WELCOME

TO
PH 131: PHYSIOLOGY
VIVIEN FE F. FADRILAN-CAMACHO, MD, MPH, DPAFP
Associate Professor

Lets go back to your

assignment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmKWoapFk64

UP CLOSE WITH THE

MASTER:
The Physiology of
the Nervous
System

OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, the students would be able to:

To discuss the basic functions of the nervous system

To discuss the structural and functional organization of the
nervous system
To describe the structure and mechanisms of a neuron and
supporting cells of the nervous system
To discuss the mechanism of action potentials
To discuss the role of specific intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli on
the normal physiology of the central nervous system

NERVOUS SYSTEM
the master controlling and communicating system of
the body
maintains body homeostasis with electrical signals;
provides for sensation, higher mental functions, and
emotional response;
activates muscles and glands

NERVOUS SYSTEM
Every thought, action, and emotion reflects its
activity
Its cells communicate by electrical and chemical
signals

NERVOUS SYSTEM: FUNCTIONS

Sensory Input
- sensory receptors monitor external and internal
stimuli (touch, temperature , taste, smell, sound, bp,
etc.)
Integration
- brain and spinal cord are the major organs for
processing and interpreting sensory inputs
- the input may produce an immediate response,
may be stored as memory or ignored.

NERVOUS SYSTEM: FUNCTIONS

Homeostasis
- balance
- depends on the ability of the nervous system to
detect, interpret and respond to internal and
external stimuli
Mental activity
- brain as center of mental activity (consciousness,
memory and thinking)

NERVOUS SYSTEM: FUNCTIONS

Control of muscles and glands (effector organs)
- through the skeletal muscles, the nervous system
controls the major movements of the body
- the nervous system also participates in controlling
cardiac muscle, smooth muscles and many glands

NERVOUS SYSTEM: FUNCTIONS

STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION OF
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Central
Nervous System

The Peripheral
Nervous System

The Central Nervous System

The CNS is the integrating and command center of
the nervous system.
It interprets sensory input and dictates motor
responses based on past experience, reflexes, and
current conditions.

The Central Nervous System

- The CNS is divided into two
parts: the brain and the
spinal cord.
- The brain contains about
100 billion nerve cells
(neurons) and trillions of
"support cells" called glia.

The Central Nervous System

-The spinal cord is about 43
cm long in adult women and
45 cm long in adult men and
weighs about 35-40 grams.
- The vertebral column,
houses the spinal cord, is
about 70 cm long.
BACK TO CLASSIFICATION

The Peripheral Nervous System:

Subdivisions
1. The sensory, or afferent, division
("carrying toward") consists of nerve fibers that convey
impulses to the CNS from sensory receptors .
- Sensory fibers conveying impulses from the skin,
skeletal muscles, and joints are called somatic afferent
fibers (soma = body), and those transmitting
impulses from the visceral organs are called visceral
afferent fibers.
- The sensory division keeps the CNS constantly
informed of events going on both inside and outside
the body.

The Peripheral Nervous System

2. The motor, or efferent, division ("carrying
away") of the PNS transmits impulses
from the CNS to effector organs, which
are the muscles and glands.
- These impulses activate muscles to
contract and glands to secrete - they
effect (bring about) a motor response.

The Peripheral Nervous System

The motor division also has two main parts:
1. The somatic nervous system is composed of
somatic motor nerve fibers (axons) that conduct impulses
from the CNS to skeletal muscles. (voluntary nervous
system)
2. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) consists
of visceral motor nerve fibers that regulate the activity
of smooth muscles, cardiac muscles, and glands.

The Autonomic Nervous System

Autonomic means "a law unto itself
the involuntary nervous system
With two functional subdivisions, the sympathetic
and the parasympathetic, which typically work in
opposition to each other-what one subdivision
stimulates, the other inhibits.

The Autonomic Nervous System

The Nervous Tissue

is made up of just two principal types of cells:
(1) neuroglia, are smaller supporting cells that
surround and wrap the more delicate neurons,
(2) neurons, the excitable nerve cells that transmit
electrical signals

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the CNS

ASTROCYTES
Star-shaped
most abundant and most
versatile glial cells
control the chemical
environment around
neurons, where their most
important job is "mopping
up" leaked potassium ions
and recapturing (and
recycling) released
neurotransmitters

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the CNS

MICROGLIA
small ovoid cells with
relatively long
"thorny" processes
Where invading
microorganisms or
dead neurons are
present, the microglia
transform into a
macrophage that
phagocytizes
neuronal debris.

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the CNS

EPENDYMAL CELLS
"wrapping garment"
squamous to columnar in
shape; ciliated
line the central cavities of
the brain and the spinal
cord
The beating of their cilia
helps to circulate the
cerebrospinal fluid that
cushions the brain and
spinal cord

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the CNS

OLIGODENDROCYTES
have fewer processes than
astrocytes
line up along the thicker
neuron fibers in the CNS
and wrap their processes
tightly around the fibers
Produce insulating coverings
called myelin sheaths

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the CNS

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the PNS

SATELLITE CELLS
surround neuron cell bodies
located in the PNS but their
function is still largely
unknown. Their name
comes from a fancied
resemblance to the moons
(satellites) around a planet.

The Neuroglia: The Supporting Cast of the PNS

SCHWANN CELLS
also called neurolemmocytes
surround and form myelin
sheaths around the larger
nerve fibers in the peripheral
nervous system
They are vital to
regeneration of damaged
peripheral nerve fibers.

THE NEURON

also called nerve cell

the structural units of
the nervous system
highly specialized cells
that conduct messages
in the form of nerve
impulses from one part
of the body to another.

THE NEURON

Special Characteristics:
1. They have extreme longevity.
2. They are amitotic.
3. They have an exceptionally high
metabolic rate and require
continuous and abundant supplies
of oxygen and glucose.

 A single neuron consist of:

CELL BODY: is the
metabolic center of the
neuron, contains the
Nucleus and
mitochondrion.
DENDRITES: convey
incoming messages to the
cell body.
AXON HILLOCK: a cone
like region from where an
axon arises.

 A single neuron consist of:

AXONS: generates nerve
impulses and topically
conduct them away from
the cell body." A nerve is a
group of axons.
Presynaptic terminals:
The swollen, distal end of
an axon; contains a
neurotransmitter
substance within synaptic
vesicles. Also called
synaptic ending or
synaptic bouton.
Next

Axons and Dendrites

Axons
Take information away
from the cell body
Smooth Surface
Generally only 1 axon per
cell
No ribosomes
Can have myelin
Branch further from the
cell body

Dendrites
Bring information to the
cell body
Rough Surface (dendritic
spines)
Usually many dendrites
per cell
Have ribosomes
No myelin insulation
Branch near the
cell body

TYPES OF NEURONS
Neurons can also be classified by the direction that they send
information:

Sensory (or afferent) neurons: send information

from sensory receptors (e.g., in skin, eyes, nose,
tongue, ears) TOWARD the CNS
Motor (or efferent) neurons: send information
AWAY from the CNS to muscles or glands
Interneurons: send information between sensory
neurons and motor neurons. Most interneurons
are located in the CNS

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

The principal way neurons send signals over long
distances is by generating and propagating APs.
only cells with excitable membranes-neurons and
muscle cells-can generate action potentials.
an action potential is a brief reversal of membrane
potential with 100 mV (from-70 mV to +30 mY).
depolarization phase is followed by a
repolarization phase and often a short period of
hyperpolarization.
The whole event is over in a few milliseconds.

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

At rest, the inside of the neuron is slightly negative
due to a higher concentration of positively charged
sodium ions outside the neuron. RESTING STATE

When stimulated past threshold, sodium

channels open and sodium rushes into the axon,
causing a region of positive charge within the
axon. DEPOLARIZATION

The region of positive charge causes

nearby sodium channels to open. Just
after the sodium channels close, the
potassium channels open wide, and
potassium exits the axon.

REPOLARIZATION

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

This process continues as a chain-reaction
along the axon. The influx of sodium
depolarizes the axon, and the outlow of
potassium repolarizes the
axon. HYPERPOLARIZATION

The sodium/potassium pump

restores the resting concentrations
of sodium and potassium ions .

http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072507470/student_view0/chapter11/animation__the_nerve_impu
lse.html

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

Conducted slowly in unmyelinated axons and more
rapidly in myelinated axons

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

Conducted slowly in unmyelinated axons and more
rapidly in myelinated axons

SALTATORY CONDUCTION
type of nerve impulse conduction that allows action
potentials to propagate faster and more efficiently
occurs in myelinated nerve fibers
the electrical signal jumps from one bare segment of
fiber to the next, as opposed to traversing the entire
length of the nerve's axon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnB_Hc-Qfs0

THE ACTION POTENTIAL

Threshold and the All-or-None Phenomenon

The depolarization must reach threshold values if an axon

is to "fire.
Threshold is the membrane potential at which the
outward current created by K+ movement is exactly equal
to the inward
current created by Na + movement.
Threshold is typically reached when the membrane has
been depolarized by 15 to 20 m V from the resting value.

THE SYNAPSE
"to clasp or join," is a junction
mediates information transfer from one
neuron to the next or from a neuron to an
effector cell

THE SYNAPSE
1. Arrival of the depolarization
wave (action potential) opens
voltage-gated calcium channels
and allows Ca2+ influx into the
axon terminal.
2. Synaptic vesicles fuse with the
presynaptic membrane and
neurotransmitter
is released into the synapse.
3. The neurotransmitter diffuses
across the synaptic cleft and
attaches to receptors on the
postsynaptic membrane.

4. Binding of neurotransmitter
opens ion channels in the
postsynaptic membrane,
resulting in graded potentials in
that membrane.
5. Neurotransmitter is quickly
destroyed by enzymes present
at the synapse or taken back
into the presynaptic terminal;
depletion of neurotransmitter
closes the ion channels and
terminates the synaptic
response.

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/olc/dl/120107/anim0015.swf

REFLEXES
involuntary reaction in response to a stimulus
applied to the periphery and transmitted to the CNS
Reflex arc neuronal pathway by which a reflex
occurs
- smallest, simplest pathway capable of receiving a
stimulus and yielding a response

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

BRAIN

Major regions:
1. Brainstem (medulla
oblongata, pons and
midbrain)
2. Diencephalon
(thalamus,
epithalamus and
hypothalamus)
3. Cerebellum
4. Cerebrum

BRAIN
can be divided down the middle
lengthwise into two halves called
the cerebral hemispheres
Each hemisphere of the
cerebral cortex is divided into
four lobes by various sulci and
gyri
the sulci (or fissures) are the
grooves
gyri are the "bumps" that can
be seen on the surface of the
brain.

LOBES OF THE BRAIN

FRONTAL LOBE
Located in front of the
central sulcus.
Concerned with
reasoning, planning, parts
of speech and movement
(motor cortex), emotions,
and problem-solving.

TEMPORAL LOBE
Located below the lateral
fissure.
Concerned with
perception and recognition
of auditory stimuli (hearing)
and memory
(hippocampus).

Nex

BRAIN
PARIETAL LOBE
Located behind the central
sulcus.
Concerned with perception
of stimuli related to touch,
pressure, temperature and
pain.

OCCIPITAL LOBE
Located at the back of
the brain, behind the
parietal lobe and temporal
lobe.
Concerned with many
aspects of vision.

BRAIN

BRAINSTEM
Connects the spinal cord
to the brain
Consists of medulla
oblongata, pons and
midbrain
Control of heart rate,
blood pressure and
breathing

BRAINSTEM

MEDULLA OBLONGATA

Most inferior portion of the

brainstem
Contains ascending and
descending nerve tracts
Contains discrete nuclei with
specific actions such as regulation
of heart rate, breathing,
swallowing, coughing, sneezing,
balance and coordination

BRAINSTEM
PONS
-Conduction pathway between
higher and lower brain centers;
pontine nuclei relay information
from the cerebrum to the
cerebellum;
- its respiratory nuclei cooperate
with the medullary respiratory
centers to control respiratory rate
and depth;
- houses nuclei of cranial nerves VVII

BRAINSTEM
MIDBRAIN

- smallest region of brainstem

-its superior and inferior colliculi
are visual and auditory reflex
centers;
- substantia nigra and red nuclei
are involved in the regulation of
general body movements
-Houses the nuclei of cranial
nerves III and IV

BRAINSTEM
RETICULAR FORMATION

- group of nuclei scattered

throughout the brainstem
- Major component of the
reticular activating systems
(RAS) which plays in regulating
the sleep-wake cycle.
- Alarm clock ringing, sudden
bright lights rouse
consciousness
- - removal of visual or auditory
stimuli drowsiness or sleep

CEREBELLUM

Little brain
Processes information from
cerebral motor cortex and from
proprioceptors and visual and
equilibrium pathways, and
provides "instructions" to
cerebral motor cortex and
subcortical motor centers that
result in proper balance and
posture and smooth,
coordinated skeletal muscle
movements

THALAMUS
Functions:
Sensory processing
Movement
Influences mood
Registers unlocalized
perception of pain

receives sensory
information and relays
this information to the
cerebral cortex.
The cerebral cortex
also sends information
to the thalamus which
then transmits this
information to other
areas of the brain and
spinal cord.

EPITHALAMUS
Functions:
Involved in the emotional
and visceral response to
odors and pineal body
Pineal body endocrine
gland that play a role in
long term cycles that are
influenced by light-dark
cycle

HYPOTHALAMUS
FUNCTIONS - homeostasis
Autonomic control center
Center for emotional
response
Body temperature regulation
Regulation of food intake
Regulation of water balance
and thirst
Regulation of sleep-wake
cycle
Control of endocrine system
functioning

CEREBRAL CORTEX

Functions:
executive suite
Thought
Voluntary movement
Language
Reasoning
Perception
With 3 functional areas:
motor areas, sensory
areas, and association
areas.

Sensory Areas of the

Cerebral Cortex
Ascending sensory tracts project to primary sensory
areas where sensations are perceived.
Primary somatic sensory area sensory fibers from
specific parts of the body project to specific regions
of the primary somatic sensory cortex so that a
topographic map of the body with the head most
inferior, exists in this part of the cerebral cortex.

CEREBRAL CORTEX

CEREBRAL CORTEX
SOMATOTOPY mapping of the body in the CNS. The entire
body is represented spatially in the primary motor cortex of
each hemisphere.
Most of the neurons in these gyri control muscles in body areas
having the most precise motor control-that e.g. face, tongue,
and hands.
Consequently, these regions of the caricature-like motor
HOMONCULI are disproportionately large.
The motor innervation of the body is contralateral; that is, the
left primary motor gyrus controls muscles on the right side of
the body, and vice versa.

Motor Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

Primary motor cortex action potentials in this region
control voluntary movements of skeletal muscles
Premotor area staging area where motor functions are
organized before they are initiated in the primary motor
cortex
Prefrontal area where motivation and the foresight to
plan and initiate movements occur
- emotional behavior and mood

CEREBRAL CORTEX

BACK TO THE
STRUCTURES

FUNCTIONAL BRAIN SYSTEMS

LIMBIC SYSTEM
- Our emotional and affective brain
-also involved in memory processing

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

SPINAL CORD

SPINAL CORD

enclosed in the vertebral

column
extends from the foramen
magnum of the skull to the
level of the first or second
lumbar vertebra, just inferior to
the ribs
glistening-white spinal cord
provides a two-way conduction
pathway to and from the brain.
It is a major reflex center

SPINAL CORD

protected by bone, meninges,

and cerebrospinal fluid
CSF fills the subarachnoid
space between the
arachnoid and pia mater
Inferiorly, the dural and
arachnoid membranes extend
to the level
of S2, well beyond the end of
the spinal cord.
The spinal cord typically ends
between L1 and L2

SPINAL CORD
With 31 spinal cord nerve
segments in a human spinal cord:
8 cervical segments forming 8
pairs of cervical nerves
12 thoracic segments forming 12
pairs of thoracic nerves
5 lumbar segments forming 5
pairs of lumbar nerves
5 sacral segments forming 5 pairs
of sacral nerves
3 coccygeal segments joined up
becoming a single segment forming
1 pair of coccygeal nerves

the main pathway for

information connecting
the brain and peripheral
nervous system.
31 pairs of spinal nerves
attached to the cord by
paired roots

DIVISIONS
OF SPINAL
SEGMENTS

SPINAL CORD

SPINAL CORD: dermatomes

are somatic or
musculocutaneous areas served
by fibers from specific spinal
nerves.
Referred pain is caused when
the sensory fibers from an
internal organ enter the spinal
cord in the same root as fibers
from a dermatome. So pain in
the heart is often interpreted as
pain in the left arm or shoulder

SPINAL CORD: KEY TERMS

1. ganglion - a collection of cell bodies located outside
the CNS. The spinal ganglia or dorsal root ganglia
contain the cell bodies of sensory neurons entering
the cord at that region.
2. nerve - a group of fibers (axons) outside the CNS. The
spinal nerves contain the fibers of the sensory and
motor neurons. A nerve does not contain cell bodies.
They are located in the ganglion (sensory) or in the
gray matter (motor).

SPINAL CORD: KEY TERMS

3. tract - a group of fibers inside the CNS. The spinal tracts carry
information up or down the spinal cord, to or from the brain.
Tracts within the brain carry information from one place to
another within the brain. Tracts are always part of white
matter.

4. gray matter - an area of unmyelinated neurons where cell

bodies and synapses occur. In the spinal cord the synapses
between sensory and motor and interneurons occurs in the
gray matter. The cell bodies of the interneurons and motor
neurons also are found in the gray matter.
5. white matter - an area of myelinated fiber tracts.
Myelination in the CNS differs from that in nerves.

SPINAL CORD
the connection center for the reflexes as well as
the afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor)
pathways for most of the body below the head and
neck.
The white matter surrounds the gray matter. It
contains the spinal tracts which ascend and
descend the spinal cord.

SPINAL CORD

SPINAL CORD: SPINAL TRACTS

The white matter of the spinal cord contains tracts which
travel up and down the cord.

Many of these tracts travel to and from the brain to

provide sensory input to the brain, or bring motor stimuli
from the brain to control effectors.
Ascending tracts, those which travel toward the brain
are sensory, descending tracts are motor.

SPINAL CORD: SPINAL TRACTS

Sensory Functions
Ascending tracts transmit action potentials from
periphery to various parts of the brain
Pathway
Spinothalamic

Dorsal column
Spinocerebellar

Function
Pain, temperature, light touch,
pressure, tickle and itch
sensations
Proprioception, touch deep
pressure, vibration
Proprioception

Motor Functions
Descending tracts motor tracts
- names are based on origin and termination
Pathway
Direct
Lateral corticospinal
Anterior corticospinal
Indirect
Rubrospinal
Reticulospinal
Vestibulospinal

Tectospinal

Function
Muscle tone and skilled
movements esp of the hands
Muscle tone and movement of
trunk muscles

Movement coordination
Posture adjustment
Posture and balance
Movement in response to visual
reflexes

CEREBROSPINAL FLUID (CSF)

found in and around the brain
and spinal cord, forms a liquid
cushion that gives buoyancy to
the CNS structures
By floating the jellylike brain,
the CSF effectively reduces brain
weight by 97% and prevents the
brain from crushing under its
own weight
CSF also protects the brain and
spinal cord from trauma.

CRANIAL NERVES

Oh, Oh, Oh, To Touch And Feel A Girl's

Very Soft Hands
Some Say Marry Money, But My Brother
Says Big Business Makes Money

CRANIAL NERVES

CRANIAL NERVES

http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP11504

references
Seely, R, Stephens, T, Tate, P. Essentials of Anatomy
and Physiology. 6th ed. International Edition 2008.
Mc Graw Hill Publishing
Marieb, E., Hoehn, K. Essentials of Human Anatomy
and Physiology. 9th ed. Pearson Education Inc. 2011.
Netters Atlas of Human Physiology, 2002 edition

Adam Student Atlas of Anatomy 2nd Edition

Todd R. Olson

next topic:

AUTONOMIC
NERVOUS SYSTEM

THANK YOU!