Central Nervous System

Evolution of vertebrate brain - sponges are only multicellular animals w/o nerves

 cnidarians - have simplest nervous systems (nerve net)

o no control/association
 flatworms - simplest animals w/ association in nervous system
o bigger mass of nervous tissue (beginnings of brain) >> complex control
 interneurons/tracts added to brain as it evolved (interneurons - complex, high-level
neurons found in brain/spinal cord)
 hindbrain (rhombencephalon) - extension of spinal cord
o coordinates motor reflexes
o cerebellum (“little cerebrum”) - controls balance, body position
o pons - controls automatic functions, links cerebellum/medulla oblongata w/ other
parts of brain
o medulla oblongata - contains respiration, circulation
 midbrain (mesencephalon) - consists of mostly optic lobes that receive/process visual
information
o controls eye/ear reflex
 forebrain (prosencephalon) - processes most of sensory information
o diencephalons - thalamus, hypothalamus
o thalamus - relays info between spinal cord and cerebrum
o hypothalamus - controls emotions, pituitary gland
o cerebrum (telencephalon) - dominant part of mammalian brain
 ascending tracts - carry sensory info to brain
 descending tracts - carry impulses from brain to motor neurons

Human forebrain - divided into 2 hemispheres connected by corpus callosum

 each hemisphere receives info from opposite side

 cerebral cortex - layer of gray matter on outer surface of cerebrum
o contains 10% of all neurons in brain
o folded/wrinkled to increase surface area
o primary motor cortex - right in front of central sulcus (crease), controls mov’t
o primary somatosensory cortex - right behind central sulcus, receives info from
sensory neurons of skin/muscles
o auditory cortex - in temporal lobe
o visual cortex - in occipital lobe
o association cortex - used for higher mental activities
 basal ganglia - collections of cell bodies, dentrites that produce gray matter islands
o receives info from ascending tracts, motor commands from cerebrum/cortex
o sends info to spinal cord to control mov’t
o damaged ganglia >> Parkinson's
 thalamus - main area of senses (especially pain)
o receives visual, auditory, somatosensory info
 o relays info to occipital (visual), temporal (auditory), parietal (somatosensory)
lobes
 hypothalamus - controls instinct
o regulates body temperature, hunger, thirst, emotion
o controls pituitary gland (regulates other endocrine glands)
 limbic system - responsible for emotional responses
o includes hypothalamus, hippocampus (may control memories), amygdala

Spinal cord - cable of neurons going from brain through backbone

 protected by vertebral column and meninges (membrane layers that also cover the brain)
 inner zone (gray matter) - consists of interneuron, motor neuron, neuroglia cell bodies
o unmyelinated cell bodies
 outer zone (white matter) - consists of sensory axons (in dorsal column) and motor axons
(in ventral column)
o myelinated axons
 controls reflexes (sudden involuntary muscle mov’t)
o doesn’t require higher level processing of info
o only uses a few neurons >> very fast
o monosynaptic reflex arc - simplest reflex (like knee-jerk reflex), sensory nerve
connects directly to motor neuron
o most reflexes usually involve an interneuron between sensory/motor neurons
 regeneration - implanted nerve axons can’t penetrate spinal cord tissue
o factor in spinal cord inhibits nerve growth
o use of fibroblast growth factor shows limited improvement in neuron regeneration
ability

Peripheral/Autonomic Nervous Systems

Peripheral nervous system - nerves, ganglia

 nerve - collections of axons (myelinated/unmyelinated)

o separates into motor/sensory parts at origin
o dorsal root - sensory axons
o ventral root - motor axons
 ganglia - groups of neuron cell bodies outside the central nervous system
o dorsal root ganglia - contains cell bodies of sensory neurons
o motor neuron cell bodies found inside spinal cord
 somatic motor neurons stimulate skeletal muscles to contract
o for each muscle stimulated to contract, its antagonist must be inhibited by
hyperpolarizing the motor neuron
Autonomic nervous system - contains sympathetic/parasympathetic areas, medulla oblongata

 autonomic neurons control smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, glands

 medulla oblongata - controls the system
 2 neurons used for each pathway (1 has cell body in central nervous system, other has
cell body in autonomic ganglion)
 preganglionic neuron - 1st neuron, releases Ach at synapse
 postganglionic neuron - releases Ach in parasympathetic division, norepinephrine in
sympathetic division
 sympathetic division - stimulates the adrenal gland to secrete epinephrine
o prepares the body for fight or flight
o norepinephrine released at postganglionic neuron synapses
 parasympathetic division - slows down heart, increases secretions
o regulates organs by releasing Ach
o ACh causes G proteins to open up ion channels >> hyperpolarization >> slows
down cell

Neuroglia - cells that support neurons

 supplies neurons w/ nutrients, gets rid of waste, provides immunity

 Schwann cells - produce myelin sheaths in peripheral nervous system
 oligodendrocytes - produce myelin sheaths in central nervous system

Brain Functions
Sleep/arousal - reticular formation in brain stem controls consciousness

 less stimuli >> less active reticular formation >> easier to sleep
 sleep = active process, not lack of consciousness
 electroencephalogram (EEG) - records electrical activity in the brain
o alpha waves - 8-13 hertz, found in relaxed/awake people
o beta waves - 13-30 hertz, found in alert people
o theta/delta waves - found in sleeping people
 REM sleep - rapid eye mov’t sleep
o EEG like that of relaxed, awake person
o difficult to wake up
o when dreams occur

Language/spatial recognition - hemispheres each responsible for different jobs

 left hemisphere = dominant language area for 9/10 of right-handed people, 2/3 of left
handed people
 Wernicke’s area - found in parietal lobe between auditory/visual areas
o controls language comprehension, formation of thoughts
 Broca’s area - found near motor cortex controlling the face
 o controls motor skills needed for language communication
 aphasias - language disorder where words lack meaning, due to damage in
Wernicke/Broca areas
 right hemisphere = nondominant hemisphere, good at spatial reasoning and musical
ability
o damaged inferior temporal cortex >> inability to recognize faces

Memory/learning - doesn’t take place in any specific part

 short-term memory - temporary memory

o possibly stored electrically as neural excitation
o can be forgotten w/ electrical shock
 long-term memory - involves structural changes in neural connections
o converted from short-term memory by hippocampus/amygdala
 long-term potentiation (LTP) - frequently used neurons become more sensitive after each
transmission

Alzheimer disease - condition where memory/thought processes become dysfunctional

 nerve cells either killed from outside in or inside out

 beta-amyloid peptides - external proteins that could plaque and fill in brain when mutated
 tau protein - internal protein that normally maintain transport microtubules
o could cause tangles when mutated

Neurons, Drugs
Membrane potential - difference in charge across the membrane

 cytoplasm = negative, extracellular matrix = positive

 fixed anions - negatively charged molecules too large to diffuse out of the cell
 leak channels and sodium-potassium pump keep positively charged ions out of the cell
 equilibrium potential - point where electrical/chemical forces balance out for a certain
ion

Graded potentials - small changes in membrane potentials

 casued by activation of gated ion channels (can open in response to stimuli like
hormones)
 chemical (ligand) gated channel - open when chemicals bind to them
o channels open >> change in membrane permeability >> different ions can get
in/out
 depolarization >> membrane potential becomes less negative
 hyperpolarization >> membrane potential becomes more negative
 summation - ability of graded potentials to combine
 threshold - amount of depolarization needed to create action potential
Action potential - nerve impulse once voltage-gated ion channels open

 voltage-gated ion channel - opens/closes depending on membrane potential

 Na+ gates open first, before K+ gates
 Na+ enters cell (depolarization) >> K+ exits cell (repolarization) >> possible undershoot
if K+ channels stay open (hyperpolarization)
 cannot combine w/ other action potentials
 either occurs completely or none at all
 can depolarize another area of the membrane, starting a chain of action potentials
 saltatory connection - action potentials jumping from node to node in myelinated axons
o speeds up nervous transmissions
 myelinated + larger axon diamter >> fast action potential transmission

Synapse - intercellular junction between dendrites and soma

 electrical synapse - uses direct cytoplasmic connections

o usually found in invertebrate systems
 chemical synapse - accounts for majority of synapses
o synaptic cleft - narrow space that separates 2 cells
o synaptic vesicles - contains neurotransmitters
o action potential at end of axon >> Ca++ channels open >> depolarization >>
vesicles bind to membrane >> neurotransmitters released through exocytosis, bind
to receptor proteins on other cell
 neurotransmitters recycled into cell by transporters, but most go back to cell body before
being used again by vesicles
 excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) - depolarization
 inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) - hyperpolarization
 synaptic integration - EPSP’s and IPSP’s working together to bring about overall effect
on cell

Neurotransmitters -

 dopamine - used to control body mov’ts

o deficiency causes Parkinson’s disease
o excess causes schizophrenia
 norepinephrine - adds on to the effect of epinephrine, secreted by adrenal gland
 serotonin - regulates sleep/emotion
o deficiency can cause depression
o drug LSD blocks serotonin receptors >> depression
 substance P - neuropetide that responds to pain stimuli
o pain won’t be felt w/o it
 nitric oxide - 1st gas discovered to act as regulatory molecule
o cannot be stored (diffuses through membranes)
o causes smooth muscles to relax
Drugs - decreases the sensitivity of receptors, mimics the effects of neurotransmitters

 habituation - receptors lost ability to respond if exposed to constant stimulus for long
time
o number of receptor proteins decrease
 blocks transporters >> excess of neurotransmitters in synapse cleft >> # of receptors
decrease due to over-stimulation >> addiction
 body adjusts to conditions when drug is present >> withdrawal symptoms occur when
drug no longer used
 agonist - acts like the neurotransmitter
 antagonist - blocks the receptor for a neurotransmitter

Sensory Receptors
Sensory information - gets to central nervous system through 4 steps

 4-step process
o stimulation - activates sensory neuron
o transduction - stimulus transformed into graded potentials
o transmission - action potential lead to central nervous system
o interpretation - brain analyzes/perceives senses from electrochemical messages
 3 types of stimuli
o mechanical forces - stimulate mechanoreceptors
o chemicals - stimulate chemoreceptors
o electromagnetic/thermal energy - stimulate photoreceptors
 free nerve endings - simplest sensory receptors, respond to mov’t of sensory neuron
membrane, temperature change, chemicals in extracellular fluid
 exteroceptors - receptors receiving info from external environment
o most developed in water for vertebrates
 interoceptors - receptors receiving info from within body
o usually more simple than exteroceptors
 stimuli >> stimulus-gated ion channels open >> depolarization (receptor potential) >>
info sent to brain

Cutaneous receptors - skin receptors, respond to stimuli at border between external/internal

 thermocreceptors - sensitive to changes in temperature

o cold receptors - found right below epidermis
o warm receptors - found deeper in dermis
 nociceptors - sensitive to pain
o pain = stimulus causing damage to tissue
o overstimulated sensory receptors can also produce pain
 mechanoreceptors - sensitive to forces applied to membrane
o phasic receptors - intermittently activated, hair follicle receptors, Meissner’s
corpuscles
 o tonic receptors - always activated, Ruffini corpuscles, touch dome endings
(Merkel cells)
o Pacinian corpuscles - monitor onset/removal of pressure

Proprioceptors - muscle spindles giving info about position/mov’t of body parts

 activated when muscle is stretched

 not found in bony fishes
 inhibits somatic motor neurons when muscle contracts too strongly

Baroreceptors - monitor tension/stretch in blood vessel walls

 measures blood pressure at carotid sinus (supplies blood to brain) and aortic arch (part of
aorta very close to heart)
 low blood pressure >> less impulses from baroreceptors >> central nervous system
stimulates sympathetic division to increase heart rate

Chemoreceptors - chemicals/ligands lead to depolarization

 used in smell/taste
 taste buds - collections of epithelial cells connected to neurons
o most sensitive chemoreceptors in vertebrates
o insects taste w/ their feet
o papillae - raised areas in tongue/oral cavity where taste buds are found
o sour/salty tastes act w/ ion channels
o sweet/bitter tastes act w/ G proteins
 smell - receptors found in upper part of nasal passages
o air particles must become extracellular fluid before activating the neurons
o humans can tell apart many times more smells than tastes
 peripheral/central chemoreceptors - detect pH changes in blood and cerebrospinal fluid

Body Position, Hearing

Sensing body position -

 lateral line system - helps fish sense objects from vibrations around them
o mov’t in environment causes stereocilia (hair) on cupula membrane to move >>
action potential >> messages sent to brain
o bending of hair can have excitatory/inhibitive effects, depending on direction of
bend
 statocyst - allows invertebrates to move themselves in respect to gravity
o cilia embedded in calcium carbonate
o cilia bends when position changes
 vestibular apparatus - saccule, utricle, semicircular canals used to determine position in
vertebrates
 o similar to mechanism used in lateral line system
o hair found in otolith membrane
o utricle more sensitive to horizontal mov’t, saccule more sensitive to vertical mov’t
o semicircular canals - gives sense of angular acceleration

Ear - actually works better in water than air

 outer ear - air vibrations travel through ear canal to eardrum (tympanic membrane)
 middle ear - contains 3 ossicles (small bones): malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), stapes
(stirrup)
o connected to throat by Eustachian tube to equalize air pressure
 inner ear - contains cochlea (contains cochlear duct)
o vestibular/tympanic canal located on top/bottom of cochlear duct
o all 3 chambers filled w/ fluid (vibrations >> fluid pressure waves)
o organ of Corti - contains basilar membrane, hair cells, tectorial membrane
o stimulation of hair cells >> action potential >> impulses interpreted as sound
o different fiber lengths in basilar membrane >> different pitch
 sonar - direction of sound easily determined due to location of 2 ears
o distance of sound hard to determine due to environment
o echolocation - emitting sounds and using the time it takes for the sound to come
back in order to determine location.

Vision
Eye - begins w/ capture of light energy by photoreceptors

 eyespot - predecessor to the eye

o cluster of photoreceptors
o sensitive to light, but cannot form images
 sclera - white of the eye, made of connective tissue
 light enters eye through transparent cornea
 iris - colored portion of eye
o can decrease size of pupil (opening)
 lens focuses image onto the retina on the back of the eye
 light has to pass layer of bipolar cells and ganglion to reach rods/cones
 rods - photoreceptor for black/white vision
o rhodopsin - photopigment in rods
 cones - photoreceptor for color vision
o found mostly in fovea (central region of retina)
o photopsin - photopigment in cones
o 3 different cones >> 3 color sensitivities (blue, green, red)
 dark >> photoreceptors release neurotransmitter that inhibits bipolar neurons >> less
action potential goes to brain
 occipital lobe of brain interprets messages from the eye
o blind spot - where nerves come out of the eye, leading to the brain
  myopic (near-sighted) - image focused in front of fovea
 hyperopic (far-sighted) - image focused behind fovea
 color blindness - sex-linked trait
o due to lack of certain type of cones
o trichromats - people w/ normal color vision
 binocular vision - ability to see 3D images and sense depth
o due to 2 eyes viewing object from different angles
o less binocular vision >> larger overall field of view

Other sensory experiences - other parts of electromagnetic spectrum used to sense

environment

 heat - wavelengths longer than visible light

o poor environmental stimulus in water
o pit viper - only vertebrate known to sense infrared radiation
 electricity - good environmental stimulus in water
o all aquatic animals general electrical currents from muscle movement
 magnetism - eels, sharks, bees, birds navigate according to earth’s magnetic lines
o used in migration.