Communication I:

Nervous and Sensory

System
Nervous System
 The nervous system is very important in helping
to maintain the homeostasis (balance) of the
human body.
 A series of sensory receptors work with the
nervous system to provide information about
changes in both the internal and external
environments.
 The human nervous system is a complex of
interconnected systems in which larger systems
are comprised of smaller subsystems each of
which have specific structures with specific
functions.
Structure and Function
 Neurons (nerve cells) are the basic
elements of the nervous system.
 Dendrites
 Nucleus
 Soma(Cell Body) Axon

Terminal end fibers

Neurons
 Cell Body
The main processing centre of the cell.
 Dendrites

Thin branching extensions of the cell body that conduct

nerve impulses toward the cell body.
 Axon

A single branch (in most neurons) which conducts nerve

impulses away from the cell body.
 Myelin sheath and neurilemma are coverings.

Neurons
Impulse Transmission
Terminal end fibers are located at the ends of the axon and
they transmit impulses leaving the neuron across a synapse to
the next neuron.
Three Types of Neurons
Efferent (motor)
Conveys information from the CNS to
muscles and glands.
Afferent (sensory)
Carry information from sensory
receptors to the CNS.
Interneuron
Carry and process sensory information.
Neuroglia
 Support, protect, connect and remove
debris from the nervous system

 Types of Neuroglial Cells

Central Nervous System
 The central nervous system is composed of two
major interconnected organs:
◦ The brain
◦ The spinal cord
 These organs work together to integrate and
coordinate sensory and motor information for the
purpose of controlling the various tissues,
organs, and organ systems of the body.

 The central nervous system is responsible for

higher neural functions, such as memory,
learning, and emotion.
Brain
 Weighs about 3 pounds in adults
 75% water
 20% of oxygen
 Contains over 100 billion neurons
 Controls bodily functions and interactions with

the outside world

Four Parts:
Cerebrum
Diencephalons
Brain stem
Cerebellum
Brainstem
 Made up of the midbrain; Pons and the medulla
oblongata.
 Midbrain: Involved with visual reflexes
 Pons:
◦ Located between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata
◦ Controls certain respiratory functions

Medulla Oblongata:
Contains centers that regulate heart and lung
functioning, swallowing, coughing, vomiting and sneezing

Cerebellum
Area that coordinates musculoskeletal movement to maintain
posture, balance, and muscle tone.
Inferior to the occipital lobes of the cerebrum.
Posterior to the pons and medulla oblongata .
Cerebrum
 Located above the cerebellum.
 Contains two hemispheres with an outer portion called
the cerebral cortex.
 The two hemispheres are connected by a bridge of
nerve fibers that relay information between the two
hemispheres called the corpus callosum.
 The left and right lobes are each divided into four lobes
or parts parietal lobe
 Frontal lobe
 Temporal lobe
 Occipital lobe
 Diencephalon: The deep portion of the brain containing:
 Thalamus
 Hypothalamus
 Epithalamus
 venitral, thalamus
 Serves as relay center for sensations like:
Heart rate
 Behavioral responses
 Blood pressure
 Digestive functions
 Temperature control
 Water and electrolyte balance
 Spinal Cord
 Extends from the medulla oblongata of the brain to the area
around the first lumbar vertebra in the lower back.
 Nerves from the peripheral nervous system extend out from the
spinal cord.
 Protected by:
 Vertebral column
 Cerebrospinal fluid
 Meninges
 Meninges are three layers of membranes that cover the brain and
spinal cord.
Layers of the meninges
Dura mater
Outer tough fibrous membrane.
Arachnoid mater
Middle weblike membrane containing CSF
Pia mater: innermost layer containing several vesseles
Peripheral Nervous System
 The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is a
collection of peripheral nerves, ganglia and _
specialized sensory structures that, as a system,
carries sensory and motor information between
the central nervous system and all other organs
and tissues of the body.
 The peripheral nervous system is functionally
divided into two major divisions:
 The Sensory or Afferent Division
 The Motor or Efferent Division
◦ The Somatic Nervous System
◦ The Autonomic (Visceral) Nervous System.
Peripheral Nervous System
 Consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31
pairs of spinal nerves.
Somatic Nervous System
 Responsible for receiving and processing
sensory input from the skin, muscles,
tendons, joints, eyes, tongue, nose and ears
as well as excite the voluntary contraction
of skeletal muscles.
 Autonomic Nervous
System
Carries impulses from the central nervous
system to glands, various smooth muscles,
cardiac muscle and various membranes.
 Stimulates organs, glands, and senses.
INVERTEBRATE NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 All cells respond to some stimuli and relay information both
internally and externally. Thus, even when no real nervous
system is present, such as in the protozoa and sponges,
coordination and reaction to external and internal stimuli do
occur.
 For example, the regular beating of protozoan cilia or the
response of flagellates to varying light intensities requires
intracellular coordination.
 Only animals that have achieved the tissue level of
organization e.g., the diploblastic and triploblastic animals)
have true nervous systems, however. This clearly excludes the
protozoa and sponges.
 Among animals more complex than sponges, five general
evolutionary trends in nervous organization are apparent.
 More complex animals possess more detailed nervous systems.
Cnidarians
 Of all animals, the cnidarians (hydras, jellyfishes, and sea
anemones) have the simplest form of nervous
organization.
 These animals have a nerve net, a latticework that
conducts impulses from one area to another.
 In nerve nets, impulse conduction by neurons is
bidirectional. Cnidarians lack brains and even local
clusters of neurons.
 Instead, a nerve stimulus anywhere on the body initiates
a nerve impulse that spreads across the nerve net to
other body regions.
 In jellyfishes, this type of nervous organization is involved
in slow swimming movements and in keeping the body
right-side up.
Echinoderms
 Echinoderms (e.g., sea stars, sea urchins, and sea
cucum-bers) still have nerve nets, but of increasing
complexity. For example, sea stars have three
distinct nerve nets. The one that lies just under the
skin has a circumoral ring and five sets of nerve
cords running out to the animal's arms. Another net
serves the muscles between the skin plates, called
ossi-cles. The third net connects to the tube feet.
This degree of nerve net complexity permits
locomotion, a variety of useful reflexes, and some
degree of "central" coordination. For exam-ple,
when a sea star is flipped over, it can right itself.
Flatworms and
Roundworms
 Animals, such as flatworms and roundworms, that move in a
forward direction have sense organs concentrated in the
body region that first encounters new environmental stimuli.
 Thus, the second trend in nervous system evolution involves
cephalization, which is a concentration of receptors and
nervous tissue in the animal's anterior end.
 For example, a flatworm's nervous system contains ganglia
(sing., ganglion), which are distinct aggregations of neuron
cell bodies in the head region. Ganglia function as primitive
"brains" . Distinct lateral nerve cords (col-lections of neuron
cell processes (axons and dendrites) or either side of the
body carry sensory information from periphery to the head
ganglia and carry motor impulses from the head ganglia
back to muscles, allowing the animal to react to
environmental stimuli.
 These lateral nerve cords reveal that
flatworms exhibit the third trend in nervous
system evolution: bilateral symmetry.
 Bilateral symmetry (a body plan with
roughly equivalent right and left halves)
could have led to pain neurons, muscles,
sensory structures, and brain centers. 'T
pairing facilitates coordinated movements,
such as climbing crawling, flying, or
walking.
Crustaceans and
Arthropods
 In other invertebrates, such as crustaceans, segmented
worms, and arthropods, the organization of the nervous
system shows further complexity.
 In these invertebrates, axons join into nerve cords, and in
addition to a small, centralized brain, smaller peripheral
ganglia help coordinate outlying regions of the animal's
body.
 Ganglia can occur in each body segment or can be scattered
throughout the body close the organs they regulate.
 Regardless of the arrangement, these ganglia represent
fourth evolutionary trend. The more complex an animal,
more interneurons it has. Because interneurons in ganglia
much of the integrating that takes place in nervous system
the more interneurons, the more complex behavior patter an
animal can perform.
Echinoderms
 In echinoderms, such as sea stars, the
nervous system is divided into several
parts. The ectoneural system retains a
primitive epidermal position and combines
sensory and motor functions.
 A radial nerve extends down the lower

surface of each arm. A deeper hyponeural

system has a motor function, and the apical
system may have some sensory functions.
 The fifth trend in the evolution of
invertebrate nervous systems is a
consequence of the increasing number of
into neurons. The brain contains the largest
number of neurons and the more complex
the animal, and the more complicated its
behavior, the more neurons (especially
interneurons are concentrated in an anterior
brain and bilaterally organized ganglia.
Vertebrate brains are an excellent example
of this trend.