CNS

 Brain & spinal cord

 Neurons and synapses (more synapses than neurons)
Glial cells
 75-90% of CNS composed of neuroglia
 Nonexcitable cells, more glial cells in humans than any other species, release growth
factors, communicate with neurons & with each other
 Myelin: speed it up with saltatory conduction
 Schwann cells & Oligodendrocytes
 Schwann cells: PNS, one schwann cell forms one myelin sheath and myelinates one
section of an axon
 Oligodendrocytes: CNS, one oligodendrocyte forms several myelin sheaths,
myelinates sections of several axons
 Myelin helps to speed up saltatory conduction
 Allows for a much quicker conduction of a signal throughout our body
 It also permits for a smaller diameter neurons
 Astrocytes: most numerous glial cell type
 surround the neurons and each have their on territory, even though there are many
projection coming off each cell, they're not overlapping
 Structural/functional link between neurons & non-nervous tissue/extracellular fluid
 Associated with the development of
 Blood brain barrier
 Synapses
 Help regulate the extracellular environment (esp at synapses)
 Can also connect w/ one another through gap junctions
 Can facilitate protection of neural tissue
 But can also enhance spread of disease
 Involved with balancing neurotransmitters
 Removing excess neurotransmitters from synaptic cleft (similar to how
enzymes move the neurotransmitters through)
 Remove glutamate & biogenic amines
 Synthesize glutamine for neuronal uptake (make glutamate)
 Maintain electrolyte composition of ECF in CNS (important for function of neurons
as they undergo action potentials)
 Will uptake potassium (during the repolarization, potassium is leaving the cell,
following their concentration gradient)… will maintain potassium balance in that
space or you'd have increase in potassium in extracellular space which will reduce
the concentration gradient, causing slower movement of potassium to the
extracellular space, leading to a hyper excitable cell
 Ex: epilepsy: imbalance in potassium this way
 Store glycogen
 can be broken down to lactate and used as energy source
 Protect neurons against toxic substances and oxidative stress
 Microglia
 Function with astrocytes to protect neurons
 Primary mechanism is phagocytosis
 Bacteria
 Dead or injured cells
  Kind of like the neutrophil of the brain (phagocytosis, release cytokines)
 Glial cells in neurodegenerative diseases
 Ms: autoimmune disease resulting in demyelination of neurons and plaque
formation, blurred vision, weakness, balance, issues, primarily affects
oligodendroyctes
 Alzheimer's disease: loss of cholinergic neurons, replaced by plaque (scar tissue),
inflammation exacerbated by astrocytes and microglia (early stages treated by
acetylcholinesterase inhibitors)
 Parkinsons: dopaminergic neurons, support cells also cause further inflammation

Physical support of the CNS

 Bone: cranium, vertebral column
 Meninges: dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
 Go all the way down the spinal column
 A lot of capillaries go through the pia mater (very close to the brain, shares the
capillaries?)
 Arachnoid mater: webbed like appearance
 Normally no space b/w dura & arachnoid, if a blood vessel passing through the dura
ruptures, blood can accumulate --> subdural hematoma
 Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
 Cushions brain, maintains a stable interstitial fluid environment
 Total volume 125-150 mL (not a lot)
 Composition is slightly different than of plasma
 Circulates through ventricles to subarachnoid space
 Produced in the four ventricles, secreted by ependymal cells (choroid plexus
produces 400-500 mL/day)
 Ependymal cells are in contact with astrocytes
 Circulates through ventricles to subarachnoid space
 Arachnoid villi: absorb the fluid and it goes into the blood stream (recycling
mechanism)
 Ex: lateral ventricles --> 3rd ventricle --> 4th ventricle --> spinal canal
 Break down of the system --> hydrocephaly
 Bathes neurons and glia, provide nutrients and remove waste products
 Spinal tap uses CSF
 Blood supply to the CNS
 Brain needs a constant supply of glucose and oxygen in order to function
 Very little glycogen stores, don't have access to fatty acids, can't do anaerobic
metabolism
 Can use ketones (byproducts of lipid metabolism). Happens in diabetes or
starvation
 It uses 15% of blood supply at rest, 20% of resting oxygen and 50% of glucose
consumption at rest even though 2% of total body weight (3-4 pounds)
 Cerebrovascular accient (stroke)
 Blood loss for a few minutes
 Ischemic conditions for more than a few minutes will kill brain cells
 Two types: occlusion (blocked blood flow), hemorrhage (vessel ruptures)
 Factors that increase likelihood of stroke: smoking, high blood pressure,
hardening of arteries
  Fast: face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty
 Blood brain barrier
 Barrier b/w the blood and the CSF
 Unique bc astrocytes with their projections will encircle the capillaries
 Bring the endothelial cells closer together with tight junctions
 Tight junctions eliminate capillary pores, restricting diffusion of hydrophilic
molecules
 Can pass glucose, insulin, amino acids, choline, aspirin, ethanol
 Facilitated diffusion: glucose (Glut-1-independent of insulin), insluin, amino acids,
choline (for acetylcholine synthesis), and aspirin
 Insulin involved in appetite regulation and hunger suppression
 It matters!
 Gray matter: 40%, white matter: 60%
 Gray matter: site of synaptic communication & neural integration
 Myelin is primarily composed of lipids (white matter)
 Connecting tracts: (axons of the neurons) help connect the grey areas to one
another
 Association fibers, commisural fibers, projection fibers
 Glial cells are in both gray and white matter
 Cerebral cortex: surrounding the cerebrum (bulk of the brain), is gray matter
 Cerebrum is white matter and has smaller areas of gray matter- nuclei
 Association fibers: connect one area of cerebral cortex to another area of the cortex
on the same side (neighboring areas of the grey matter)
 Ex: arcuate fasciculus connects Broca's area & Wernicke's area
 Projection fibers: connect downstream (cerebral cortex with lower levels of
brain/sc)
 Commisural fibers connect cortical regions on one side of brain with cortical regions
on the other side
 Connect across hemispheres
 Corpus callosum: connects 2 halves of the cerebrum

The Spinal Cord

 31 pairs of spinal nerves projecting out of it
 44 cm long x 1-1.4 cm diameter
 Cauda equina: end of the spinal cord itself, individual nerves coming (epidurals are
injected here if not into the spinal cord itself, spinal tap done here)
 Dermatome: sensory region of skin
 Each dermatome is served by a spinal nerve (face is cranial nerves)
 Used to diagnose nerve damage
 A map of your nerves and depending on where you touch on the body
 Grey matter is where the cell bodies are and the white matter is where the axons are. In
the brain grey matter is on the outside and white matter is on the inside. IN the spinal
cord, the grey matter is on the inside and white matter is on the outside.
 Grey matter: interneurons, cell bodies & dendrites of efferent neurons, and the axon
terminals of afferent neurons
 Dorsal roots are associated with sensory receptors
 Dorsal root ganglia: clusters that contain the cell bodies of afferent fibers (outside the SC)
 Ventral associated with the effector
  Ex: if you can sense poking with pin but can't move muscle there may be something wrong
with the ventral root/efferent axon
 All the tracts are bilateral
 Ascending tracks: take new information to the brain
 Descending tracks: cause a response
 Pyramidal tracts: descending pathways that transmit motor commands to efferent
neurons
 Dorsal columns: ascending tracts that transmit sensory information from periphery to the
brain
 Ex: finger touches a thorn, sensory receptors are activated, action potentials travel along
the nerve fiber from the sensory receptor to the axon terminal in the dorsal horn of the
spinal cord, release a neurotransmitter that transmits the signal to an interneuron which
transmit the info to the brain so that the perception of the stimulus can occur then the
signals from the brain travel along descending tracts to efferent neurons n the ventral
horn.
 Some descending tracts modulate sensory info -analgesic systems block synaptic
transmission b/w pain transmitting afferent neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord
 Contralateral: more common , perceiving something on one side of your body and it's
processed on the other side of your brain
 Ipsilateral: opposite of contralateral, not as common

Parts of the brain

 Forebrain, cerebellum, brainstem
 Cerebellum: motor coordination & balance, smooth movements of the eyes & body
 There are also several nuclei: areas of grey matter inside white matter
 Brain stem: connects forebrain & cerebellum to the spinal cord
 Midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata
 Processing centers for 10/12 cranial nerves
 Reticular formation: network of nuclei important for sleep wake cycles, arousal of
the cerebral cortex & consciousness
 Involuntary functions: cardiovascular function & digestion
 Cerebral cortex: highest level of neural processing, perception of the environment,
formulation of ideas, memory, command of body movement, complex integrating center
 Gyrus and sulcus(bottom of the fold)
 Grey and white matter
 Thin (1.5-4mm), multi layered, youngest part of brain, increased SA (gyri & sulci),
lobes
 Gyrification (# of folds) --> increased intelligence?
 Birds & reptiles don't have gyri, birds have more synapses per volume than many
mammals
 Lobes of the cerebrum
 Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe
 Central and lateral sulcus
 Cerebral functional areas
 Auditory cortex: temporal lobe
 Somatosensory cortex: processing somatic info (touch, itch, temp, pain) &
proprioception (awareness of muscle tensions, joint and limbs): parietal lobe
 Primary motor cortex, language & planning: frontal lobe
 Homunculi
 Sensory cortex
 Brain lateralization
 Sensory pathways cross (right brain perceives left input and left perceives right
input)
 Motor pathways cross (right brain controls muscles on the left and left brain
controls muscles on right)
 Some functions dominant on one side (90% of population is right handed)
 Right brain: creativity & spatial perception
 Left brain: logic, analytical abilities, language
 Subcortical nuclei: gray matter located within cerebrum
 Diencephalon: thalamus & hypothalamus
 Thalamus: relay center, sensory input is filtered & refined, important in attention,
provides feedback in controlling movement
 Hypothalamus: homeostasis, link b/w endocrine and NS, important with autonomic
nervous system (hunger sensors, thirst sensors)
 Thermaregulatory system
 Affects emotions & behaviors
 Basal nuclei
 Inhibition of unwanted movement, selection of purposeful movement, postural
support
 Limbic system: older part of the brain
 Motivations, memory, emotions
 Learning, emotions, behavior
 Amygdala: sadness, rage, anger
 Hippocampus: memory
 Amygdala, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, portion sof basal nuclei, preforntal cortex,
thalamus & hypothalamus