THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

• To Maintain The Internal Body Communication We Have Two

Communication System I.E
1. Nervous System 2. Endocrine System

❖ Need of nervous system:

✓ Keep us informed about outside world.
✓ Help to remember, think and analyze.
✓ Control and co-ordinate all voluntary muscles.
✓ Regulate involuntary activities.
BASIC TERMS IN NERVOUS ACTIVITIES
• Stimulus: Anything that can trigger a physical or behavioral change.
E.g light, sound, heat, pain etc.
• Response: The change in an organism resulting due to stimulus.
• Impulse: A wave of electric current that runs through the nerve cell
to carry a massage from one place to other. e.g motor impulse
carried from brain to the muscle.
• Receptor: A molecule or group of cells that receives stimulus &
produces a physiological response in a cell e.g photoreceptor,
thermoreceptor, olfactory receptor (smell)
• Effector: A cell or tissues that react to a stimulus or produces an
effect.
 NEURONS OR NERVE CELL
• Neurons are cells that transmit signals throughout the body,
making them fundamental units of brain & nervous system.

• Also called as Nerve cells.

• Structure of the Neurons

1. The cell body
2. Dendrites
3. axons
 The cell body

• Also called as perikaryon or Cyton. (peri – surrounding

& karyon - nucleus)

• Have well defined nucleus

• Granular Cytoplasm

• It has all cell organelles except centrosome that’s

why neurons do not divide.
 DENTRITES

• Dendron – tree/branch

• Cytoplasmic projection of the cell body.

• Look like tree branches.

• Function:
❖ receiver of impulses

❖ Conduct nerve impulse to cell body.

 AXON
• One of the longest branch extension of neuron from cell body.
• Size varies from few mm to more than a meter.
• Responsible for carrying of impulses away from cell body & towards the
neighboring neurons.
• The axon is covered with myelin sheath (white insulating sheath)
• Above the myelin sheath one outermost thin sheath called as
neurolemma (neurilemma)
• Axon has Node of Ranvier (gap in myelin sheath).
• Function of node of Ranvier – allow ions to diffuse in & out of the
neurons, which propagate the electrical signals down the axon.
• Axon have side branches sometime i.e Collaterals
• End of axon has swollen portion like bulb i.e axon terminal, contain a
chemical neurotransmitter
• Axon terminal is close to dendrite of next neuron.
• There is a gap between two neurons called as synaptic cleft.
 SYNAPSE
• Point of contact between the terminal branches of the
axon of a neuron with the dendrite of another neuron
separated by a small gap.

• From this nerve impulses jumps to next neuron.

• Passing the impulses is the chemical process.

• As impulses reaches the terminal end of an axon, a

chemical acetylcholine is releases, which set a new impulse
for next neuron
TRANSMISSION OF NERVE IMPULSE
 MECHANISM OF CONNECTION OF NEURONS WITH
EACH OTHER
• Transmission of impulses take place through synapse.
• The axon terminal knobs are in close contact with the terminal end of
dendrites of neighboring neurons.
• Transmission of impulse across the synapse is based on chemical
synapse.
• Synaptic vesicle are present in axon terminal, containing the
neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
• Mechanism of release of neurotransmitter i.e acetylcholine is based
on the principle that when nerve impulse reaches the axon terminal, it
causes synaptic bulb to release the neurotransmitter in the synaptic
cleft (space between two neurons across which the impulse is
transmitted by a neurotransmitter)
• Acetylcholine facilitate the transmission of an impulse from pre
synaptic terminal (end of an axon, where electric signal is converted
to chemical signal i.e release acetylcholine) to post synaptic terminal
(tip of the dendrite of neighboring neuron)
 TYPES OF NERVOUS SYSTEM

1. Central Nervous System (CNS)

2. Peripheral Nervous system (PNS)
a) Somatic nervous system
b) Autonomic nervous system
 Spinal cord
Location
• The spinal cord is a long, cylindrical bundle of nerves.
• It begins from the medulla oblongata and runs through the vertebral column.
• Protected by vertebrae and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

structure of the Spinal Cord

1. Outer White Matter
• Contains myelinated nerve fibres.
• Carries messages:
– Up to the brain (sensory).
– Down from the brain (motor).
2. Inner Grey Matter
• Butterfly-shaped or “H-shaped”.
• Contains cell bodies of neurons.
• Divided into:
– Dorsal (posterior) horns – sensory neurons enter.
– Ventral (anterior) horns – motor neurons leave.
3. Central Canal
• A narrow canal in the centre.
• Filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
 Spinal cord
Functions of the Spinal Cord
1. Conduction of Nerve Impulses
• Sensory impulses → body to brain
• Motor impulses → brain to body
2. Reflex Actions
• Spinal cord acts as the reflex centre.
• Enables quick, automatic responses without
• involving the brain immediately.
 TYPES OF NERVOUS SYSTEM

1. Central Nervous System (CNS)

2. Peripheral Nervous system (PNS)
a) Somatic nervous system
b) Autonomic nervous system
 TYPES OF NERVOUS SYSTEM
Peripheral Nervous system (PNS)
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
• Controls voluntary actions.
• Includes cranial nerves (12 pairs) and spinal nerves (31 pairs).
• Controls movements of skeletal muscles.
• Example:
• Moving your hand, walking, writing.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Controls involuntary actions of internal organs.
It has two divisions:
a) Sympathetic Nervous System
• Prepares body for stress / emergency (“fight or flight”).
• Increases heartbeat, dilates pupils, slows digestion.
b) Parasympathetic Nervous System
• Works during rest and normal conditions (“rest and digest”).
• Slows heartbeat, constricts pupils, increases digestion.
Functions of the PNS
• Connects CNS to the rest of the body.
• Carries sensory impulses from sense organs → CNS.
• Carries motor impulses from CNS → muscles/glands.
• Controls voluntary and involuntary actions.
• Maintains homeostasis through ANS.
 Nervous pathways in reflexes
Nervous Pathways in Reflexes (Reflex Arc)
A reflex action is a quick, automatic, involuntary response to a stimulus.
The path taken by nerve impulses during a reflex action is called a reflex arc.

Components of a Reflex Arc

1. Receptor
• The structure that detects the stimulus.
• Example: pain receptors in the skin detect heat or a pinprick.

2. Sensory Neuron (Afferent Neuron)

• Carries the impulse from the receptor to the spinal cord.
• Enters the spinal cord through the dorsal root
3. Interneuron (Association Neuron) — in the spinal cord
• Present inside the grey matter of the spinal cord.
• Connects the sensory neuron to the motor neuron.
• Responsible for deciding the quick action without involving the brain
4. Motor Neuron (Efferent Neuron)
• Carries the impulse from the spinal cord to the effector.
• Leaves the spinal cord through the ventral root.
5. Effector
• The organ that performs the action.
• Can be a muscle (withdraw hand) or a gland (salivation)

Flow of the Reflex Arc

Stimulus → Receptor → Sensory Neuron → Interneuron → Motor Neuron → Effector →
Response
Example:
Touching a hot object → skin receptor → sensory neuron → spinal cord → interneuron → motor
neuron → arm muscles → withdrawal of hand.