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Nervous System

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10 views

Nervous System

Uploaded by

Eileen Chan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Nervous System

Neuron

 Neurons are cells that are specialised for the conduction of nerve
impulses and serve as the fundamental unit of the nervous system

The nervous system can be divided into two main parts:


 Central Nervous System (CNS): Made up of the brain and the
spinal cord
 Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): Made of peripheral nerves
which link the CNS with the body's receptors and effectors
Types of neurons

 Sensory Neurons: Conduct nerve impulses from receptors to the


CNS (afferent pathway)
 Relay Neurons: Conduct nerve impulses within the CNS (also called
interneurons or connector neurons)
 Motor Neurons: Conduct nerve impulses from the CNS to effectors
(efferent pathway)
potential

 Resting Potential: The charge difference across the membrane


when a neuron is not firing (-70 mV), as maintained by the sodium-
potassium pump
 Action Potential: The charge difference across the membrane
when a neuron is firing (about 30 mV)
 Depolarisation: The change from a negative resting potential to a
positive action potential (caused by opening of sodium channels)
 Repolarisation: The change from a positive action potential back to
a negative resting potential (caused by opening of potassium
channels)
Resting potential

 The sodium-potassium pump (Na+/K+ pump) maintains the electrochemical gradient of


the resting potential (-70 mV)

 It is a transmembrane protein that uses active transport to exchange Na + and K+ ions


across the membrane (antiport mechanism)

 It expels 3 Na+ ions for every 2 K+ ions admitted (in addition, some of the K+ ions will
leak back out of the cell)

 This makes the inside of the membrane relatively negative when compared to the
outside (-70 mV = resting potential)
Transmission
 Sodium and potassium channels in nerve cells are voltage-gated, meaning they can
open and close depending on the voltage across the membrane
 In response to a signal at a sensory receptor or dendrite, sodium channels open and
sodium enters the neuron passively
 The influx of sodium (Na+ in) causes the membrane potential to become positive
(depolarisation)
 If a sufficient change in membrane potential is achieved (threshold potential), adjacent
voltage-gated sodium channels open, generating a wave of depolarisation (action
potential) that spreads down the axon
 The change in membrane potential also activates voltage-gated
potassium channels, causing potassium to exit the neuron passively
 The efflux of potassium (K+ out) causes the membrane potential to
become negative again (repolarisation)
 Before the neuron can fire again, the original distribution of ions
(Na+ out, K+ in) must be re-established by the Na+/K+ pump
 The inability to propagate another action potential during this time
(refractory period) ensures nerve impulses only travel in one direction
Synaptic transfer

 The junction between two neurons is called a synapse, it forms a


physical gap between the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic neurons
 An action potential (electrical signal) cannot cross the synaptic gap,
so it triggers the release of chemicals (neurotransmitters) to continue
the signal
 When an action potential reaches the axon terminal, it triggers the opening of voltage-
gated calcium channels
 Calcium ions (Ca2+) diffuse into the cell and promote the fusion of vesicles (containing
neurotransmitters) with the plasma membrane
 The neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal by exocytosis and cross the
synaptic cleft
 Neurotransmitters bind to appropriate neuroreceptors on the post-synaptic membrane,
opening ligand-gated channels
 Excitatory neurotransmitters (e.g. noradrenaline) open ligand-gated sodium channels
(depolarisation)
 Inhibitory neurotransmitters (e.g. GABA) open ligand-gated potassium or chlorine channels
(hyperpolarisation)

 The combination of chemical messengers received by dendrites determines whether the


threshold is reached for an action potential in the post-synaptic neuron
 Neurotransmitter molecules released into the synapse are either recycled (by reuptake
pumps) or degraded (by enzymatic activity)
Action Potential

DIRECTION OF IMPULSE
Sodium channels Potassium channels Sodium
open, Na+ diffuses open, K+ diffuses out potassium
in. pump

Local current
triggers
Influx of Na+ = net
action
positive charge
potential
_ _ _ + + + + + + + + + + _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ + + _ _
+ + + _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ + + + + + +
+ _ _ + + +
DEPOLARISATION REPOLARISATION RESTING

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