Your brain and nervous system

How does it work?

 Do Now

• Put together the puzzle without talking, making

eye contact, or using hand gestures
Did you find this difficult?
What would make it easier?
How does this relate to your body?
 Communication
• Nearly all multicellular organisms have
communication systems.
• Specialized cells carry messages from one cell
to another so that communication among all
body parts is smooth and efficient.
 Communicate to
maintain homeostasis
• There are two systems used for
communication in your body:
– The nervous system controls and coordinates
functions throughout the body and responds to
internal and external stimuli with the use of
nerves
– The endocrine system performs a similar function
with the use of hormones
 your nervous system

is divided into the central

nervous system (CNS)
which is the brain and
spinal cord

Medical Art Service, Munich /, Wellcome Images

Credit Medical Art Service, Munich /, Wellcome Images

and the
peripheral nervous system
(PNS)
which connects everything
to the brain and spinal cord

Smarter UK N0022597 N0022610

 Nervous Response
• Stimulus: any change that results in a change in the
organism.
– temperature, light, pressure, sound, smell, etc.
• Response: any action resulting from a stimulus.
– contraction of muscle cells
– secretion by a gland
– stimulation of another nerve fiber.

6
 Neurons
• Messages carried by the nervous system are electrical signals
= impulses
• Nerve cells that transmit impulses = neurons
– Sensory neurons: carry impulses from sense organs to the spinal
cord and brain
– Motor neurons: carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to
muscles and glands
– Interneurons: connect sensory and motor neurons and carry
impulses between them
 Parts of a Neuron
• Cell body = largest part containing nucleus and
cytoplasm (most metabolic activity occur here)
• Dendrites = short, branched extensions spreading
out from the cell body and they carry impulses from
the environment or other neurons towards the cell
body
• Axon = long fibers that carry impulses away from the
cell body and ends at the axon terminal
 A Neuron

Section 35-2

Nucleus

Axon terminals
Cell body

Myelin sheath

Nodes Axon Dendrites

 Nerves
• Neurons bundle together to form nerves
• Some nerves may be only a few neurons, and others may be
hundreds or thousands
• The myelin sheath may insulate axons by surrounding it
• There may be some gaps in the myelin sheath called nodes
• Impulses jump from one node to the next, increasing the
speed impulses travel
 the cells of the nervous system are called neurones

dendrites nerve endings

myelin sheath

cell body

nucleus

axon
structure of a neurone
 there are different types of neurone

dendrites direction of
cell body electrical
signal

myelin
sheath

axon

nerve
endings

motor neurone sensory neurone relay neurone

sends signals to your muscles sends signals from connects neurones to
to tell them to move your sense organs other neurones

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 neurones communicate with each other using a
mixture of electrical & chemical signals

dendrites nerve endings

But what happens when the signal

myelin sheath
reaches the end of the axon?

cell body

nucleus an electrical
signal is
transmitted
along the axon
axon
 signals cross between neurones at the synapse

synapse

dendrites nerve endings

vesicle
myelin sheath

synaptic cleft cell body

nucleus receptor neurotransmitter

the signal
is transmitted to
another neurone across a
junction called a synapse by
axon chemicals called
neurotransmitters.
 electrical impulse triggers vesicles
signals cross between neurones at the synapse
1
to move to the synapse membrane
vesicles fuse with the membrane and synapse
2 release neurotransmitter into the
synaptic cleft nerve endings
dendrites
neurotransmitter diffuses across vesicle
3
the cleft and binds to receptors myelin sheath
on the other side

synaptic cleft cell body

nucleus receptor neurotransmitter

the signal
is transmitted to
4 Once enough receptors have
another neurone across a
neurotransmitters bound to
them, the signal is junction called a synapse by
transmitted… axon chemicals called
neurotransmitters.
The point where your muscles and nervous system meet is called the

neuromuscular junction (NMJ)

Signals sent from your central nervous

system to the NMJ tell muscles to move

The synapses at the NMJ

use a neurotransmitter
called acetylcholine
 Resting Nerve
• Nerve impulses are electrical
• The electric potential is created as the result of a
sodium - potassium pump
• It uses ATP to pump sodium ions (Na+) out and
potassium ions (K+) in = active transport
• This results in a negative charge inside the cell
membrane and positive charge outside = resting
potential
 Nerve Impulse
• An impulse begins when a neuron is stimulated by
another neuron or by the environment.
• An impulse causes positively charged sodium ions to
flow in temporarily reversing the charge of the cell
membrane = action potential
• As the impulse passes, positively charged potassium
ions flow out and the charges restore to the normal
resting potential
 Figure 35-7 An Impulse

Section 35-2

Action Potential

At rest. As the action potential passes, potassium

gates open, allowing K+ ions to flow out.

Action Potential Action Potential

At the leading edge of the impulse, the The action potential continues to move along
sodium gates open. The membrane becomes the axon in the direction of the nerve impulse.
more permeable to Na+ ions and an action
potential occurs.
 Synapse
• At the end of the neuron, the impulse reaches an axon terminal where the
impulse may be passed along to another neuron or another cell
• The location where a neuron can transfer an impulse to another cell =
synapse
• The synapse is a small gap that separates the axon terminal from the
dendrites of the next neuron or another cell
• The terminals contain tiny sacs or vesicles filled with neurotransmitters =
chemicals used by a neuron to transmit an impulse across a synapse
• The neurotransmitters stimulate the next neuron
• The impulse will continue with the stimulation exceeds the cell’s threshold
 Figure 35-8 The Synapse

Section 35-2

Direction of Impulse

Dendrite of
adjacent neuron
Axon
Receptor
Vesicle

Axon
terminal
Synaptic cleft

Neurotransmitter
 Reaction activity
• Reaction time = the amount of time required
for an impulse travel from your sensory
neurons to your motor neurons
 The Nervous System
• Neurons work together forming the nervous
system
• There are two major divisions of the nervous
system:
– Central nervous system (CNS)
– Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
 Parts of the Nervous system
• Central nervous system (CNS):
– Brain
– Spinal Cord
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS):
– Sensory division
– Motor division
• Somatic nervous system
• Autonomic nervous system
 Central Nervous System
• The CNS is the control center of the body:
– Relays messages
– Processes information
– Analyzes information
 Brain and Spinal cord
• Both are
– protected by bone
– wrapped in 3 layers of connective tissue =
meninges
– layers may have a space between them filled with
cerebrospinal fluid which protects (shock
absorber) and exchanges nutrients and waste
 Brain
• About 100 billion neurons, mainly
interneurons
• Major parts of the brain:
– Cerebrum
– Cerebellum
– Brain stem
– Thalamus
– Hypothalamus
your brain
interprets the information it gets
though your senses in order to
monitor and regulate your body

as well as being responsible for

thinking, learning, memory

and emotion

Credit: Heidi Cartwright, Wellcome Images

Different parts of
your brain have
different functions…
 different regions have different
Cerebral cortex
functions Functions include:
planning; reasoning;
language; recognising
sounds and images;
Corpus memory.
callosum
connects the brain’s
right and left
hemispheres

Brain stem
regulates heart
rate, breathing, Cerebellum

Credit: Mark Lythgoe & Chloe Hutton, Wellcome Images

sleep cycles important for
and emotions coordination,
precision and timing
of movement

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 Spinal Cord
• Links communication between the brain and the
rest of the body
• 31 pairs of spinal nerves branch out from the
spinal cord connecting brain to body
• Reflexes = quick, automatic responses to stimuli
are processed directly in the spinal cord
 Figure 35-11 The Spinal Cord

Section 35-3

Gray matter Central canal

Spinal nerve White matter

Meninges
 Peripheral Nervous System
PNS animation (Pain receptor) :
http://pennhealth.com/encyclopedia/em_Disp
layAnimation.aspx?gcid=000054&ptid=17
• Consists of nerves and associated cells that are not
part of the brain or spinal cord
• Receives information from the environment and
relays commands from the CNS to organs and glands
• Divided into two parts:
– Sensory division: transmits impulses from sense organs to
the CNS
– Motor division: transmits impulses from the CNS to the
muscles or glands
 Somatic System
• Part of motor division that regulates activities
that are under conscious control (movement of
skeletal muscles)
• Some reflexes too
 What is a Reflex?

• A reflex is an involuntary behavior. Reflexes are usually coordinated

in the spinal cord not the brain.
– They are present from birth
– They are automatic
– They are meant to protect the body
• Examples:
– blinking (keeps your eyes hydrated)
– pulling your hand away when you touch something hot.
– changing pupil size as you move from dark to light.
 Receptors & Effectors

• Receptor: a specialized nervous tissue that

is sensitive to a specific stimulus.
– nerve cells in skin
– eyes
– ears
– taste buds
• Effectors: the part/s of the body that
respond
– muscles or glands
 Reflex Arc
• The pathway that an impulse travels:
– 1. from the sensory receptor
– 2. up the sensory neuron
– 3. over the synapse
– 4. to the spinal cord (interneuron)
– 5. over another synapse
– 6. back down the motor neuron
– 7. to the effector

Reflex arc animations:

1. http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/reflexarcs.html
2. http://msjensen.cehd.umn.edu/1135/Links/Animations/Flash/0016-swf_reflex_arc.swf
 Autonomic System
• Part of the motor division that regulates activities
that are automatic or involuntary (heart beat and
smooth muscle in digestive system and blood
vessels)
• Two parts that have opposite effects on the organs
they control:
– Sympathetic (“gas pedal”)
– Parasympathetic (“brake”)
 Concept Map

Section 35-3

The Nervous
System

is divided into

Central nervous Peripheral

system nervous system

Motor which consists of Sensory

nerves nerves

that make up

Somatic nervous Autonomic

system nervous system

which is divided into

Sympathetic Parasympathetic
nervous system nervous system
 Sensory Receptors
• Neurons that react directly to stimuli from the
environment and send impulses to other neuron and
CNS
– Light
– Sound
– Motion
– Chemicals
– Pressure
– Changes in temperature
 Sense organs
• Sensory receptors are concentrated in the
sense organs:
– Eyes
– Ears
– Nose
– Mouth
– Skin
 Types of Sensory receptors
• Sensory receptors within each organ enable it to
respond to particular stimuli. The five general
categories of sensory receptors are:
Pain receptors
Thermoreceptors
Mechanoreceptors
Chemoreceptors
Photoreceptors
 The 5 Senses
• See
• Hear
• Smell
• Taste
• Touch
 See (Vision)
• Photoreceptors = sense light
 Hearing and Balance
• Sound = vibration in air
detected by
mechanoreceptors

• Balance = As head moves, fluid

shifts and hair cells bend and
send impulses to the CNS to
determine body motion and
position
 Smell
• Smell = ability to detect chemicals detected by
chemoreceptors in nasal passageway and send
impulses to CNS through sensory nerves
 Taste
• How food tastes is strongly
influenced by smell
• Taste = ability to sense chemicals
by chemoreceptors in taste buds
mostly on tongue (sweet, sour,
salty and bitter – sensitivity is
different on different parts of
tongue)
 Touch

• Skin = largest sense organ

containing pain receptors,
thermoreceptors, and
mechanoreceptors
 Senses activity
• Different parts of skin have different
sensitivity because there’s a different numbers
of receptors at different locations
Your brain changes and adapts

What happens as our brains mature?

 your brain changes and adapts all the time and all through your life

your brain learns and

forms memories by
strengthening
synapses that are
used a lot and
weakening those
that are used less
often

Credit Marina Caruso, Wellcome Images

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What happens as you grow?
Between birth and age 3 your
brain makes lots of new synapses
A toddler has 2-3 times more
synapses than an adult

As your brain matures, it prunes

synapses to make it more efficient
During adolescence your brain has a
major tidy-up and gets rid of lots of
connections it isn’t using
This is a critical and delicate process. It is
thought that conditions such as schizophrenia
could be the result of it going wrong
Some evidence suggests that using
drugs can disrupt this process
 Problems
• Drugs = substance that changes the structure or function of
the body
• Drugs can interfere with the action of neurotransmitters at
the synapse, which can disrupt the functioning of the nervous
system
 Stimulants
• Increase the actions regulated by the nervous
system by increasing the release of
neurotransmitters at synapses (increase heart
rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate)
– Amphetamines
– Cocaine
– Nicotine
– Caffeine
 Depressants
• Decrease the actions regulated by the nervous
system (lowering heart rate, breathing rate,
blood pressure, relaxing muscles, and relieving
tension)
– Alcohol
– Tranquilizers
 Alcohol
• One of the most dangerous and abused depressant drug that
slows down functioning rate of CNS
• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) = a group of birth defects caused
by the effects of alcohol on the fetus (heart defects,
malformed faces, delayed growth, and poor motor
development
• Alcoholism = disease of people who have become addicted to
alcohol
• Causes damage to liver where alcohol is broken down
 Addictions
• Some drugs that act on neurons of the pleasure centers of the
brain can produce an addiction = an uncontrollable craving for
more of the drug or dependence on a drug
– Cocaine – causes sudden release of the neurotransmitter dopamine
– Opiates – mimic natural endorphins to overcome pain
– Marijuana – produces temporary feeling of euphoria and
disorientation
• Drug abuse = using any drug in a way that most doctors
couldn’t approve
 Commonly Abused Drugs

Section 35-5

Drug Type Medical Use Examples Effects on the body

Stimulants Used to increase alertness, Amphetamines Increase heart and respiratory rates;
relieve fatigue elevate blood pressure; dilate pupils;
decrease appetite

Depressants Used to relieve anxiety,
irritability, tension
Barbiturates Slow down the actions of the central
Tranquilizers nervous system; small amounts cause
calmness and relaxation; larger
amounts cause slurred speech and
impaired judgement

Opiates Used to relieve pain Morphine Act as a depressant; cause

Codeine drowsiness, restlessness, nausea