Responding to the environment

The nervous system

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 1. Terminology & definitions:
Biological term Description
Afferent neuron Neuron that carries impulses to the CNS
Alzheimer’s Disease Progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or
old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain
Autonomic nervous The part of the peripheral nervous system that controls
system involuntary actions
Axon The long threadlike part of a nerve cell along which impulses
are conducted from the cell body to other cells
Central nervous system The part of the nervous system that consist of the brain and
spinal cord
Cerebrospinal fluid A watery fluid, continuously produced and absorbed, which
flows in the ventricles (cavities) within the brain and around
the surface of the brain and spinal cord
Dementia A general term used for memory loss and loss of other
intellectual abilities
Dendrite A part of the neuron that conducts impulses towards the cell
body
Efferent neuron Neuron that carries impulses to the CNS
Effectors Are muscles or gland that respond to the message from the
nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
Medulla oblongata The part of the brain that controls the heart rate
Meninges A collective name for the membranes that protect the brain
Multiple sclerosis A disorder of the nervous system that is characterised by the
breakdown of the myelin sheath of neurons
Myelin sheath A fatty layer wrapped around them, which acts as insulation
Nerve Bundle of neurons
Neuron One nerve cell
Neurotransmitter Chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby
transmits an impulse from a nerve cell to another nerve,
muscle, organ, or other tissue
Peripheral nervous The part of the nervous system made up of cranial and spinal
system nerves
Receptors Structures located in the sense organs. They convert a stimulus
into an impulse
Stem cells/meristematic Undifferentiated cells that can develop into any cell type
cells
Stimulus A detectable change (e.g. pain, heat, light, sound) that will be
received by a receptor and converted into an impulse
Synapse 1. A junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap
across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter

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2. Nervous co-ordination
• To survive, all organisms need to be able to sense changes in their environment and
to control their responses to these changes.
• The nervous system and the endocrine system are important communication
systems that co-ordinate, intergrade and carry out the activity of body cells, tissues,
organs and the organism.
• They maintain a constant internal balance, while reacting to the changes that occur
in both the external and internal environment.
3. Reaction to stimuli in the environment
• The nervous system and sense organs play an important part in picking up stimuli,
gathering information and responding quickly to changes from both the external and
internal environment to maintain a constant state.
• The nervous system in vertebrates performs five main functions
1 Gathers information using the senses
2 Transmits information to processing areas of the brain
3 Processes information
4 Formulates responses to stimuli
5 Sends information back through the network of effector organs to execute
the response

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 4. Structure of the nervous system

NERVOUS
SYSTEM

CNS PNS ANS

CENTAL NERVOUS PERIPHERAL AUTONOMIC

SYSTEM NERVOUS SYSTEM NERVOUS SYSTEM
• Brain • cranial nerves • Nerves that
• Spinal cord • Spinal nerves branch off the
• Consists of • Unipolar& CNS
multipolar bipolar • E.g. Vagus
neurons neurons nerve
• Aka connector • Aka sensory &
/interneurons motor neurons

5. The Central Nervous System

 The brain and the spinal cord together form central nervous system (CNS)
 The whole CNS is surrounded by a system of membranes called the meninges, that
protect it.
 The brain is housed in the cranium and the spinal cord in the vertebral column

6. Structure and function of the parts of the brain

 The brain consists of three main external parts
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  The large cerebrum
 The smaller spherical cerebellum
 The brainstem which has the medulla oblongata and the pons
 The cerebrum and cerebellum are divided into two hemispheres
 The two hemispheres of the cerebrum are joined by the corpus collosum

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 Structure of the brain and the functions of the different parts
Cerebrum
• Controls voluntary Corpus callosum
actions • Connects the left and
• Receives and interprets right hemispheres of
sensations from sense the brain – allowing
organs communication between
• Higher thought processes both hemispheres

Cerebellum
• Coordinates all voluntary movements
Hypothalamus • Controls muscle
• Control centre for hunger, tension to maintain
thirst, sleep, body balance
temperature and emotions

Medulla oblongata
• Transmits nerve impulses between the
spinal cord and the brain 6
• Controls involuntary actions such as
heartbeat and breathing
7. The spinal cord
• The spinal cord is inside the vertebral canal and is an extension of the brain
Protection: vertebrae, meninges and cerebrospinal fluid.
• From each side of the cord 31 pairs of spinal nerves arise from ventral and dorsal
roots.
• Function:
• The spinal cord is the pathway for all impulses conducted to and from the
brain.
• The grey matter lies on the inside in the shape of an ‘H’
• The white matter lies on the outside (opposite to the cerebrum).
• The spinal cord processes all reflex actions.
• The spinal cord functions automatically and is not controlled by the will.
• Sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve impulses are conducted along the
spinal cord to all organs.

8. Peripheral nervous system

• The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is all the nervous tissue outside the central
nervous system (CNS).
• It is divided into the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system and is
made of 43 pairs of nerves:

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 • 12 pairs of cranial nerves
• 31 pairs of spinal nerves
• Function: the somatic nervous system received information from receptors and
conveys the information to the CNS.
• It also transmits the impulses from the CNS to effector organs
9. Autonomic nervous system
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the heart rate, breathing, digestion
and gland functions e.g. salivary glands secreting saliva
• The autonomic nervous system HAS two branches.
• The sympathetic branch prepares the body for energy-expending, stressful, or
emergency situations.
• The parasympathetic branch is active under ordinary, restful conditions
• The two systems have an opposite effect: one stimulates, the other inhibits i.e. each
organ in the body is innervated by the sympathetic nerve and parasympathetic
nerve.
• This is known as double innervation
• E.g. the sympathetic nerve causes the iris to dilate and the parasympathetic nerve
causes the iris to constrict

Sympathetic branch Parasympathetic branch

1. Increases heart rate 1. Decreases heart rate
2. Relaxes walls of the bladder 2. Contracts wall of the bladder
3. Dilates pupils 3. Constricts pupils
4. Constricts many arteries 4. Dilates arteries
5. Increases blood pressure 5. Decreases blood pressure

10. Neurons – nerve cells

• Neurons are specialized cells which connect the brain and spinal cord to all other
parts of the body.
• Each neuron has the following parts:
1. Cell body
2. Dendrites
3. Axon
• The dendrites always carry the impulse to the cell body and the axon always carries
the impulse away from the cell body
• Axons and dendrites may be myelinated i.e. they have a fatty layer wrapped around
them, which acts as insulation
• Bundles of neurons form nerves
11. Types of neurons
• Sensory neurons
• afferent neurons
• carry impulses to CNS
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 • either unipolar or bipolar
• sensitive to stimuli in the environment
• Connector/inter neurons
• receive impulse from sense organs
• always multipolar
• integrates or analyses information
• effects a response
• Motor neurons
• efferent neurons
• carry impulses away from CNS
• always multipolar
• effect a response

12. A reflex arc

• The simplest form of nervous activity is the reflex action, which are actions you do
without thinking.
• The nerve pathway taken in a reflex action is called a reflex arc.
• The nervous message goes to the spinal cord, and then a message passes from the
spinal cord directly to an effector to give an immediate response.

13. Significance of a reflex arc

• A reflex action is involuntary or automatic.
• Simple reflexes are inborn safety mechanisms to protect the body by producing
immediate responses to the changes in the external and internal environments.

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14. A synapse
• A synapse is the point where an impulse passes from the terminal branch of the axon
one neuron to the dendrite of the next neuron.
• The neurons NEVER touch each other.
• The gap between the two neurons is called the synaptic gap.
• Chemical neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine/dopamine/serotonin help to
transmit the impulse from one neuron to the next across the synaptic gap.

15. Significance of a synapse

• Ensures that the impulse travels in one direction.
• At the synapse a nerve impulse can either be speeded up slowed down or blocked.
• Therefore, it enables unnecessary or unimportant background stimuli be filtered out.
• Channels impulses so that reactions are integrated and become part of learning and
memory.

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16. Diseases of the Nervous system
Alzheimer’s Disease
• Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia
• Usually affecting people over 65, although some people may develop early-onset AD.
• Characterized by a loss of neurons and synapses in the cortex of the brain, as well as
the presence of clumps of proteins (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers
• There is no cure for the disease, which is progressive and eventually leads to death
• Cause: unknown
• Symptoms: the loss of brain function results in
• slower thinking
• behaviour changes
• confusion about events, time and place
• Difficulty recognizing people the know
• Difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking
• Cure: none
• Treatment:
• Researchers are trying to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset
and prevent it from developing

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 • Stem-cell research and therapeutic cloning hold great potential for providing
a cure for Alzheimer’s disease

Multiple sclerosis
• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive, degenerative disorder of the central nervous
system (CNS), including the brain, optic nerve and spinal cord.
• MS commonly occurs between the ages of 20 – 40 and affects more women than
men.
• Multiple sclerosis means ‘many scars’, resulting in damage to the axon-coating
myelin sheath of nerve cells in communication pathways.
• Scattered patches of demyelination in the pathways make it impossible for messages
to move these hard areas.
• Cause: auto-immune disease
• Symptoms: MS affects:
• Movement, feeling and co-ordination and balance
• Vision, tingling and numbness, muscle weakness and spasms,
• Fatigue
• Bladder and bowel problems
• Pain
• Concentration and memory loss
• Mood swings
• Cure: none
• Management strategies:
• Healthy lifestyle
• Stem-cell research and biologically engineered production of interferons slow down
the progress of the disease

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