I.

1.

The Central Nervous System

Organization and Cells of The Nervous System
- The nervous system is organized into the central nervous system
and the peripheral nervous system
o Pathophysiology of amblyopia
- The three functional classes of neurons are afferent neurons,
efferent neurons, and interneurons
- Glial cells support interneurons physically, metabolically and
functionally
o Pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases
o Pathophysiology of glioma, meningioma

2.

Protection and Nourishment of The Brain

- Three meningeal membranes wrap, protect, and nourish the central
nervous system
- The brain floats on its own special cerebrospinal fluid
o Pathophysiology of hydrocephalus
- A highly selective blood-brain barrier regulates exchanges between
the blood and the brain
- The brain depends on constant delivery of oxygen and glucose by
the blood
o Pathophysiology of stroke

3.
4.

Overview of The Central Nervous System

Cerebral Cortex
- The cerebral cortex is an outer shell of gray matter covering an
inner core of white matter
- The cerebral cortex is organized into layers of functional columns
- The four pairs of lobes in the cerebral cortex are specialized for
different activities
- The parietal lobes accomplish somatosensory processing
- The primary motor cortex located in the frontal lobe controls the
skeletal muscles
- The higher motor area are also important in motor control
- Somatotopic maps vary slightly between individuals and are
dynamic, not static
- Because of its plasticity, the brain can be remodeled in response to
varying demands
- Different regions of cortex control different aspects of language
o Pathophysiology of language disorders in child
o Pathophysiology of language aphasia, dyslexia, speech
impediments
- The association areas of the cortex are involved in many higher
functions
- The cerebral hemispheres have some degree of specialization

An electroencephalogram is a record of post-synaptic activity in

cortical neurons
o Pathophysiology of epilepsy & other brain dysfunction, brain
death, sleeping disorders
Neurons in different regions of cerebral cortex may fire in rhythmic
synchrony

5.

Basal Nuclei, Thalamus and Hypothalamus

- The basal nuclei plays an important inhibitory role in motor control
o Pathophysiology of Parkinsons disease
- The thalamus is a sensory relay station and is important in motor
control
- The hypothalamus regulates many homeostatic functions

6.

Emotion, Behavior and Motivation

- The limbic system plays a key role in emotion
- The limbic system and higher cortex participate in controlling basic
behavioral patterns
- Motivated behaviors are goal directed
- Norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin are neurotransmitters in
pathway for emotions and behavior
o Pathophysiology of depression

7.

Learning and Memory

- Learning is acquisition of knowledge as a result of experiences
- Memory is laid down in stages
o Pathophysiology of amnesia
- Short-term memory and long-term memory involve different
molecular mechanisms
- Short-term memory involves transient changes in synaptic activity
- Long-term memory involves formation of new, permanent synaptic
connections
- Memory traces are present in multiple regions of the brain
o Pathophysiology of Alzheimers disease & procedural memory
loss

8.

Cerebellum
- The cerebellum is important in balance and in planning and
executing voluntary movement
o Pathophysiology of motoric instability, disdiadochokinesis,
intention tremor

9.

Brain Stem
- The brain stem is a vital link between the spinal cord and higher
brain regions

Sleep is an active process consisting of alternating periods of slow

wave and paradoxical sleep
The sleep-wake cycle is controlled by interactions among three
neural systems
The function of sleep is unclear

10.

Spinal Cord
- The spinal cord extends through the vertebral canal and is
connected to spinal nerves
o Mechanism of spinal tap (lumbal puncture)procedure
- The white matter of the spinal cords is organized into tracts
- Each horn of the spinal cord gray matter houses a different type of
neuronal cell body
- Spinal nerves carry both afferent and efferent fibers
o Mechanism of dermatome classification,
o Pathophysiology of referred pain
- The spinal cord is responsible for the integration of many basic
reflexes

II.

The Peripheral Nervous System: Afferent Division; Special

Senses
Receptor Physiology
- Receptors have differential sensitivities to various stimuli
- A stimulus alters the receptors permeability, leading to a graded
receptor potential
- Receptor potentials may initiate action potentials in the afferent
neuron
- Receptors may adapt slowly or rapidly to sustained stimulation
- Visceral afferents carry subconscious input whereas sensory
afferents carry conscious input
- Each somatosensory pathway is labeled according to modality
and location
o Pathophysiology of phantom pain
- Acuity is influenced by receptive field size and lateral inhibition
- Perception is the conscious awareness of surroundings derived from
interpretation of sensory input

11.

12.

Pain
- Stimulation of nociceptors elicits the perception of pain plus
motivational and emotional responses
o Pathophysiology of chronic pain, neuropathic pain
- The brain has a built-in analgesic system

13.

Eye: Vision
- Protective mechanisms help prevent eye injuries

14.

The eye is a fluid filled sphere enclosed by three specialized tissue

layers
o Pathophysiology of glaucoma
The amount of light entering the eye is controlled by the iris
The eye refracts the entering light to focus the images on the retina
Accommodation increases the strength of the lens for near vision
o Pathophysiology of presbyopia, myopia, hyperopia, cataract,
Light must pass through several retinal layers before reaching the
photoreceptors
o Pathophysiology of macular degeneration
Phototransduction by retinal cell converts light stimuli into neural
signals
o Mechanism of vision chip (artificial photoreceptor) for macular
degeneration
Rods provide indistinct gray vision at night, whereas cones provide
sharp color vision during the day
Color vision depends in the ratios of stimulation of the three cone
types
The sensitivity of the eyes can vary markedly through dark and light
adaptation
o Pathophysiology of night blindness
Visual information is modified and separated before reaching the
visual cortex
o Pathophysiology of face recognition impairment
o Pathophysiology of various blindness related to various optical
pathway deficits
The thalamus and visual cortexes elaborate the visual message
o Pathophysiology of diplopia
Visual input goes to other areas of the brain not involved in vision
perception
Some sensory input may be detected by multiple sensoryprocessing areas in the brain

Ear: Hearing and Equilibrium

- Sound waves consists of alternate regions of compression and
rarefaction of air molecules
- The external ear plays a role in sound localization
- The tympanic membrane vibrates in unison with sound waves in the
external ear
o Pathophysiology of otitis media & its variations
- The middle ear bones convert tympanic membrane vibrations into
fluid movements in the inner ear
- The cochlea contains the organ of Corti, the sense organ for hearing
- Hair cells in the organ of Corti transduce fluid movements into
neural signals

Pitch discrimination depends on the region of the basilar membrane

that vibrates
Loudness discrimination depends on the amplitude of vibration
The auditory cortex is mapped according to tone
Deafness is caused by defects in either conduction or neural
processing of sound waves
o Pathophysiology of conductive & sensorineural deafness,
presbicusis
The vestibular apparatus is important for equilibrium by detecting
position and motion of the head
o Pathophysiology of motion sickness, Menieres disease

15.

Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell

- Taste receptor cells are located primarily within tongue taste buds
- Taste discrimination is coded by patterns of activity in various taste
bud receptors
- The olfactory receptors in the nose are specialized ending of
renewable afferent neurons
- Various parts of an odor are detected by different olfactory
receptors and sorted into smell files
- Odor discrimination is coded by patterns of activity in the olfactory
bulb glomeruli
- The olfactory system adapts quickly, and odorants are rapidly
cleared
- The vomeronasal organ detects pheromones

III.
16.

The Peripheral Nervous System: Efferent Division

Autonomic Nervous System
- An autonomic nerve pathway consists of a two-neuron chain
- Parasympathetic postganglionic fibers release acetylcholine;
sympathetic ones release norepinephrine
- The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems dually
innervate most visceral organs
- The adrenal medulla is a modified part of the sympathetic nervous
system
- Several different receptor types are available for each autonomic
neurotransmitter
o Mechanism of agonist drugs and antagonist drugs
- Many regions of the central nervous system are involved in the
control of autonomic activities

17.

Somatic Nervous System

- Motor neurons supply skeletal muscle
- Motor neurons are the final common pathway
o Pathophysiology of poliovirus, ALS (amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis)

18.

Neuromuscular Junction
- Motor neurons and skeletal muscle fibers are chemically linked at
neuromuscular junctions
- Acetylcholine is the neuromuscular junction neurotransmitter
- Acetylcholinesterase ends acetylcholine activity at the
neuromuscular junction
- The neuromuscular junction is vulnerable to several chemical
agents and diseases
o Pathophysiology of black widow spider toxin, botulinum toxin