Chapter 12- NERVOUS TISSUE

Nervous System Overview-The nervous system, along with the endocrine system, helps to keep
controlled conditions within limits that maintain health and helps to maintain homeostasis.The nervous
system is responsible for all our behaviors, memories, and movements.The branch of medical science
that deals with the normal functioning and disorders of the nervous system is called neurology.

Functions of Nervous System-Sensory function: to sense changes in the internal and external
environment through sensory receptors. Sensory (afferent) neurons serve this function.

Integrative function: to analyze the sensory information, store some aspects, and make decisions
regarding appropriate behaviors. Association or interneurons serve this function.

Motor function is to respond to stimuli by initiating action. Motor(efferent) neurons serve this function.
Over 100 billion neurons and 10–50 times that number of support cells (called neuroglia) are organized
into two main subdivisions:The central nervous system (CNS) ,The peripheral nervous system (PNS). As
the “thinking” cells of the brain, each neuron does, in miniature, what the entire nervous system does as
an organ: Receive, process and transmit information by manipulating the flow of charge across their
membranes.Neuroglia (glial cells) play a major role in support and nutrition of the brain, but they do not
manipulate information.They maintain the internal environment so that neurons can do their jobs.

Divisions of the Nervous System-The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal
cord.The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of all nervous tissue outside the CNS, including
nerves, ganglia, enteric plexuses, and sensory receptors.Most signals that stimulate muscles to contract
and glands to secrete originate in the CNS. The PNS is further divided into: A somatic nervous system
(SNS) ,An autonomic nervous system (ANS),An enteric nervous system (ENS).

The SNS consists of: Somatic sensory (afferent) neurons that convey information from sensory receptors
in the head, body wall and limbs towards the CNS.Somatic motor (efferent) neurons that conduct
impulses away from the CNS towards the skeletal muscles under voluntary control in the
periphery.Interneurons are any neurons that conduct impulses between afferent and efferent neurons
within the CNS.

The ANS consists of: Sensory neurons that convey information from autonomic sensory receptors
located primarily in visceral organs like the stomach or lungs to the CNS.Motor neurons under
involuntary control conduct nerve impulses from the CNS to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands.
The motor part of the ANS consists of two branches which usually have opposing actions: the
sympathetic division ,the parasympathetic division.

The operation of the ENS, the “brain of the gut”, involuntarily controls GI propulsion, and acid and
hormonal secretions.Once considered part of the ANS, the ENS consists of over 100million neurons in
enteric plexuses that extend most of the length of the GI tract.

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Ganglia are small masses of neuronal cell bodies located outside the brain and spinal cord, usually
closely associated with cranial and spinal nerves.There are ganglia which are somatic, autonomic, and
enteric (that is, they contain those types of neurons.)

Neurons and Neuroglia-Neurons and neuroglia combine in a variety of ways in different regions of the
nervous system.Neurons are the real “functional unit” of the nervous system, forming complex
processing networks within the brain and spinal cord that bring all regions of the body under CNS
control. Neuroglia, though smaller than neurons, greatly outnumber them.They are the “glue” that
supports and maintains the neuronal networks.

Neurons- Though there are several different types of neurons, most have:A cell body,An
axon,Dendrites,AxonTerminals.Neurons gather information at dendrites andprocess it in the dendritic
tree and cell body.Then they transmit the information down their axon to the axon terminals.Dendrites
(little trees) are the receiving end of the neuron.They are short, highly branched structures that conduct
impulses toward the cell body.They also contain organelles.The cell body has a nucleus surrounded by
cytoplasm.Like all cells, neurons contain organelles such as lysosomes, mitochondria, Golgi complexes,
and rough ER for protein production (in neurons, RER is called Nissl bodies) – it imparts a striped “tiger
appearance”. No mitotic apparatus is present.Axons conduct impulses away from the cell body toward
another neuron or effector cell.The “axon hillock” is where the axon joins the cell body.The “initial
segment” is the beginning of the axon.The “trigger zone” is the junction between the axon hillock and
the initial segment. The axon and its collaterals end by dividing into many fine processes called axon
terminals (telodendria). Like the dendrites, telodendria may also be highly branched as they interact
with the dendritic tree of neurons “downstream”.The tips of some axon terminals swell into bulb-
shaped structures called synaptic end bulbs. The site of communication between two neurons or
between a neuron and another effector cell is called a synapse.The synaptic cleft is the gap between the
pre and post-synaptic cells.

Substances synthesized or recycled in the neuron cell body are needed in the axon or at the axon
terminals. Two types of transport systems carry materials from the cell body to the axon terminals and
back.Slow axonal transport conveys axoplasm in one direction only – from the cell body toward the
axon terminals.Fast axonal transport moves materials in both directions.Slow axonal transport supplies
new axoplasm (the cytoplasm in axons) to developing or regenerating axons and replenishes axoplasm
in growing and mature axons.Fast axonal transport that occurs in an anterograde (forward) direction
moves organelles and synaptic vesicles from the cell body to the axon terminals. Fast axonal transport
that occurs in a retrograde (backward) direction moves membrane vesicles and other cellular materials
from the axon terminals to the cell body to be degraded or recycled.

Substances that enter the neuron at the axon terminals are also moved to the cell body by fast
retrograde transport.These substances include trophic chemicals such as nerve growth factor, as well as
harmful agents such as tetanus toxin and the viruses that cause rabies and polio.A deep cut or puncture
wound in the head or neck is a more serious matter than a similar injury in the leg because of the
shorter transit time for the harmful substance to reach the brain (treatment must begin quickly.)

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Classifying Neurons-Neurons display great diversity in size and shape - the longest of them are almost as long as a
person is tall, extending from the toes to the lowest part of the brain.The pattern of dendritic branching is
varied and distinctive for neurons in different parts of the NS.Some have very short axons or lack axons
altogether.Both structural and functional features are used to classify the various neurons in the body.
Structural classification is based on the number of processes (axons or dendrites) extending from the cell
body.Multipolar neurons have several dendrites and only one axon and are located throughout the brain
and spinal cord.The vast majority of the neurons in the human body are multipolar. Bipolar neurons have
one main dendrite and one axon.They are used to convey the special senses of sight, smell, hearing and
balance.As such, they are found in the retina of the eye, the inner ear, and the olfactory (olfact = to smell)
area of the brain. Unipolar (pseudounipolar) neurons contain one process which extends from the body
and divides into a central branch that functions as an axon and as a dendritic root.Unipolar structure is often
employed for sensory neurons that convey touch and stretching information from the extremities.

The functional classification of neurons is based on electrophysiological properties (excitatory or inhibitory)

and the direction in which the AP is conveyed with respect to the CNS.Sensory or afferent neurons convey
APs into the CNS through cranial or spinal nerves. Most are unipolar.Motor or efferent neurons convey APs
away from the CNS to effectors (muscles and glands) in the periphery through cranial or spinal nerves. Most
are multipolar.Interneurons or association neurons are mainly located within the CNS between sensory and
motor neurons.Interneurons integrate (process) incoming sensory information from sensory neurons and
then elicit a motor response by activating the appropriate motor neurons. Most interneurons are multipolar
in structure.

Neuroglia do not generate or conduct nerve impulses.They support neurons by:Forming the Blood Brain
Barrier (BBB),Forming the myelin sheath (nerve insulation) around neuronal axons,Making the CSF that
circulates around the brain and spinal cord,Participating in phagocytosis .There are 4 types of neuroglia in
the CNS: Astrocytes - support neurons in the CNS. Maintain the chemical environment (Ca2+ & K+)
.Oligodendrocytes - produce myelin in CNS .Microglia - participate in phagocytosis.Ependymal cells - form
and circulate CSF. There are 2 types of neuroglia in the PNS: Satellite cells - support neurons in
PNS.Schwann cells - produce myelin in PNS .

Myelination is the process of forming a myelin sheath which insulates and increases nerve impulse speed. It
is formed by Oligodendrocytes in the CNS and by Schwann cells in the PNS. Nodes of Ranvier are the gaps in
the myelin sheath. Each Schwann cell wraps one axon segment between two nodes of Ranvier. Myelinated
nodes are about 1 mm in length and have up to 100 layers.The amount of myelin increases from birth to
maturity, and its presence greatly increases the speed of nerve conduction. Diseases like Multiple Sclerosis
result from autoimmune destruction of myelin.

Neuronal Regeneration-The cell bodies of neurons lose their mitotic features at birth and can only be
repaired through regeneration after an injury (they are never replaced by daughter cells as occurs with
epithelial tissues.).Nerve tissue regeneration is largely dependent on the Schwann cells in the PNS and
essentially doesn’t occur at all in the CNS where astrocytes just form scar tissue.The outer nucleated
cytoplasmic layer of the Schwann cell, which encloses the myelin sheath, is the neurolemma (sheath of
Schwann).When an axon is injured, the neurolemma aids regeneration by forming a regeneration tube that

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guides and stimulates regrowth of the axon.To do any regeneration, neurons must be located in the PNS,
have an intact cell body, and be myelinated by functional Schwann cells having a neurolemma.
Demyelination refers to the loss or destruction of myelin sheaths around axons. It may result from disease,
or from medical treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Any single episode of
demyelination may cause deterioration of affected nerves.

Gray and White Matter- White matter of the brain and spinal cord is formed from aggregations of
myelinated axons from many neurons.The lipid part of myelin imparts the white appearance.Gray matter
(gray because it lacks myelin) of the brain and spinal cord is formed from neuronal cell bodies and dendrites.

Electrical Signals in Neurons-Like muscle fibers, neurons are electrically excitable. They communicate with
one another using two types of electrical signals:Graded potentials are used for short-distance
communication only. Action potentials allow communication over long distances within the body.Producing
electrical signals in neurons depends on the existence of a resting membrane potential (RMP) - similar to the
electrical potential of this 9 v battery which has a gradient of 9 volts from one terminal to another.

A cell’s RMP is created using ion gradients and a variety of ion channels that open or close in response to
specific stimuli.Because the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane is a good insulator, ions must flow through
these channels. Ion channels are present in the plasma membrane of all cells in the body, but they are an
especially prominent component of the nervous system.Much of the energy expended by neurons, and
really all cells of the body, is used to create a net negative charge in the inside of the cell as compared to the
outside of the cell. When ion channels are open, they allow specific ions to move across the plasma
membrane, down their electrochemical gradient. Ions move from areas of higher concentration to areas of
lower concentration - the “chemical” (concentration) part of the gradient.Positively charged cations move
toward a negatively charged area, and negatively charged anions move toward a positively charged area -
the electrical aspect of the gradient.

Active channels open in response to a stimulus (they are “gated”). There are 3 types of active, gated
channels: Ligand-gated channels respond to a neurotransmitter and are mainly concentrated at the
synapse. Voltage-gated channels respond to changes in the transmembrane electrical potential and are
mainly located along the neuronal axon. Mechanically-gated channels respond to mechanical deformation
(applying pressure to a receptor).“Leakage” channels are also gated but they are not active, and they open
and close randomly.

Maintaining the RMP- A neuron’s RMP is measured at rest, when it is not conducting a nerve impulse.The
resting membrane potential exists because of a small buildup of negative ions in the cytosol along the inside
of the membrane, and an equal buildup of positive ions in the extracellular fluid along the outside surface of
the membrane. The buildup of charge occurs only very close to the membrane – the cytosol elsewhere in
the cell is electrically neutral. The RMP is slightly negative because leakage channels favor a gradient where
more K+ leaks out, than Na+ leaks in (there are more K+ channels than Na+ channels.)There are also large
negatively charged proteins that always remain in the cytosol. Left unchecked, inward leakage of Na+ would
eventually destroy the resting membrane potential.The small inward Na+ leak and outward K+ leak are offset
by the Na+/K+ ATPases (sodium-potassium pumps) which pumps out Na+ as fast as it leaks in. In neurons, a

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typical value for the RMP is –70 mV (the minus sign indicates that the inside of the cell is negative relative to
the outside.) .A cell that exhibits an RMP is said to be polarized. In this state, the cell is “primed” - it is ready
to produce an action potential. In order to do so, graded potentials must first be produced in order to
depolarize the cell to threshold.A graded potential occurs whenever ion flow in mechanically gated or
ligand-gated channels produce a current that is localized – it spreads to adjacent regions for a short distance
and then dies out within a few millimeters of its point of origin.

Graded Potentials- From the RMP, a stimulus that causes the cell to be less negatively charged with respect
to the extracellular fluid is a depolarizing graded potential, and a stimulus that causes the cell to be more
negatively charged is a hyperpolarizing graded potential .Graded potentials occur mainly in the dendrites
and cell body of a neuron – they do not travel down the axon.

Action Potentials-In contrast to graded potentials, an action potential (AP) or impulse is a signal which
travels the length of the neuron.During an AP, the membrane potential reverses and then eventually is
restored to its resting state.If a neuron receives a threshold (liminal) stimulus, a full strength nerve impulse
is produced and spreads down the axon of the neuron to the axon terminals. If the stimulus is not strong
enough (subthreshold or subliminal), no nerve impulse will result. An AP has two main phases: a
depolarizing phase and a repolarizing phase.Graded potentials that result in depolarization of the neuron
from –70mV to threshold (about –55 mV in many neurons) will cause a sequence of events to rapidly unfold.
Voltage-gated Na+ channels open during the steep depolarization phase allowing Na+ to rush into the cell
and making the inside of the cell progressively more positive.Only a total of 20,000 Na+ actually enter the
cell in each little area of the membrane, but they change the potential considerably (up to +30mV). During
the repolarization, phase K+ channels open and K+ rushes outward.The cell returns to a progressively more
negative state until the RMP of –70mV is once again restored. While the voltage-gated K+ channels are open,
outflow of K+ may be large enough to cause an after-hyperpolarizing phase of the action potential. During
this phase, the voltage-gated K+ channels remain open and the membrane potential becomes even more
negative (about –90 mV). As the voltage-gated K+ channels close, the membrane potential returns to the
resting level of –70 mV.According to the all-or-none principle, if a stimulus reaches threshold, the action
potential is always the same.A stronger stimulus will not cause a larger impulse.

After initiating an action potential, there is a period of time called the absolute refractory period during
which a cell cannot generate another AP, no matter how strong the stimulus.This period coincides with the
period of Na+ channel activation and inactivation (inactivated Na+ channels must first return to the resting
state.)This places an upper limit of 10–1000 nerve impulses per second, depending on the neuron.The
relative refractory period is the period of time during which a second action potential can be initiated, but
only by a larger-than-normal stimulus. It coincides with the period when the voltage-gated K+ channels are
still open after inactivated Na+ channels have returned to their resting state. In contrast to action potentials,
graded potentials do not exhibit a refractory period.

Propagation of the AP down the length of the axon begins at the trigger zone near the axon hillock.By
passive spread, the current proceeds by (a) continuous conduction in unmyelinated axons, or by the much
faster process of (b) saltatory conduction in myelinated axons (as the AP jumps from one node to the
next).In addition to the nodes of Ranvier that allow saltatory conduction, the speed of an AP is also affected

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by: The axon diameter,The amount of myelination ,The temperature,The frequency of AP plays a crucial role
in determining the perception of a stimulus, or the extent of our response.In addition to this “frequency
code,” a second important factor is the number of neurons recruited (activated) to the cause.

Fiber Types- The characteristics of the neuronal axon define the “fiber types”. A fibers are large, fast (130
m/sec), myelinated neurons that carry touch and pressure sensations; many motor neurons are also of this
type. B fibers are of medium size and speed (15 m/sec) and comprise myelinated visceral sensory &
autonomic preganglionic neurons.C fibers are the smallest and slowest (2 m/sec) and comprise
unmyelinated sensory and autonomic motor neurons.

Synaptic Transmission-Signal transmission at the synapse is a one-way transfer from a presynaptic neuron
to a postsynaptic neuron. When an AP reaches the end bulb of axon terminals, voltage-gated Ca2+ channels
open and Ca2+ flows inward, triggering release of the neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter crosses the
synaptic cleft and binds to ligand-gated receptors on the postsynaptic membrane. The more
neurotransmitter released, the greater the number and intensity of graded potentials in the postsynaptic
cell. In this way, the presynaptic neuron converts an electrical signal (nerve impulse) into a chemical signal
(released neurotransmitter). The postsynaptic neuron receives the chemical signal and in turn generates an
electrical signal (postsynaptic potential).The time required for these processes at a chemical synapse
produces a synaptic delay of about 0.5 msec. Neurotransmitters-Both excitatory and inhibitory
neurotransmitters are present in the CNS and PNS.The same neurotransmitter may be excitatory in some
locations and inhibitory in others.For example, acetylcholine (ACh) is a common neurotransmitter released
by many PNS neurons (and some in the CNS). Ach is excitatory at the NMJ but inhibitory at other synapses.

Neurotransmitter effects can be modified in many ways:Synthesis can be stimulated or inhibited. Release
can be blocked or enhanced.Removal can be stimulated or blocked.The receptor site can be blocked or
activated.An agonist is any chemical that enhances or stimulates the effects at a given receptor.An
antagonist is a chemical that blocks or diminishes the effects at a given receptor.

Postsynaptic Potentials-A neurotransmitter causes either an excitatory or an inhibitory graded potential:

Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) causes a depolarization of the postsynaptic cell, bringing it closer
to threshold. Although a single EPSP normally does not initiate a nerve impulse, the postsynaptic cell does
become more excitable. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) hyperpolarizes the postsynaptic cell taking
it farther from threshold.

Neurotransmitter Clearance-If a neurotransmitter could linger in the synaptic cleft, it would influence the
postsynaptic neuron, muscle fiber, or gland cell indefinitely – removal of the neurotransmitter is essential
for normal function.Removal is accomplished by diffusion out of the synaptic cleft, enzymatic degradation,
and re-uptake by cells. An example of a common neurotransmitter inactivated through enzymatic
degradation is acetylcholine. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase breaks down acetylcholine in the synaptic
cleft.

Neural Circuits-A neuronal network may contain thousands or even millions of neurons.Types of circuits
include diverging, converging, reverberating, and parallel after-discharge.

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