Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

TOPIC
5
NERVOUS SYSTEM & SENSES (I)

Intended Learning Outcomes

• Describe the various animal physiological processes and their related disorders (MILO3)
描述不同的動物生理過程及其相關疾病

Self-study Requirements
• Search from the internet and the scientific journals to identify the nervous system-related disease
caused by drug abuse, in order to enhance students’ awareness on correct use of drug and develop
positive values and attitudes towards adopting a healthy teenagers’ lifestyle.
• Discuss with other students to explore further in blinking reflex, in order to arouse the students’
curiosity on cranial reflex other than knee jerk reflex and withdrawal reflex.

Contents
1. Overview of Nervous System
2. Protection of Nervous System
3. Neurone
4. Role of Nervous System
5. Spinal cord
6. Brain

Textbook
Mader, S. S. & Windelspecht, M. (2019). Biology, 13th ed. McGraw-Hill Education.
Chapter 37: Neurons and Nervous Systems

Fox, S. I. (2019). Human Physiology, 15th ed. McGraw-Hill Education.

Chapter 8: The Central Nervous System

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

1. Overview of the Nervous System

• The nervous system ( 神 經 系 統 ) is important for
coordination (協調) in mammals.
• Nervous system helps to receive stimuli (刺激) from
receptors (感受器) and respond (反應) accordingly
through effectors (反應器).

• Human’s nervous system consists of central nervous

system (CNS, 中 樞 神 經 系 統 ) and peripheral nervous
system (PNS, 外周神經系統). (Fig 1)
• Brain (腦) and spinal cord (脊髓) form the CNS.
• The PNS consists of nerves ( 神 經 ). These nerves
connect receptors and effectors to CNS.
In human, there are 12 pairs of cranial nerves (腦神
經).
Their function is linking receptors and effectors in
head and neck to the brain.
• In human, there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves (脊髓神
Figure 1: Organization of the nervous
經). system in humans. Blue: Central nervous
system (CNS); Yellow: Peripheral
Their function is linking receptors and effectors in the nervous system (PNS).
rest of the body to the spinal cord. [Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e,
2019), Chapter 37, Figure 37.3a]

2. Protection of the Central Nervous system

• Both brain and spinal cord are protected by some structures to prevent injury (傷害).
• Brain and spinal cord are covered and protected by bone.
• Brain is enclosed by cranium (顱骨), also
known as skull.
• Spinal cord is protected by vertebral
column (脊柱).
It consists of vertebras ( 椎 骨 ) and
intervertebral discs (椎間盤).

Figure 2: Cross section of the vertebral

column and spinal cord.
[Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019),
Chapter 37, Figure 37.12b]

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

• Both brain and spinal cord is covered by three

membranes.
• Brain and spinal cord are covered by three
membranes, the meninges (腦膜).
These membranes provide mechanical
protection (物理性的保護) and support to CNS
tissue.
• The space between the inner and middle
membranes contains cerebrospinal fluid (腦脊
髓液).

Figure 3: The brain and the spinal cord covered

with meninges and bathed in cerebrospinal fluid.
[Modified from Human Physiology by Fox (15e, 2019),
Chapter 8, Figure 8.1]

• Cerebrospinal fluid is a watery fluid produced by a series of infolded blood vessels in the cerebral
cavities.
• It provides nutrients (營養) and oxygen to the brain and spinal cord.
• It removes (清除) wastes from the nerve cells.
• It acts as a shock absorber.
• It keeps the shape of the brain by providing enough buoyancy (浮力).

3. Neurones
• The nervous system is formed by millions of nerve cells called neurones (神經元).
• They are the basic unit (基本單位) of nervous system.
• Neurones transmit (傳送) nerve impulse (神經脈衝).

3.1 Structure of neurone

• Each neurone has a cell body ( 細 胞 體 ) and a
number of nerve fibres (神經纖維).
• Cell body contains nucleus, cytoplasm and
some organelles.
• Nerve fibres extend from the cytoplasm.
• Dendrons (樹突 also called dendrite) receive
stimuli and carry nerve impulse towards the
cell body.
Figure 4: Typical structure of a neurone.
• Axons (軸突) are the nerve fibres which transmit [Adapted and modified from
(傳遞) nerve impulses away from the cell body. [Link]
Neuron_schema_with_no_labels.svg]

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• Neurons may have many dendrons but usually only one axon.
• Many nerve fibres are surrounded (包圍) by myelin sheath (髓鞘).
• The sheath consists of white fatty material to protect
and insulate (隔離) nerve fibres.
• Another important function of myelin sheath is to
speed up the transmission of nerve impulses.

• In the PNS, a bundle of axons or dendrons from many neurones

Figure 5: Nerve.
are wrapped in connective tissue (結締組織) to form nerves. [Adapted from Biology by Mader
In another word, a nerve is a collection of nerve fibres. (13e, 2019), Chapter 37]

3.2 Types of neurones

• Neurones can be classified into three types:
• Sensory neurones (感覺神經元):
Carry impulses from the receptors, for
examples, eyes and ears to the CNS.

• Motor neurones (運動神經元):

Carry impulses from the CNS to the
effectors, for examples, muscles and
glands.

• Interneurones (中間神經元):
Connect sensory and motor neurones
and transmit impulses between
them. They are found within the CNS.

Figure 6: Different Types of Neurones.

[Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019),
Chapter 37, Figure 37.4]

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• Structural differences between sensory neurone and motor neurone:

Structure Sensory neurone Motor neurone

Axon Shorter Longer

Cell body Outside CNS Inside CNS
Myelin sheath May present in both axon and dendron Present in axon only

3.3 Transmission of nerve impulses between neurones

Figure 7: Transmission of nerve impulse

between neurones.
[Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019),
Chapter 37]

• A nerve impulse is an electrical signal

transmitted from the dendron to the
axon of a neurone or between neurones.

• Neurones are NOT directly connected

together. Therefore, nerve impulse
cannot pass to another neurone directly
(直接地).

• There is a narrow junction (接點) called

synapse (突觸) separating the neurons.

• Function of synapse: It ensures that the

nerve impulses travel in ONE direction
only.

Figure 8: Synapse structure and function.

[Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019),
Chapter 37, Figure 37.6]

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

4. Role of Nervous System

• The nervous system controls and coordinates different parts of our body to respond to stimuli.
Nervous coordination (神經協調) can be summarized (概括) into several steps:

1. Receptor receives stimuli and generates nerve impulse.

2. Sensory neurone transmits the impulse to the CNS.
3. The CNS processes (處理) the information and makes a decision. The CNS then generates nerve
impulses.
4. Motor neurone transmits nerve impulse to the effector.
5. The effector brings about the response.

• For example:
 When someone is scared by a rat, the stimulus is the sight of the rat. The receptor is in the eye.
 Nerve impulse is transmitted by sensory neurones in optic nerve (視神經) to the brain.
 The brain makes a decision and generates a nerve impulse.
 The nerve impulse is passed by the motor neurone to the leg muscles.
 The response is running away.

5. Spinal cord
• The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves extended from the medulla (延腦) of the brain to the pelvic
girdle (骨盆帶). It is an important part of our CNS.

5.1 Structure of spinal cord

• The spinal cord can be divided into 2 regions:
• The outer region is white in colour.
• It is called the white matter (白質).
• In this region, the nerve fibres are covered by myelin sheath.

• The inner region is the grey matter (灰質).

• Its cross section is butterfly-shaped.
• Cell bodies of neurones are mainly found in this region.

• In the centre of grey matter, there is a space called central canal (中央管) which links to the
cavities inside the brain.
This is filled with cerebrospinal fluid to transport nutrients, wastes, oxygen and carbon dioxide.

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• At each level of spinal cord, two spinal nerves extend out. Each spinal nerve is linked to the spinal
cord by two nerve roots:
• The dorsal root (背根) is formed by sensory neurones.
There is a swelling called dorsal root ganglion (神經節) outside the spinal cord.
This swelling is formed by the cell bodies of sensory neurones.
• The ventral root (腹根) is formed by motor neurones.

Figure 9: A reflex arc showing the path of a spinal reflex.

[Modified from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019), Chapter 37, Figure 37.13]

5.2 Functions of spinal cord

• The two main functions of spinal cord are:
(1) Sending nerve impulses to and from the brain:
In another word, the spinal cord connects the brain and other parts of the body.
For example:
 If a patient hurts his spinal cord, he may lose his motor function and sensation (感覺) of
body parts.
It is because nerve impulses cannot be transmitted between brain and body parts.

(2) Responsible for reflex actions (反射動作).

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5.3 Reflex action

• Reflex actions are the inborn (天生) and rapid (迅速) reactions of the nervous system to stimuli.
Reflex actions are adaptations (適應) of the body to prevent harm.

• A reflex action is involuntary (不隨意), which means that you have no conscious (有意識的) control
and the cerebrum (大腦) of the brain is not involved.

• Another important characteristic of reflex action is that it is stereotyped (有固定形式的).

Same stimuli will always lead to same response.

• The spinal cord is responsible for spinal reflexes which are brought by impulses travelling through
the spinal cord.
 Examples of spinal reflexes: withdrawal reflex (退避反射), knee jerk reflex (膝躍反射).

• Another type of reflex actions is called cranial reflexes, which mean the impulses travelling through
the medulla of the brain.
 Example of cranial reflex: blinking reflex (眨眼反射).

Figure 10: Activation of motor neurones.

[Modified from Human Physiology by Fox (15e,
2019), Chapter 8, Figure 8.28]

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

5.4 Reflex arc

• Reflex actions are fast because only a few neurones are involved.
The nervous pathway (途徑) between receptor and effector for a reflex action is called reflex arc (反
射弧). A reflex arc may include four to five parts:
1. Receptor
2. Sensory neurone
3. Interneurone (may be absent)
4. Motor neurone
5. Effector

5.5 Withdrawal reflex

• The withdrawal reflex is an example of spinal reflex. A common example is when a person touches
something hot or sharp objects and withdraws their hand from the hot or sharp object without
thinking.
• The reflex arc of withdrawal reflex includes the followings:
1. Pain receptors (痛覺感受器) in the skin
2. Sensory neurone
3. Interneurone in the spinal cord
4. Motor neurone
5. Arm muscle (Effector) contracts (收縮) to withdraw the hand from danger
• In this case, we can sense the pain after withdrawing the hand because the impulses are also sent
to the brain through another pathway.
([Link]

Figure 11: Withdrawal Reflex.

5.6 Knee jerk reflex

• The knee jerk reflex is another famous example of spinal reflex. When the tendon (筋) just below the
knee cap of a hanging leg is tapped (輕打), the leg will kick up automatically.

• The reflex arc of knee jerk reflex includes the followings:

1. Stretch receptors (牽張感受器) in the upper thigh muscle
2. Sensory neurone
3. Motor neurone
4. Leg muscle (Effector) contracts to kick forward
• Although we can feel the tap, this reflex does not involve the cerebrum.
• Another characteristic is that there is NO interneurone in the pathway.
([Link]

Figure 12: Knee jerk Reflex.

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

6. Brain
• The brain is the largest part of the nervous system.
• It consists of three main parts: cerebrum (大腦), cerebellum (小腦) and medulla (延腦).

Figure 13: The human brain.

[Modified from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019), Chapter 37, Figure 37.8]

6.1 Cerebrum
• The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It consists of two cerebral hemispheres (大腦半球).
• The RIGHT cerebral hemisphere controls the movement of the LEFT side of the body.
• The LEFT cerebral hemisphere controls the movement of the RIGHT side of the body.
• The two hemispheres are connected by nerve fibres for communication (溝通) and coordination.
• The outer layer of the hemispheres is made up of grey matter which contains the cell bodies of
neurones. This layer is called cerebral cortex (大腦皮層).
This layer is greatly folded to increase the surface area, so that more neurones can be packed for
functioning.

• The cerebral cortex has THREE main areas:

• Sensory areas (感覺區): Receiving impulses from receptors.
• These areas are responsible for sensations, such as touch, sight and taste.
• Association areas (聯合區): Linking information from different sensory areas and relating to past
memory or experiences for decision making. Then the impulse will be sent to motor areas.
• Motor areas (運動區): Sending out impulses to effectors.

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Figure 14: The different areas of the cerebral hemisphere.

[Adapted from Biology by Mader (13e, 2019), Chapter 37, Figure 37.9]

• White matter (myelinated axons and dendrons) makes up the inner layer of the hemispheres.
• The cerebrum is responsible for intelligence (智力).
• For examples, thinking, imagining, memorizing and talking.
• These are voluntary actions (隨意動作) which are under conscious control (有意識的控制).
• These responses have to be learnt and thought.

6.2 Cerebellum
• Another highly folded structure of the brain is cerebellum.
• It is located underneath the back of cerebrum.
• The outer layer of cerebellum is grey matter and the inner layer is white matter.
• The main functions of cerebellum are coordinating (協 調 ) muscular ( 肌 肉 的 ) movements and
maintaining body balance (保持身體平衡).

6.3 Medulla
• The medulla is the lowest part of our brain and is continuous with the spinal cord.
• In this part, white matter is on the outer layer and grey matter is in the inner layer.
• The main functions of medulla are:

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• Controlling reflex actions, such as vomiting (嘔吐), sneezing (噴嚏), blinking and swallowing
(吞嚥).
• Controlling involuntary actions (不隨意動作), such as regulating heartbeat and breathing,
dilation (舒張) and constriction (收縮) of blood vessels.

Positive Values & Attitudes

Nervous System Damaged by Prolonged Ketamine Abuse

Ketamine (氯氨酮) abuse among teenagers is becoming a serious problem in Hong Kong. Studies
found that abuse of ketamine will damage neurones in the brain. After four to five years, the
abuser will be like an old person with senile dementia (老年性癡呆症).

The Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong spent two years to study the
influence of prolonged ketamine abuse to neurones. In this study, a group of crab-eating macaques
(食蟹猴) were fed with ketamine for a long time, As a result, it showed abnormal nervous
responses and the coordination of movement was also affected. In addition, a type of mutated
channel protein was found in the brain of the mouse fed with ketamine. This mutated channel
protein can lead to Alzheimer's disease (腦退化症).

Professor Yao from the Department of Anatomy of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
indicated that, when the crab-eating macaques were injected with small amount of ketamine every
day, their movement became slow and incoordinated after one month. When they were injected
with ketamine for six months, they showed poor responses from cerebellum. This indicated that
ketamine affects the coordination of movement, and causes mental disease and produces illusion
(幻覺). It was proved that prolonged abuse of ketamine will damage the neurones.

Professor Yao stated that, in another experiment, a group of mouse was fed with ketamine for six
months. The channel proteins of their brain neurone became hard and tangled and mutated
channel proteins were found. It showed that ketamine can lead to Alzheimer's disease. Young
people may also have these symptoms if they abuse ketamine for four to five years.

Reference:

[Link]

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Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I)

Important Words to Learn

English Vocabulary Chinese Explanation

1 Association area 聯合區
2 Axon 軸突
3 Brain 腦
4 Cell body 細胞體
5 Central canal 中央管
6 Central nervous system 中樞神經系統
7 Cerebellum 小腦
8 Cerebral cortex 大腦皮層
9 Cerebral hemisphere 大腦半球
10 Cerebrospinal fluid 腦脊髓液
11 Cerebrum 大腦
12 Cranium 顱骨
13 Dendron 樹突
14 Dorsal root 背根
15 Effector 反應器
16 Ganglion 神經節
17 Grey matter 灰質
18 Interneurone 中間神經元
19 Involuntary action 不隨意動作
20 Knee jerk reflex 膝躍反射
21 Medulla 延腦
22 Meninges 腦膜
23 Motor area 運動區
24 Motor neurone 運動神經元
25 Myelin sheath 髓鞘
26 Nerve 神經
27 Nerve fibre 神經纖維
28 Nerve impulse 神經脈衝
29 Nervous coordination 神經協調
30 Nervous system 神經系統
31 Neurone 神經元

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 Topic 5 – Nervous System & Senses (I) ASD3113 Discovery Life Science

English Vocabulary Chinese Explanation

32 Pelvic girdle 盆骨帶
33 Peripheral nervous system 外周神經系統
34 Receptor 感受器
35 Reflex action 反射動作
36 Reflex arc 反射弧
37 Sensory area 感覺區
38 Sensory neurone 感覺神經元
39 Spinal cord 脊髓
40 Stimuli 刺激
41 Stretch receptors 牽張感受器
42 Synapse 突觸
43 Ventral root 腹根
44 Vertebral column 脊柱
45 Voluntary action 隨意動作
46 White matter 白質
47 Withdrawal reflex 退避反射

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