2. 1. To be familiar with the different parts of a
neuron, as well as it types and functions.
2. To be able to trace how neurons communicate
with one another.
3. To be familiar with different parts of the nervous
system and their functions
4. To identify parts of the endocrine system and
their influence in human behavior

3.  Neurons are the information-processing and
information- transmitting element of the nervous
system
 They come in different shapes
 They may also be classified according to their
major functions

4.  Sensory neurons - They gather information from
the environment and transmit them to the brain
 Motor neurons - Those that accomplish
movement of the muscles
 Interneurons - Can be found in the central
nervous system; responsible for perceiving,
learning, remembering, planning, and deciding
among other important neural activities

6.  Soma- Contains the nucleus and other parts that
are responsible proving the life processes of the
cell.
 Dendrites- Tree-like structures that serve as the
recipient of messages coming from the neighboring
neurons.
 Axon- The axon is a long slender tube, covered by
a fatty insulator called the myelin sheath, that
carries information from the cell body to the
terminal button.
 Bundles of axons constitute nerves

8.  Terminal Buttons - Knob-like structures at the
end of the axon’s twigs.
 Action potential- brief electrical/ chemical
event.
 The transmission of the messages occurs in the
synapse, a junction between the terminal buttons
of the sending cell and a portion of the somatic or
dendritic membrane of the receiving cell.

10.  Terminal Buttons release chemicals known as
neurotransmitters or transmitter
substances
 Neurotransmitters may be classified into two:
excitatory or inhibitory

11.  Multipolar neurons
 Bipolar neuron
 Unipolar neuron

12. Insert Picture (reflex)

13. Insert Picture (reflex)

15.  A neuron fires an impulse when it receives signals
from sense receptors that are stimulated by
pressure, heat or light, or when it is simulated by
chemical messages from adjacent neurons
 If these signals exceed a minimum intensity,
called the threshold, they trigger an impulse.
 The impulse, called the action potential, is a
brief electrical charge the travels down to the
axon.

16.  The neuron’s reaction is an all-or-none response,
meaning they either fire or not.
 A stronger stimulus cannot trigger a stronger or
faster impulse, but they can trigger more neuron
to fire.
 When the Action potential reaches the terminals at
an axons end, it triggers the release of chemical
messengers, called neurotransmitters , onto the
synapse – a gap between axons and dendrites
of adjacent neurons.

17.  These neurotransmitter molecules cross the
synaptic gap and bind to the receptor site on the
dendrites of the receiving neuron.
 This allows electrically charged atoms to enter the
receiving neuron and excite or inhibit a new action
potential.

18.  Dopamine influences movement, learning, attention, and
emotion.
 Serotonin affects mood, hunger, sleep, and arousal.
 Norepinephrine helps control alertness and arousal.
 Gamma-aminobyutric acid (GABA) inhibitory functions
and is sometime implicated in eating and sleep disorders.
 Acetylcholine works on neurons in muscle action, learning
and memory.
 Endorphins are released in response to pain and vigorous
exercise.

19.  The nerve impulse can be excitatory; It prompts
the adjacent neuron to fire.
 An impulse can also be inhibitory; it prevents the
adjacent neuron to fire

21.  All-or-non law - An action potential either occurs or
does not occurs, and is always in constant strength.
 Rate law - A high rate of firing causes a strong
muscular contraction and an intense odor causes a
high rate of firing in the axon the serves the nose.
 Saltatory conduction - action potentials are only
conducted in a hopping fashion in the nodes of
Ronvier

24.  Reuptake - a rapid removal of neurotransmitter
from the synaptic cleft by the terminal buttons
 Enzymatic deactivation - enzymes destroy
some neurotransmitter molecules into its
constituents

25.  The rate an axon fires is determined by the
relative activity of the excitatory and inhibitory
synapses on the soma and dendrites of that cell
 The interaction of these activities is referred to as
neural integration
 If the activity of the excitatory synapses goes up,
the rate of firing will go up. If the activity of
inhibitory synapses goes up, the rate of firing will
go down

27.  Neuromodulators - chemicals released by
neurons in larger amounts and diffused for the
longer distances, modulating the activity of many
neurons in a particular part of the brain
 Hormones secreted by endocrine glands
 Hormones affect the activity of the cells that
contain specialized receptors, called target cells
 Many neurons contain hormone receptors, thus
influencing their activity

29.  Anterior or Rostral- front end
 Posterior or Caudal – the tail
 Dorsal- the back surface
 Ventral- front surface
 Lateral-toward the side
 Medial- toward the midline
 Ipsilateral – same side of the body
 Contralateral- opposite sides of the body
 Cross section- slice transversely
 Horizontal section-slice parallel to the ground (the
brain)
 Sagittal section- slice perpendicular to the ground and
parallel to the neuroaxis

30. dorsal
anterior
ventral
ventral dorsal
posterior

32.  The brain is encased in a skull
 Floats in a pool of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
 Chemically protected by the blood brain barrier

33.  Dura mater (the hard mother)
 Archnoid membrane – not found in PNS
 Pia mater ( pious mother) - contains surface
blood vessels and follows the surface convolution
of the brain
 Subarachnoid space - gap filled with
cerebrospinal fluid

34. MAJOR DIVISION SUBDIVISION PRINCIPAL
STRUCTURE
Forebrain Telencephalon Cerebrum/ Cerebral
cortex
Basal ganglia
Limbic System
Diencephalon Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Midbrain Mesencephalon Tectum/Tegmentum
Hindbrain Metencephalon Cerebellum
Pons
Myelencephalon Medulla Oblangata

36.  Cerebrum, covered by the cerebral cortex
 Limbic system
 Basal ganglia

37.  Two cerebral hemispheres
 Glia, cell bodies, dendrite, and interconnecting
axons of neurons
 Called the “gray matter”
 The cerebral hemisphere can be divided into four
areas

38. Lobes Regions / Areas
Frontal Lobe Primary motor cortex, Motor association
cortex
Parietal Lobe Primary somatosensory cortex,
somatosensory association cortex
Occipital Lobe Primary visual cortex, Visual association
cortex
Temporal Lobe Primary auditory cortex, Auditory
association cortex

39.  With the exemption for the olfactory sense, all
information from the body or the environment is
sent to the primary sensory cortex of the
contralateral (opposite) hemisphere.

42. Motor

43.  The left hemisphere is concerned with analysis
 The right hemisphere is specialized for synthesis
 Two hemispheres are unified by the corpus
callosum

44.  Cerebrum, covered by the cerebral cortex
 Limbic system
 Basal ganglia

45.  The amygdala is involved in the experience of
emotion
 The hippocampus is involved in learning and
memory

47.  Cerebrum, covered by the cerebral cortex
 Limbic system
 Basal ganglia

48.  A collection of nuclei (groups of neurons of
similar shape) deep within the forebrain
 Involved in the control of movement

49.  The thalamus
 The hypothalamus

50.  Has two lobes
 Most neural input to the cerebral cortex is
received from the thalamus via projection
axons

51. Thalamus
lateral
geniculate
nucleus
medial
geniculate
nucleus
ventrolateral
nucleus

52. Thalamus Cerebral Cortex
lateral
primary
geniculate
visual cortex
nucleus
medial primary
geniculate auditory
nucleus cortex
ventrolateral primary
nucleus motor cortex

53.  The thalamus
 The hypothalamus

54.  Controls the automatic nervous system and the
endocrine system
 Behaviors related to survival of the species, such
as fighting, feeding and mating

56.  Inferior colliculi - part of the auditory system
 Superior colliculi - part of the visual system;
involved in visual reflexes and reaction to moving
objects

57.  Reticular formation - plays role in sleep and
arousal, attention, muscle tonus, movement and
various vital reflexes
 Periaqueductal gray matter - contains
neural circuits that control sequences of
movements such as fighting and mating.

58.  From the red nucleus emerges one of two major
fiber systems that bring motor information from the
cerebral cortex and cerebellum to the spinal cord
 The degeneration of neuron in the substantia
nigra is responsible for Parkinson’s disease

61.  Cerebellum
 Pons

63.  The “little brain”
 Attached to the dorsal surface of the pons by bundles of
axons
 Facilitates standing, walking or performance of
coordinated movement, such as playing a musical
instrument
 Receives and integrates visual, auditory, vestibular and
somatosensory information about individual muscle
movements and modifies the motor outflow by exerting
a coordinating and smoothing effect on the movements.

64.  Contains portion of the reticular formation -
important in sleep and arousal
 Also contains a large nucleus that relays
information from the cerebral cortex to the
cerebellum

65.  Medulla oblongata
 Contains part of the reticular formation
 As well as nuclei that controls vital function such
as regulation of cardiovascular system,
respiration, and skeletal muscle tonus

66.  A long, conical structure, approximately as thick
as our little finger
 Distributes motor axons
 Collects somatosensory information
 Functions independently - reflexive control
circuits

67.  Housed by the vertebral column
 24 individual vertebrae
 cervical (neck)
 thoracic (chest)
 lumbar (lower back)
 sacral and coccygeal portions

69.  Spinal Nerves
 Cranial Nerves - serve sensory and motor
functions of the head and the neck region

73.  Somatic nervous system - control movements
of the muscles and to send sensory information
from the sensory organs to the brain
 Autonomic nervous system - control of
smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and glands

74.  Sympathetic nervous system – expenditure of
energy from the reserves that are stored in the
body
 Thoracolumbar system
 Parasympathetic nervous system - activities
that are involved with the increase in the body’s
supply of stored energy
 Craniosacral system

77.  Endocrine glands
 Processes that happen slowly, such as cell
growth, regulation of mood
 Produces and secretes or give off chemicals -
hormones
 Communicates messages, information and
instructions to other group of cells

79.  Travel through the bloodstream to target cells (of
body organs)
 Target cells have receptors that latch only
onto specific hormones
 When hormone level reach a certain normal or
necessary amount, further secretion is controlled
by important body mechanisms - negative
feedback system

80.  The primary link between the
endocrine and nervous systems
 Controls the pituitary gland
 Releasing hormones - signal
the pituitary gland to secrete
stimulating hormones
 Somatostatin - causes the
pituitary gland to stop the release
of growth hormone

81.  “Master gland” because it makes hormones that
control several other endocrine glands
 Can be influenced by factors such as emotions and
seasonal changes
 Hypothalamus relays these information
 anterior lobe , posterior lobe

82.  Regulates the activity of the thyroid, adrenals, and
reproductive glands
 Growth hormone
 Prolactin
 Thyrotropin
 Corticotrophin
 Follicle-stimulating hormone
 Leutinizing hormone
 Endorphins
 Gonadotropic hormones

83.  Antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin)
 Oxytocin

84.  Shaped like a bowtie or butterfly
 Thyroxine , triiodothyronine - regulate
metabolism; body temperature and weight
 Iodine
 If iodine lacks in his/her diet, the thyroid cannot
make the hormones – Goiter
 Calcitonin - regulation (reduction) of calcium
level in the blood

85.  Secrete parathyroid hormone, or
parathormone
 Parathormone - regulation
(increase) of calcium level in the
blood
 Hypoparathyroidism - insufficient
secretion of parathyroid hormone
leading to increased nerve
excitability.

86.  Adrenal cortex
 Adrenal medulla

87.  corticosteroids such as cortisone - influences
or regulates salt and water balance in the body;
body’s response to stress, metabolism, the
immune system and sexual development

88.  Steroid hormones in three classes:
 Mineralocorticoids maintain electrolyte balance
 Glucocorticoids produce a long-term, slow
response to stress by raising blood glucose level
through the breakdown of fats and proteins
 Sex hormones

89.  Catecholamines, such as epinephrine -
increases blood pressure and heart rate when the
body experiences stress

90.  Stimulated by the nerves from the eye
 Melatonin - a hormone that may help regulate
the wake-sleep cycle (circadian rhythm)
 Secreted at night, when it is dark
 Depressing the activity of the gonads
 Affects thyroid and adrenal cortex functions
 Seasonal affective disorder

91.  Main source of sex hormones
 Testes located in the scrotum
 Ovaries, are located in the pelvis

92.  Androgens most important of which is
testosterone
 regulate body changes associated with sexual
development
 supports the production of sperm

93.  Produce eggs
 Estrogen - involved in the development of
female sexual features
 Progesterone - causes the uterine lining to
thicken in preparation for pregnancy
 Estrogen and progesterone - pregnancy and
the regulation of the menstrual cycle

94.  Islets of Langerhans
 Glucagon - tells the liver to take carbohydrate
out of storage to raise a low blood sugar level
 Insulin - tells the liver to take excess glucose out
of circulation to lower a blood’s sugar level that’s
too high
 Diabetes mellitus