Nervous Tissue

Structures of the Nervous System

 Brain: neurons enclosed within skull
 Spinal cord: connects to brain and
enclosed within spinal cavity
 Nerves: bundles of many axons of neurons
o Cranial nerves (12 pairs) emerge
from brain
o Spinal nerves (31 pairs) emerge
from spinal cord
 Ganglia: groups of neuron cell bodies
located outside of brain and spinal cord
 Enteric plexuses: networks in digestive
tract
 Sensory receptors: monitor changes in
internal or external environments

Functions of the Nervous System

 Sensory receptors and sensory nerves
o Carry information into brain and spinal cord
 Integration: information processing
o Perception = awareness of sensory input
o Analyzing and storing information to help lead to appropriate responses
 Motor activity: efferent nerves
o Signals to muscles and glands (effectors)

Organization of the Nervous System

 Central Nervous System (CNS)
o Brain and spinal cord
 Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
o All nervous system structures outside of the CNS

Histology of the Nervous System

 Neurons
o Can respond to stimuli and convert stimuli to electrical signals (nerve impulses) that
travel along neurons
 Neuroglia cells: support, nourish and protect neurons
o Neuroglia critical for homeostasis of interstitial fluid around neurons

Neuronal Structure
 Cell body: nucleus, cytoplasm with typical organelles
 Dendrites: highly branched structures that carry impulses to the cell body
 Axon: conducts away from cell body toward another neuron, muscle or gland
o Emerges at cone-shaped axon hillock
 Axon terminals: contain synaptic vesicles that can release neurotransmitters
Neuronal Structure

Structural Classes of Neurons

 Multipolar
o Have several or many dendrites and one axon
o Most common type in brain and spinal cord
 Bipolar
o Have one dendrite and one axon
o Example: in retina of eye and inner ear
 Unipolar
o Have fused dendrite and axon
o Sensory neurons of spinal nerves

Functional Classes of Neurons

 Sensory (afferent)
o Convey impulses into CAN (brain or spinal cord)
 Motor (efferent)
o Convey impulses from brain or spinal cord out through the PNS to effectors (muscles
or glands)
 Interneurons (association neurons)
o Most are within the CNS
o Transmit impulses between neurons, such as between sensory and motor neurons
Neuroglia
 Cells smaller but much more numerous than neurons
 Can multiply and divide and fill in brain areas
 Gliomas: brain tumors derived from neuroglia

Functions:
o Do not conduct nerve impulses
o Do support, nourish and protect neurons

Neuroglia
 Astrocytes: help form blood brain barrier
 Oligodendrocytes: produce myelin in CNS
 Microglia: protect CNS cells from disease
 Ependymal cells: form CSF in ventricles
 Schwann: produce myelin around PNS neurons; help to regenerate PNS axons
 Satellite cells: support neurons in PNS ganglia

Myelination
 Axons covered with a myelin sheath
o Many layers of lipid and protein: insulates neurons
o Increases speed of nerve conduction
o Appears white (in white matter)
 Nodes of Ranvier: gaps in the myelin
o Nodes are important for rapid signal conduction
 Some diseases destroy myelin:
o Multiple sclerosis
o Tay-Sachs

Collections of Nervous Tissue

 Clusters of neuron cell bodies
o Ganglion: cluster of cell bodies in PNS
o Nucleus: cluster of cell bodies in CNS
 Bundles of axons
o Nerve: bundle of axons in PNS
o Tract: bundle to axons in CNS

Gray and White Matter

 White matter: primarily myelinated axons
 Gray matter: cell bodies, dendrites, unmyelinated axons, axon terminals, neuroglia
 Locations of gray and white matter
o Spinal cord: white matter (tracts) surround centrally located gray matter “H” of
“butterfly”
o Brain: gray matter in thin cortex surrounds white matter (tracts)
Neuron Regeneration
 Regeneration of PNS neurons
o Axons and dendrite in the PNS can be repaired if cell body is intact and Schwann
cells functional. These form a regeneration tube and grow axons or dendrites if scar
tissue does not fill the tube
 Regeneration of CNS neurons
o Very limited even if cell body is intact
o Inhibited by neuroglia and by lack of fetal growth-stimulators

Organization of the Nervous System

 Central nervous system (CNS) structures:
o Brain
o Spinal cord

 Peripheral nervous system (PNS) structures:

o Cranial nerves and branches
o Spinal nerves and branches
o Ganglia
o Sensory receptors

Organization of the Nervous System

Organization of the Nervous System:

Peripheral nervous system (PNS) divisions

 Somatic (SNS)
o Sensory neurons from head, body wall, limbs, special sense organs
o Motor neurons to skeletal muscle: voluntary
 Autonomic (ANS) nervous systems
o Sensory neurons from viscera
o Motor neurons to viscera (cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, glands): involuntary
 Sympathetic: “fight-or-flight”
 Parasympathetic: “rest-and-digest”
 Enteric nervous system (ENS): “brain of the gut”
o Sensory neurons monitor chemical changes and stretching of GI wall
o Motor neurons regulate contractions, secretions and endocrine secretions
(involuntary)

Structure and Function of the Nervous System Interactions Animation

Introduction to Structure and Function of the Nervous System

Action Potentials
 Action potentials = nerve impulses
 Require
o A membrane potential: a charge difference across cell membrane (polarization)
o Ion channels: allow ions to move by diffusion from high to low concentration
 Leakage channels: allow ions to leak through membrane; there are more for
K+ than for Na+
 Gated channels
 Open and close on command
 Respond to changes in membrane so can generate and conduct
action potentials

Resting Membrane Potential

 Typically –70 mV
o Inside of membrane more negative than outside
 Caused by presence of ions:
o Inside (more negative) because cytosol has:
 Many negative ions (too large to leak out): amino acids (in cellular proteins)
and phosphates (as in ATP)
 K+ that easily leaks out through many K+ channels
o Outside (more positive) because interstitial fluid has:
 Few negative ions
 Na+ that does not leak out of cell: few Na+ channels
 Membrane “pumps” that quickly pump out Na+ that does leak (diffuse) into
cell
Resting Membrane Potential

Action Potential
 Series of events that activate cell membrane in neuron or muscle fiber
 An initial event (stimulus) is required
o
Triggers resting membrane to become more permeable to Na+
o Causes enough Na+ to enter cell so that cell membrane reaches threshold (~ –55 mv)
o If so, the following events occur: action potential which spreads along neuron or muscle
fiber

Action Potential
 Depolarizing phase
o Na+ channels open  as more Na+ enters cell, membrane potential rises and
becomes positive (–70  0 + 30 mv)
 Repolarizing phase
o K+ channels open  as more K+ leave cell, membrane potential is returned to resting
value (+ 30  0 –70 mv)
o May overshoot: hyperpolarizing phase
Typically depolarization and repolarization take place in about 1 millisecond (1/1000 sec)
Action Potential
 Recovery
o Levels of ions back to normal by action of Na+/K+ pump
o Refractory period (brief): even with adequate stimulus, cell cannot be activated
 All-or-none principle
o If a stimulus is strong enough to cause depolarization to threshold level, the impulse
will travel the entire length of the neuron at a constant and maximum strength.

Membrane Potentials Interactions Animations Membrane Potentials

Conduction of Nerve Impulses

 Nerve impulse conduction (propagation)
o Each section triggers the next locally as even more Na+ channels are opened (like
row of dominos)
 Types of conduction
o Continuous conduction
 In unmyelinated fibers; slower form of conduction
o Saltatory conduction
 In myelinated fibers; faster as impulses “leap” between nodes of Ranvier
 Factors that increase rate of conduction
o Myelin, large diameter and warm nerve fibers
o
Synaptic Transmission
 Similar sequence of events occurs at
o Synapse (neuron-neuron)
o Neuromuscular junction (neuron-muscle fiber: chapter 8)
o Neuroglandular junction (neuron-gland)
 Triggered by action potential (nerve impulse)
 Components of synapse:
o Sending neuron: presynaptic neuron (releases neurotransmitter)
o Space between neurons: synaptic cleft
o Receiving neuron: postsynaptic neuron

Synaptic Transmission
 Action potential arrives at presynaptic neuron’s end bulb
 Opens voltage gated Ca2+ channels  Ca2+ flows into presynaptic cytosol
 Increased Ca2+ concentration  exocytosis of synaptic vesicles
 Neurotransmitter (NT) released into cleft
 NT diffuses across cleft and binds to receptors in postsynaptic cell membrane
 NT serves as chemical trigger (stimulus) of ion channels
 Postsynaptic cell membrane may be depolarized or hyperpolarized
o Depends on type of NT and type of postsynaptic cell
o 1000+ neurons converge on synapse; the sum of all of their NTs determines effect
 If threshold reached, then postsynaptic cell action potential results
Synaptic Transmission
 One-way transmission only because
o Only presynaptic cells release NT
o Only postsynaptic cells have receptors for NT binding
 Finally, NT must be removed from the cleft. Three possible mechanisms
o Diffusion out of cleft
o Destruction by enzymes (such as ACh-ase) in cleft
o Transport back (recycling) into presynaptic cell

Neurotransmitters
 Acetylcholine (ACh): common in PNS
o Stimulatory (on skeletal muscles)
o Inhibitory (on cardiac muscle)
 Amino acids
o Glutamate, aspartate, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine
 Modified amino acids
o Norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), serotonin
 Neuropeptides such as endorphins
 Nitric oxide (NO)