the signal to that cell.
Enzymes destroy the neurotransmitter molecules to
prevent continuous stimulation of the postsynaptic
cell.

Small-molecule neurotransmitters are

synthesized at nerve terminals. The
enzymes necessary for
neurotransmitter synthesis are made
in the cell body of the presynaptic
cell. Peptide neurotransmitters, as
well as the enzymes that modify their
precursors, are synthesized in the cell
body (1). Enzymes and propeptides
are packaged into vesicles in the
Golgi apparatus. During fast axonal
transport of these vesicles to the
nerve terminals (2), the enzymes
modify the propeptides to produce
one or more neurotransmitter
peptides (3). After vesicle fusion and
exocytosis, the peptides diffuse away
and are degraded by proteolytic
enzymes

Neurotransmitters: small molecules

Acetylcholine was the first neurotransmitter to be discovered. It
was isolated in 1921 by a German biologist named Otto Loewi, who
would later win the Nobel Prize for his work. Acetylcholine has
many functions: It is responsible for much of the stimulation of
muscles, including the muscles of the gastro-intestinal system. It is
also found in sensory neurons and in the autonomic nervous
system, and has a part in scheduling REM (dream) sleep. The plant
poisons curare and hemlock cause paralysis by blocking the
acetylcholine receptor sites of muscle cells. Choline is taken up by
the neuron. When the enzyme called choline acetyltransferase is
present, choline combines with acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) to
produce acetylcholine.

In 1946, a Swedish biologist by the name of Ulf von Euler discovered

norepinephrine (formerly called noradrenalin). He also won a Nobel
Prize. Norepinephrine is strongly associated with bringing our nervous
systems into "high alert." It is prevalent in the sympathetic nervous
system, and it increases our heart rate and our blood pressure. Our
adrenal glands release it into the blood stream, along with its close
relative epinephrine (aka adrenalin). It is also important for forming
memories. Stress tends to deplete our store of adrenalin, while exercise
tends to increase it. Amphetamines ("speed") work by causing the
release of norepinephrine, as well as dopamine and seratonin (see
below).

Another relative of norepinephrine and epinephrine is

dopamine, discovered to be a neurotransmitter in the 1950s by
another Swede, Arvid Carlsson. It is an inhibitory
neurotransmitter, meaning that when it finds its way to its
receptor sites, it blocks the tendency of that neuron to
fire. Dopamine is strongly associated with reward mechanisms
in the brain. Drugs like cocaine, opium, heroin, and alcohol
increase the levels of dopamine, as does nicotine! The severe
mental illness schizophrenia has been shown to involve
excessive amounts of dopamine in the frontal lobes, and drugs
that block dopamine are used to help schizophrenics. On the
other hand, too little dopamine in the motor areas of the brain
are responsible for Parkinson's disease, which involves

uncontrollable muscle tremors

Dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine are a group of neurotransmitters called

"catecholamines". Norepinephrine is also called "noradrenalin" and epinephrine is also
called "adrenalin". Each of these neurotransmitters is produced in a step-by-step fashion
by a different enzyme

In 1950, Eugene Roberts and J. Awapara discovered GABA (gamma

aminobutyric acid), which is also usually an inhibitory
neurotransmitter. GABA acts like a brake to the excitatory
neurotransmitters that lead to anxiety. People with too little GABA tend
to suffer from anxiety disorders, and drugs like Valium work by
enhancing the effects of GABA. Lots of other drugs influence GABA
receptors, including alcohol and barbituates. If GABA is lacking in some
parts of the brain, epilepsy results

Glutamate is an excitatory relative of GABA. It is the most common

neurotransmitter in the central nervous system -- as much as half of all
neurons in the brain -- and is especially important in regards to
memory. Curiously, glutamate is actually toxic to neurons, and an excess
will kill them. Sometimes brain damage or a stroke will lead to an
excess and end with many more brain cells dying than from the original
trauma.

Serotonin is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that has been found to be

intimately involved in emotion and mood. Too little serotonin has been
shown to lead to depression, problems with anger control, obsessivecompulsive disorder, and suicide. Too little also leads to an increased
appetite for carbohydrates (starchy foods) and trouble sleeping, which
are also associated with depression and other emotional disorders. It has
also been tied to migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, and fibromyalgia

In 1973, Solomon Snyder and Candace Pert of Johns Hopkins discovered

endorphin. Endorphin is short for "endogenous morphine," i.e. built-in
heroin! It is structurally very similar to the opioids (opium, morphine,
heroin, etc.) and has similar functions: Inhibitory, it is involved in pain
reduction and pleasure, and the opioid drugs work by attaching to
endorphin's receptor sites. It is also the neurotransmitter that allows
bears and other animals to hibernate. Consider: Heroin slows heart-rate,
respiration, and metabolism in general -- exactly what you would need to
hibernate. Of course, sometimes heroin slows it all down to
nothing: Permanent hibernation

Neuroactive Peptides - partial list only!

bradykinin
cholecystokinin
gastrin
secretin
oxytocin
sleep peptides
gonadotropnin-releasing hormonebeta-endorphin
enkephalin
substance P
somatostatin
prolactin
galanin

Signaling
The input signal of a neuron, the synaptic potential, is the
perturbation of its membrane potential caused by the output of
another nerve cell.

The open or closed state in which a channel can be (gating) depends

on signals coming from either inside or outside the cell

A common type of gating is by a ligand binding to a receptor in the

channel

Different mechanisms for the opening or closing of ion channel

Tessuto nervoso
Depolarizzazione della membrana

Action potential

Multicellular animals must monitor and maintain a constant

internal environment as well as monitor and respond to an
external environment. In many animals, these two functions are
coordinated by two integrated and coordinated organ systems: the
nervous system and the endocrine system.
Three basic functions are performed by nervous systems:
1.Receive sensory input from internal and external environments
2.Integrate the input
3.Respond to stimuli

Sensory Input
Receptors are parts of the nervous system that sense changes in the
internal or external environments. Sensory input can be in many forms,
including pressure, taste, sound, light, blood pH, or hormone levels, that
are converted to a signal and sent to the brain or spinal cord.
Integration and Output
In the sensory centers of the brain or in the spinal cord, the barrage of
input is integrated and a response is generated. The response, a motor
output, is a signal transmitted to organs than can convert the signal into
some form of action, such as movement, changes in heart rate, release of
hormones, etc.

Endocrine Systems
Some animals have a second control system, the endocrine system. The
nervous system coordinates rapid responses to external stimuli. The
endocrine system controls slower, longer lasting responses to internal
stimuli. Activity of both systems is integrated.

Arco nervoso semplice

Divisions of the Nervous System

The nervous system monitors and controls almost every organ system
through a series of positive and negative feedback loops.The Central
Nervous System (CNS) includes the brain and spinal cord. The
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) connects the CNS to other parts of the
body, and is composed of nerves (bundles of neurons).

CNS

Not all animals have highly specialized nervous systems. Those with
simple systems tend to be either small and very mobile or large and
immobile. Large, mobile animals have highly developed nervous
systems: the evolution of nervous systems must have been an important
adaptation in the evolution of body size and mobility.
Coelenterates,
cnidarians, and
echinoderms have their
neurons organized into
a nerve net. These
creatures have radial
symmetry and lack a
head. Although lacking
a brain or either
nervous system (CNS
or PNS) nerve nets are
capable of some
complex behavior.

Bilaterally symmetrical animals have a body plan that includes a defined head and a tail
region. Development of bilateral symmetry is associated with cephalization, the
development of a head with the accumulation of sensory organs at the front end of the
organism. Flatworms have neurons associated into clusters known as ganglia, which in
turn form a small brain. Vertebrates have a spinal cord in addition to a more developed
brain.

Chordates have a dorsal rather than ventral nervous system. Several evolutionary trends
occur in chordates: spinal cord, continuation of cephalization in the form of larger and
more complex brains, and development of a more elaborate nervous system. The
vertebrate nervous system is divided into a number of parts. The central nervous system
includes the brain and spinal cord.

The outer layer of the

spinal cord consists of
white matter, i.e., myelinsheathed nerve fibers.
These are bundled into
specialized tracts that
conduct impulses triggered
by pressure, pain, heat,
and other sensory stimuli
or conduct motor impulses
activating muscles and
glands. The inner layer, or
gray matter, has a butterflyshaped cross-section and
is mainly composed of
nerve cell bodies. Within
the gray matter, running
the length of the cord and
extending into the brain,
lies the central canal
through which the
cerebrospinal fluid
circulates.

Connecting with the cord

are 31 pairs of these spinal
nerves, which feed sensory
impulses into the spinal
cord, which in turn relays
them to the brain.
Conversely, motor
impulses generated in the
brain are relayed by the
spinal cord to the spinal
nerves, which pass the
impulses to muscles and
glands. The spinal cord
mediates the reflex
responses to some
sensory impulses directly,
i.e., without recourse to the
brain, as when a person's
leg is tapped producing the
knee jerk reflex

Most body organs are innervated

by two separate sets of motor
neurones;
one
from
the
sympathetic system and one from
the
parasympathetic
system.
These neurones have opposite
(or antagonistic) effects. In
general the sympathetic system
stimulates the fight or flight
responses
to
threatening
situations,
while
the
parasympathetic system relaxes
the body

Organ

Sympathetic
System

Parasympathetic
System

Eye
Tear glands
Salivary glands
Lungs
Heart
Gut
Liver
Bladder

Dilates pupil
No effect
Inhibits saliva
production
Dilates bronchi
Speeds up heart rate
Inhibits peristalsis
Stimulates glucose
production
Inhibits urination

Constricts pupil
Stimulates tear
secretion
Stimulates saliva
production
Constricts bronchi
Slows down heart rate
Stimulates peristalsis
Stimulates bile
production
Stimulates urination

Derivazione
embrionale

Come sono organizzate le varie tipologie cellulari nel sistema

Nervoso centrale

As we all know, alcoholic beverages

are harmful to our body, specifically
our nervous system. It affects the brain
by causing slurred speech, clumsiness,
and delayed relaxes. Alcohol damages
dendrites, which affects the nerve cells

ability to send messages into the cell.

Alcohol also affects the brain by
altering levels of neurotransmitters. It
increases the effects of the inhibitory
neurotransmitter GABA in the brain.
GABA causes the clumsiness and
slurred speech that occurs . At the same
time, alcohol inhibits the excitatory
neurotransmitter glutamate.
Suppressing this stimulant results in a
similar type of physiological slowdown