Chapter 8
The Central Nervous System
Part 1
The Cerebrum, Part 1
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Basics
• CNS: brain + spinal
cord
• Sensory, motor,
integration
• Hollow center filled
with CSF
– Brain: ventricles
– Spinal cord: central
canal
• Gray matter vs. white
matter
Regions of the brain
• Cerebrum
• Diencephalon
– Thalamus
– Hypothalamus
– Epithalamus
• Brain Stem
– Midbrain
– Pons
– Medulla Oblongata
• Cerebellum
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Cerebrum
• Right & Left hemispheres
– Connected by corpus callosum
• Conscious, “higher level”
mental activity
• Cortex
– 2-4mm gray matter
– Convolutions
• Gyri vs. sulci
Cerebrum
• Lobes
• Frontal: motor; emotions; speech
• Parietal: somatosensation; speech
• Temporal: hearing; olfaction
• Occipital: vision
• Insula: visceral sensation; pain; gustation; memory
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Cerebrum
Cerebrum
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Cerebrum
Motor cortex
Cerebrum
Sensory cortex
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Part 2
The Cerebrum, Part 2
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Cerebrum
• Imaging techniques
– Computed tomography (CT)
– Positron emission tomography (PET)
– Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
– Functional magnetic resonance imagine (fMRI)
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Cerebrum
• Electroencephalogram (EEG)
– Measure of electrical currents
in cerebrum
• Synaptic potentials
– Used clinically
– Wave types:
• Alpha: awake but relaxed
• Beta: mental activity
• Theta: normal in infants and
sleeping adults; indicate stress in
awake adults
• Delta: normal in infants and
sleeping adults; indicate brain
damage in awake adults
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Cerebrum
• Sleep
– Two types:
• REM: dreaming
– Theta and Beta EEG waves
– Irregular breathing/heart rates
• Non-REM: restful
– Theta and delta EEG waves
– Four stages
– Around 5 sleep cycles per night
• 90 minutes each in an adult; much shorter in babies
• Non-REM 1 Non-REM 2 Non-REM 3 Non-REM 4
REM Non-REM 4 Non-REM 3 Non-REM 2 Non-
REM 1
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Cerebrum
• Sleep patterns are likely genetic
– Required total sleep time varies between
families but not usually within
– Neurotransmitters involved
• Histamine & norepinephrine: wakefulness
• Adenosine & GABA: sleepiness
– Transgenic mice with mutation in human
DEC2 gene (involved in circadian rhythms)
have shorter total sleep time
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Cerebrum
• Sleep and learning
– Restorative, non-REM sleep is required for
memory formation
– Learning tasks improve after non-REM sleep
• Improved learning when there is a delay between
learning task and sleep
– So study the day before an exam and get a
full night’s sleep!
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Cerebrum
• Basal nuclei
– = Basal ganglia
– Deep clusters of gray matter
– Part of the motor circuit
• Also: cortex, midbrain, and thalamus
• Allows intended movements
• Inhibits unintended movements
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Cerebrum
• Basal nuclei
– Corpus striatum
• Caudate nucleus
• Lentiform nucleus
– Putamen
– Globus pallidus
– Substantia nigra*
– Subthalamic nucleus*
*not part of cerebrum
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Cerebrum
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Cerebrum
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*Clinical Connections*
• Huntington Disease
– Destruction of GABA-ergic neurons in corpus
striatum (caudate nucleus)
• Causes hyperkinesia
• Parkinson’s Disease
– Destruction of dopaminergic neurons in
substantia nigra
• Causes imbalance in excitatory/inhibitory pathways
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Part 3
The Cerebrum, Part 3
22
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Cerebrum
• Lateralization
– Contralateral motor control and
sensory input
• Decussation
– Hemispheres communicate via
corpus callosum
• Commissural fibers
• Absence leads to defects in
verbal processing and problem
solving
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Cerebrum
• Lateralization, cont.
– Each hemisphere is “dominant” in certain tasks
• In 97% of population:
– Left: verbal, analytic
– Right: visuospatial
• Discovered via split brain procedures
• Are left handers smarter? More creative?
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Cerebrum
• Language
– Usually lateralized to left
– Two important areas:
• Broca’s area
– Motor speech
• Wernicke’s area
– Language
comprehension
– Connected to visual and
auditory cortices
• Connected by arcuate
fasciculus
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Cerebrum
• Limbic system
– Involved in emotions and memory
– Consists of:
• Hippocampus
• Amygdala
• Fornix
• Mammillary body
• Septal nuclei
• Cingulate gyrus
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Cerebrum
• Limbic system
– Connected to thalamus and hypothalamus via Papez
circuit to control emotions, including:
• Aggression
• Fear
• Feeding behavior
• Sexual behavior
• Reward/punishment
– Connected to olfactory regions
– Active during REM sleep
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Cerebrum
• Memory
– Categories
• Sensory
• Short-term
• Long-term
– Nondeclarative/Procedural
» Simple skills
– Declarative:
» Semantic (fact) versus episodic (event)
• Short term long term = consolidation
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Cerebrum
• Memory
– Brain regions involved
• Declarative memories:
– Hippocampus
» Consolidation of memories
– Amygdala
» Consolidation of memories (particularly emotional)
– Frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortices
» Long term memory
• Nondeclarative memories:
– Basal nuclei
– Cerebellum
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Cerebrum
• Memory
– Proposed
mechanisms:
• Long-term
potentiation
– Synapses exhibit
increased
excitability
• Neurogenesis in
hippocampus
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Cerebrum
• Memory
– Factors influencing memory
• Non-REM sleep improves consolidation
• Endocannabinoids enhance memory formation
– Long term potentiation?
• Strong emotions lead to stronger memory
formation
– Involves the amygdala
• Stress inhibits memory formation or memory
retrieval
– Hippocampus and amygdala have receptors for stress
hormones
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Cerebrum
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*Clinical Connections*
• Amnesia
– Loss of memory
– Retrograde amnesia
• Usually due to trauma to cortical memory areas
• Nondeclarative tasks not impaired
• Recovery may be possible
– Anterograde amnesia
• Due to damage to hippocampus and/or amygdala
• Patient “HM” had hippocampus removed because of epilepsy
and could no longer consolidate memory
• Recovery not usually possible
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Part 4
The Diencephalon
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Diencephalon
• Thalamus
• Hypothalamus
• Epithalamus
– Pineal body
– Choroid plexus
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Diencephalon
• Thalamus
– Sensory relay
• Except smell
• Epithalamus
– Choroid plexus
• Formation of CSF
– Pineal gland (epiphysis)
• Secretion of melatonin
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Diencephalon
• Hypothalamus
– Functions:
• Hunger/satiety
• Thirst
• Body temperature control
• Emotions
• Sexual behavior
• Regulation of pituitary
gland
• Secretion of two
hormones
– ADH, oxytocin
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Diencephalon
• Hypothalamus
– Functions, cont:
• Circadian rhythms
– Suprachiasmatic
nucleus (SCN)
– Electrical activity
oscillates
automatically
– Coordinated with light
» Melanopsin
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Part 5
The Brainstem and Cerebellum
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Brainstem
• Midbrain
• Pons
• Medulla oblongata
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Brainstem
• Midbrain
– Auditory and visual reflexes
– Motor coordination
– CN 3-4
– Nigrostriatal system
– Mesolimbic system
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*Clinical Connections*
• Drug addiction
– Dopamine is release by neurons of mesolimbic
system to induce behavioral reward
– Abused drugs increase dopamine
• Nicotine and alcohol excite neurons
• Heroine, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines reduce
GABA-induced inhibition of neurons
• Cocaine inhibits reuptake of dopamine
– Over time, cells’ sensitivity to dopamine decreases
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Brainstem
• Pons
– Sensory and motor relay
– CN 5-7
– Breathing
• Apneustic center
• Pneumotaxic centers
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Brainstem
• Reticular Activating System (RAS)
– Arousal system
– Arousal neurons:
• Cholinergic neurons to thalamus
• Monoaminergic neurons to cerebral cortex
– Inhibited by GABA-ergic neurons that are active
during deep sleep
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*Clinical Connections*
• Affect of medication on RAS
– Amphetamines enhance dopaminergic
arousal neurons
• Inhibit reuptake
– Antihistamines inhibit histaminergic arousal
neurons
– Benzodiazepines, alcohol, barbituates
increase GABA receptors, which inhibits
arousal neurons
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Brainstem
• Medulla Oblongata
– Connects brain to spinal
cord
– Sensory and motor relay
– Decussation
– CN 8-12
– Vital centers
• Vasomotor center
• Cardiac control center
• Respiratory center
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Cerebellum
• Outer gray, inner white
• Connected to:
– Cerebrum via
thalamus
– Pons
– Medulla
– Spinal cord
• Coordination of movement; balance and
equilibrium
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*Clinical Connections*
• Ataxia
– Lack of coordination
– Usually due to damage to cerebellum
– Intentional tremors versus resting tremors
– Patient looks intoxicated
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Part 6
The Spinal Cord
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Spinal Cord
• From foramen magnum L1
• White matter outside
– “Columns” or “Funiculi”
– Dorsal: sensory
– Ventral and lateral: motor
• Gray matter inside
– “Horns”
– Dorsal: sensory
– Ventral: motor
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Spinal Cord
• Ascending tracts
– Sensory
– Decussation in medulla
• Descending tracts
– Motor
– Decussation in medulla (usually) or spinal
cord (rarely)
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Nerves off CNS
• Cranial Nerves
– 12 pairs
– Sensory, motor, mixed
• Spinal Nerves
– 31 pairs
– Mixed
• Dorsal: sensory
• Ventral: motor
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Reflex Arcs
• Reflex: rapid response to a stimulus
• Components:
– Receptor
– Sensory neuron
– Integration center
• Brain or spinal cord
– Motor neuron
– Effector
• Muscle or gland
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