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7
Functional
Organization of
Nervous Systems
Cranial nerves
§ Exit directly from skull
§ 13 pairs (labeled with roman numerals)
§ Some afferent, some efferent, some mixed
Spinal nerves
§ Branch from spinal cord
§ Enter and exit between adjacent vertebrae
§ Named based on region of vertebral column from
which they emerge
§ Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal
§ Mixed nerves
§ Meninges
§ Layers of connective tissue that surround brain and
spinal cord
§ Number of meninges vary across taxa (fish have one,
mammals have three)
§ Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)
§ Fills spaces within the CNS and acts as shock absorber
§ Blood-brain barrier
§ Tight junctions in brain capillary endothelium limit
passage of solutes from bloodstream into the CSF
Three regions
§ Pons – located above medulla
§ Pathway between medulla, cerebellum, and forebrain
§ Controls alertness, initiates sleep and dreaming
§ Cerebellum – two hemispheres at back of brain
§ Responsible for motor coordination
§ Contains half of the neurons in the brain
§ Medulla oblongata – located at top of spinal cord
§ Regulates breathing, heart rate, diameter of blood
vessels, blood pressure
§ Contains pathways between spinal cord and brain
§ Many cross over (e.g., left to right)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Midbrain (Mesencephalon)
§ Thalamus
§ Large grouping of gray matter above hypothalamus
§ Part of the reticular formation
§ Receives input from limbic system and all senses
except olfaction
§ Relays information to cortex
§ Acts as a filter by blocking some afferent signals
§ Epithalamus
§ Located above the thalamus
§ Habenular nuclei – communicates with the tegmentum
of the midbrain
§ Pineal complex – Establishes circadian rhythms and
secretes melatonin
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Cortex
§ Most autonomic
changes occur via
simple neural circuits
that do not involve
conscious centers of
the brain
Three categories
§ Reflex behaviors
§ Involuntary and simple
§ Rhythmic behaviors
§ Underlie locomotion, breathing, and the function of the
heart
§ Voluntary behaviors
§ Most complex and diverse
§ Sensitization
§ Increase in the response to a gentle stimulus after
exposure to a strong stimulus
§ Caused by changes in the presynaptic axon terminal
§ Involves a secondary circuit
§ Serotonin released by facilitating interneuron à
§ Binds to receptors à
§ Activation of G-proteins à
§ Inactivation of K+ channels à
§ ↑ AP duration à
§ ↑ Ca2+ influx à
§ ↑ neurotransmitter release by sensory neuron