Physiology I

Nervous Tissue
 Outcomes
On the completion of this unit you must know
the following:
•The general structure and function of the
nervous system
•The general structure and functioning of the
neurons and neuroglia
•Basic principles of nerve impulse conduction
•The basic structure and functioning of a
chemical synapse
 Assessment Criteria
• Define the following structural components of the
nervous system: receptor, effector, central nervous
system, peripheral nervous system, ganglion,
afferent division, efferent division, sympathetic
division, parasympathetic division, somatic motor
division
• Give the most important function of neurons
• Distinguish between afferent neurons, interneurons
and efferent neurons
• Explain the structure of a typical neuron
• Give the general functions of neuroglia
 Assessment Criteria
• Explain the location and function of the Schwann
cells
• Explain the composition and function of the myelin
sheath
• Discuss the generation and conduction of nerve
impulses in axons
• Explain the structure of a chemical synapse
• Explain the functioning of the following types of
synaptic transmission:
– Excitatory cholinergic synapse
– Inhibitory GABA-ergic synapse
 I. Overview of the Nervous System

A. Fundamental Types and Properties of Neurons

1. There are three general classes of neurons, which
correspond to the three major aspects of nervous system
function
a. Sensory (afferent) neurons are specialized to detect
changes in their environment called stimuli
b. Interneurons (association neurons) lie within the
central nervous system where they receive signals
from other neurons and carry out the integrative
function of the nervous system
c. Motor (efferent) neurons send signals to muscle and
gland cells that carry out the body’s responses to
stimuli
 I. Overview of the Nervous System
2. Nerve cells exhibit excitability, conductivity, and secretion
of neurotransmitters and other chemical messengers

B. Subdivisions of the Nervous System

1. The two major subdivisions of the nervous system are
the central nervous system, or CNS, and the peripheral
nervous system, or PNS
a. The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord, and is composed
of two types of nervous tissue—gray matter and white matter
b. The PNS consists of the nerves leading to and from the CNS
 I. Overview of the Nervous System

2. The motor component of the nervous system is divided

into the somatic nervous system, which innervates
skeletal muscle, and the autonomic nervous system,
which innervates cardiac and smooth muscle to control
body function
 II. Cells of the Nervous System

A. Structure of a Neuron
1. The control center of the neuron is its soma or perikaryon
(cell body). It contains the nucleus, nucleolus, Nissl
bodies (rough ER), many other organelles, and
supportive neurofibrils
2. Mature neurons lack centrioles and do not undergo
mitosis past adolescence
3. Major cytoplasmic inclusions are glycogen granules, lipid
droplets, melanin, and lipofuscin
4. Dendrites, cellular extensions from the cell body, have
receptors for neurotransmitters and receive signals from
other neurons
 II. Cells of the Nervous System
5. On one side of the soma is the axon hillock, which gives
rise to the axon. Axons vary greatly in length and end in a
synaptic end bulb through which neurotransmitters are
passed to the next neuron
6. Neurons are classified structurally according to the
number of processes extending from the soma:
multipolar, bipolar, unipolar, and anaxonic
a. Neurons with one axon and several dendrites are multipolar (the
most common type)
b. Neurons with one axon and one dendrite are bipolar
c. Unipolar neurons have only a single process leading away from
the soma
 II. Cells of the Nervous System
d. Anaxonic neurons have multiple dendrites, but no axon

B. Axonal Transport
1. Axonal transport is the two-way transport of materials
along an axon that may be fast or slow. Movement away
from the soma is anterograde transport and employs a
motor protein called kinesin
2. Movement toward the soma is retrograde transport and
employs a motor protein called dynein
 II. Cells of the Nervous System

C. Neuroglia
1. Neuroglia outnumber neurons 50 to 1. These are the
helper cells of nervous tissue; they bind neurons together
and provide a supportive framework, among other
functions. There are six types of neuroglia
a. Oligodendrocytes form discontinuous myelin sheaths in the CNS
and wrap several cells at once
b. Abundant astrocytes are star-shaped cells found in the CNS
i. Protoplasmic astrocytes help form the blood-brain barrier
ii. Fibrous astrocytes form a physically supportive framework for the
CNS
c. Ependymal cells produce and circulate cerebrospinal fluid
 II. Cells of the Nervous System
d. Microglia are small mobile macrophages that develop from
monocytes and wander freely through the CNS
e. Schwann cells (in the PNS) form a neurilemma around all cells
they cover, and a myelin sheath around neuron fibers they cover
in successive wrappings. They are necessary for the
regeneration of cut neurons
f. Satellite cells surround cell bodies in the PNS, but little is known
of their function

D. Myelin
1. All axons in the PNS have a sheath of Schwann cells
(and thus a neurilemma, made up of the outer layer of
Schwann cells) around them
 II. Cells of the Nervous System
2. When a Schwann cell is wrapped successively around an
axon, it becomes a myelin sheath
3. Gaps between adjacent Schwann cells are called nodes
of Ranvier; the covered segments are internodes
4. Discontinuous myelination in the CNS is contributed by
oligodendrocytes

E. Unmyelinated Nerve Fibers

1. Not all nerve fibers are myelinated, but even
unmyelinated ones are associated with Schwann cells
 II. Cells of the Nervous System
2. The speed at which a nerve signal travels depends on
the diameter of the nerve fiber and the presence or
absence of myelin
a. Large fibers conduct impulses more rapidly than small ones
b. Myelinated fibers are faster than nonmyelinated ones

F. Regeneration of Nerve Fibers

1. Peripheral nerve fibers can sometimes regenerate if the
soma is not damaged and some of the neurilemma
remains intact
 II. Cells of the Nervous System

2. The neurilemma forms a regeneration tube through

which the growing axon reestablishes its original
connection

3. If the nerve originally led to a skeletal muscle, the muscle

atrophies in the absence of innervation but regrows when
the connection is reestablished
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons

A. Electrical Potentials and Currents

1. An electrical potential is a difference in the concentration
of charged particles between one point and another
2. An electrical current is a flow of charged particles from
one point to another
3. When living cells have electrical potential, we say they
are polarized
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons

B. The Resting Membrane Potential

1. At resting potential, neurons are polarized, with a resting

membrane potential of –70 mV
2. The sodium-potassium pump contributes some of the
RMP, but accounts for 70% of the energy requirements of
the nervous system
3. An electrical charge is called a potential because it has
the potential to make charged particles move
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons

C. Local Potentials
1. A local potential is a small deviation in the RMP caused
by a stimulation
2. Local potentials have the following attributes: They are
graded, decremental, ineffective beyond a short distance,
reversible, and are either excitatory or inhibitory

D. Action Potentials
1. An action potential can be generated only in places
where the plasma membrane has an adequate density of
voltage-gated ion channels
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons
2. An action potential can also occur if local potentials
arrive from multiple points of origin on the cell and their
combined effect is great enough to reach action potential.
3. The action potential consists of rapid dramatic changes
in membrane voltage
4. The axonal hillock is the generator potential, and it must
rise to threshold (the minimum voltage needed to open
voltage-regulated sodium and potassium gates). When it
reaches threshold, the neuron "fires"
5. At threshold, potassium gates open slowly and sodium
gates open quickly, depolarizing the membrane. The
polarity of the membrane becomes reversed in
comparison to the RMP
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons
6. Membrane depolarization causes sodium gates to close,
and the voltage stops rising
7. Potassium gates are now fully open; potassium ions rush
out of the cell, causing membrane voltage to drop rapidly,
reaching hyperpolarization
8. The original distribution of sodium and potassium is
restored, and RMP is reestablished
9. The action potential obeys the all-or-none law and lasts
from the time threshold is first reached to the time the
voltage returns to threshold
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons

E. Local potentials and action potentials are

compared in table 12.2.

F. The Refractory Period

1. The absolute refractory period, when the membrane is
insensitive to additional stimulation, lasts from threshold
until repolarization is one-third complete
2. A relative refractory period follows and lasts until the
membrane voltage returns to threshold. During this
period, a new stimulus can trigger action potential only if
it is stronger than a threshold stimulus
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons
3. The refractory period applies only to the patch of
membrane where the action potential has just occurred

G. Signal Conduction in Nerve Fibers

1. An unmyelinated fiber has voltage-gated sodium ion
channels along its entire length
2. In unmyelinated fibers, the impulse travels at a
nondecremental rate of up to 2 m/sec
3. Saltatory conduction occurs in myelinated fibers. Action
potential is reached at each node of Ranvier, and travels
to the next node
 III. Electrophysiology of Neurons
4. This type of conduction can travel at speeds up to 120
m/sec
 IV. Synapses

A. The Discovery of Neurotransmitters

1. Originally it was thought that neurons communicated by
electrical connections between them until it was
discovered by Otto Loewi in 1921 that a space, the
synapse, occurred between two adjacent neurons.
Later, acetylcholine was identified as the first known
neurotransmitter

2. We now know that neurons, muscle cells, and neuroglia

do communicate through gap junctions with electrical
signals. Much of the communication within the nervous
system is accomplished using neurotransmitters
 IV. Synapses

B. Structure of a Chemical
1. The presynaptic neuron houses vesicles filled with
neurotransmitter in its synaptic knob
2. The postsynaptic neuron contains no specializations
other than proteins that function as receptors and ion
gates
C. Neurotransmitters and Related Messengers
1. More than 100 different chemicals have been identified
as neurotransmitters, falling into three major categories:
acetylcholine, amino acid, and biogenic amines
 IV. Synapses
2. Neuropeptides sometimes modify the actions of
neurotransmitters. (table 13.3)

D. Synaptic Transmission
1. A synapse where transmission is mediated by
acetylcholine is a cholinergic synapse
2. The presynaptic neuron transmits an impulse to its
synaptic knob, from which ACh stored in synaptic
vesicles is released to the cleft
 IV. Synapses
3. At the postsynaptic neuron, ACh binds to ligand-gated
channels, causing them to open and sodium and
potassium to cross the membrane. This produces a local
postsynaptic potential (PSP). If strong enough, the PSP
opens voltage-gated ion channels, causing the neuron to
fire. This is also called an ionotropic effect

4. Biogenic amines and neuropeptides have a metabotropic

effect mediated by a second messenger (like cAMP),
which in turn activates a protein kinase that triggers other
cellular reactions. A number of hormones also function in
this manner
 IV. Synapses

E. Cessation of the Signal

1. ACh binds to its receptors for only a very short time, then
dissociates from the receptor
2. Ways to rid the synapse of additional neurotransmitter
include diffusion, reuptake by the synaptic knob, and
chemical degradation by enzymatic activity
(acetylcholinesterase or monoamine oxidase [MAO])

F. Neuromodulators
1. Neuromodulators are hormones, neuropeptides, and
other messengers that modify synaptic transmission
 IV. Synapses

2. They can stimulate a neuron to raise or lower the number

of receptors in the postsynaptic membrane or alter the
rate of neurotransmitter synthesis, release, reuptake, or
breakdown
 V. Neural Integration

A. Postsynaptic Potentials
1. Neural integration refers to the information-processing,
decision-making, and memory mechanisms of neurons.
This ability is based on the postsynaptic potentials
produced by a neurotransmitter

2. An excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) is the

likelihood of the postsynaptic cell reaching action
potential; if a neurotransmitter instead makes the
postsynaptic membrane hyperpolarize, it is called an
inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP)
 V. Neural Integration
3. Glutamic and aspartic acid are excitatory and tend to
produce EPSPs; glycine and GABA are inhibitory and
generally produce IPSPs
4. Other neurotransmitters are inhibitory in some cases,
and excitatory in others, depending on the receptors in
target cells

B. Summation, Facilitation, and Inhibition

1. Summation is the process of adding up incoming
information and responding to the net effect of it. This
occurs in the trigger zone of the neuron
2. Summation can be temporal or spatial
 V. Neural Integration
a. Temporal summation occurs when a single synapse generates
EPSPs at such short intervals that each is generated before the
previous one decays
b. Spatial summation occurs when EPSPs from several different
synapses add up to threshold at the axon hillock

3. Facilitation is a process in which one neuron enhances

the effect of another one

4. Presynaptic inhibition, the opposite of facilitation, is a

mechanism in which one presynaptic neuron suppresses
another
 V. Neural Integration

C. Neural Coding
1. The way in which the nervous system converts
information to a meaningful pattern of action potentials is
called neural coding
2. The nervous system employs a phenomenon known as
recruitment, by which it is able to judge stimulus strength
by which neurons, and how many of them, are firing

D. Neuronal Pools and Circuits

1. Neurons actually function in much larger groups
(thousands to millions of interneurons) called neuronal
pools
 V. Neural Integration
2. As an input fiber enters a neuronal pool, it branches and
synapses with numerous neurons. It can produce EPSPs
at all points of contact with the cell; these can summate
to make it fire
3. These postsynaptic neurons are in the discharge zone of
the input fiber; neurons in its facilitated zone receive only
a few contacts from the input fiber
4. A neuronal circuit is the connection pathway among a
series of neurons
5. There are four principal kinds of neuronal circuits:
diverging, converging, reverberating, and parallel-
discharge
 V. Neural Integration

E. Memory and Synaptic Plasticity

1. The basis of memory is the memory trace (engram), a
pathway where new synapses have been formed or
existing synapses have been modified.
2. Immediate memory is the ability to hold something in
mind for just a few seconds.
3. Short-term memory lasts from a few seconds to a few
hours.
4. Long-term memory can last up to a lifetime.
a. Declarative memory is the memory of events and facts than can
be put into words.
b. Procedural memory is the retention of motor skills.