CHAPTER 44 NEUROSCIENCE II: EVOLUTION AND FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEMS

Prepared by

Brenda Leady, University of Toledo

Copyright (c) The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Outline the detailed organization of the human nervous system. Trace the representative fates of nervous impulses through the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Identify the regions of the human hindbrain and forebrain, and briefly describe what each region regulates or influences. Compare and contrast short-term and long-term memory. Discuss several ways in which brain images are used to 2 assess brain structure and function.

Nervous system is the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolution Development provided advantages that promoted reproductive success Organization ranges from simple network of a few cells to complexity of human brain

Representative nervous systems

Except for sponges, all animals have a nervous system What distinguishes the nervous systems of different animal groups Is how the neurons are organized into circuits Nerve net Simplest nervous system Cnidarians (jellyfish, hydras, anemones) Neurons connect to each other in a network

Echinoderms

Slightly more sophisticated Nerve ring around mouth connected to larger radial nerves extending to arms Nerve cords extend length of animal connected by transverse nerves Collection of neurons in head form ganglia Perform basic integration

Planaria

Annelids
Same

basic structure More neurons Ventral nerve cords have ganglia in each segment

Simple mollusks
Similar

to annelids Pair of anterior ganglia Paired nerve cords

Trend toward cephalization increasingly complex brain in the head Drosophila

Brain

has several subdivisions with separate functions with welldeveloped subdivisions

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Advanced mollusks
Brains

Vertebrates and simpler chordates have a CNS (brain and spinal cord) and PNS Organization shows similarities to segmentation of invertebrates

Nervous systems process information in Information Processing three stages

Sensory

input, integration, and motor output

Sensory input

Sensor

Integration

Motor output

Effector
Figure 48.3

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Central nervous system (CNS)

3 divisions of vertebrate brain

Entire nervous system develops from neural fold in embryo Hindbrain

Metencephalon Myelencephalon

Midbrain
Mesencephalon

Forebrain
Telencephalon Diencephalon
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Hindbrain
oblongata coordinates many basic reflexes and bodily functions Pons and cerebellum responsible for monitoring and coordinating body movements
Medulla

Midbrain
Processes several types of sensory Controls sophisticated tasks

input

Forebrain
Higher

functions of conscious thought, planning and emotion Cerebrum Cerebral cortex outer layer of cerebrum Thalamus and hypothalamus
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Increased brain complexity

Size of cerebrum and surface area of cerebral cortex (convolutions) increased with more complex nervous systems

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Body mass and brain mass proportional with exceptions (humans and dolphins) Greater size and folding provides more surface area for greater processing and interpretation of information

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Human nervous system

Central nervous system (CNS)

Brain

and spinal cord and axons of neurons outside the

Peripheral nervous system (PNS)

Neurons

CNS

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The PNS can be divided into two functional components

The

somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system

Peripheral nervous system

Somatic nervous system

Autonomic nervous system

Sympathetic division

Parasympathetic division

Enteric division

Figure 48.21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li5nMs Xg1Lk

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Nucleus cell bodies of neurons involved in a similar function in the CNS Ganglion similar structure in PNS Tract myelinated axons that run in parallel bundles in the CNS Nerves similar structure in PNS Cranial nerves are connected directly to the brain Spinal nerves are connections between the PNS and spinal cord

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White matter
Myelinated

axons grouped together

Gray matter
Neuronal

cell bodies, dendrites and some unmyelinated axons

Spinal cord gray matter forms

horns connects to dorsal root, part of spinal nerve, incoming information Ventral horns connects to ventral root, part of spinal nerve, outgoing information
Dorsal
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CNS encased in bone and 3 layers of meninges

Dura mater outer thick layer Arachnoid mater numerous connections

to inner layer Pia mater inner thin membrane on surface of brain and spinal cord

Cerebrospinal fluid circulated through subarachnoid space

Between arachnoid mater and Absorbs physical shocks Transport Ventricles and central canal

pia mater

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PNS divisions

Somatic nervous system

Sensory

neurons (afferent) receive stimuli such as heat, vision, smell, taste, hearing, touch and transmit to CNS Motor neurons (efferent) control skeletal muscles voluntary

Autonomic nervous system

Predominantly

composed of motor neurons (efferent) control smooth muscles, cardiac muscles and glands involuntary Sensory neurons (afferent) detect internal body conditions

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Efferent nerves of autonomic further divided Act on same organs with opposing actions Sympathetic division
fight

or flight Increased heart rate, faster breathing

Parasympathetic division
rest

and digest Slow heart rate, promote digestion

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The sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions

Have
Parasympathetic division

antagonistic effects on target organs

Sympathetic division Action on target organs:

Action on target organs:

Dilates pupil of eye Inhibits salivary gland secretion Sympathetic ganglia Cervical Relaxes bronchi in lungs Accelerates heart Location of preganglionic neurons: thoracic and lumbar segments of spinal cord

Location of preganglionic neurons: brainstem and sacral segments of spinal cord

Constricts pupil of eye Stimulates salivary gland secretion Constricts bronchi in lungs Slows heart

Neurotransmitter released by preganglionic neurons: acetylcholine

Neurotransmitter released by preganglionic neurons: acetylcholine

Location of postganglionic neurons: in ganglia close to or within target organs

Stimulates activity of stomach and intestines Stimulates activity of pancreas

Thoracic

Inhibits activity of stomach and intestines Inhibits activity of pancreas Stimulates glucose release from liver; inhibits gallbladder Location of postganglionic neurons: some in ganglia close to target organs; others in a chain of ganglia near spinal cord

Neurotransmitter released by postganglionic neurons: acetylcholine

Stimulates gallbladder

Lumbar Stimulates adrenal medulla Neurotransmitter released by postganglionic neurons: norepinephrine

Promotes emptying of bladder Promotes erection of genitalia

Inhibits emptying of bladder Promotes ejaculation and vaginal contractions

Figure 48.22

Synapse

Sacral

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J968Wc o1u0s sympathetic verses parasympathetic

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Main parts of the brain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6KpIrK CDwg&feature=related

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Hindbrain

Medulla oblongata
Coordinates

many basic reflexes and bodily functions that maintain the normal homeostatic processes of a person Involved in the control of heart rate, breathing, cardiovascular function, digestion, swallowing, and vomiting With pons and areas of the midbrain, collectively called the brainstem, contain additional nuclei (groups of cell bodies) whose axons project dorsally to many other parts of the brain
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Hindbrain

Cerebellum and pons

Responsible

for monitoring and coordinating body movements Pons serves as relay between cerebellum and other areas of the brain Overall function of cerebellum to maintain balance and coordinate hand-eye movements

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Midbrain
Forms part of the reticular formation Processes several types of sensory inputs, including vision, smell, and hearing Tracts that pass this information to other parts of the brain for further processing and interpretation

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Forebrain

Thalamus and hypothalamus (diencephalon) Cerebrum (telencephalon) basal nuclei, limbic system and cerebral cortex

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Forebrain

Thalamus
Major

role in relaying sensory information to appropriate parts of the cerebrum and, in turn, sending outputs from the cerebrum to other parts of the brain Receives input from all sensory systems

Hypothalamus
Major

role of production of hormones regulating pituitary gland which regulates hormone secretion from other glands
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Forebrain

Basal nuclei
Involved in planning and learning movements Involved in initiating or inhibiting movements Affected in Parkinson disease

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Limbic system
Not

all agree on members of limbic system Primarily involved in formation and expression of emotions Role in learning, memory, and perception of smells Amygdala understand and remember emotional situations, recognize emotional expressions in others Hippocampus establish memories for spatial locations, facts, and sequences of events

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Forebrain

Cerebral cortex
Surface

layer of gray matter on the cerebrum Neocortex layer evolved most recently in mammals with only 6 layers of cells Contains 10% of neurons in the brain Sensory and motor information integrated Initiation of voluntary acts, generation of speech, learning, memory, and production of emotions
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Frontal conscious thought and social awareness Parietal attention and making association between events and incoming information Occipital vision Temporal language, learning, and some types of memory

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Sensory inputs come into the cortex and motor outputs leave the cortex in areas that stretch like a map Amount of space proportional to sensitivity or number of muscles May change depending on use or disuse of body part
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Cerebral hemispheres connected by corpus collosum Severing connection used in the past to treat severe epilepsy Hemispheres can function independently Process different types of information Left hemisphere understanding language and producing speech Right hemisphere nonverbal memories, recognizing faces, and interpreting emotions

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Several Genes Have Been Important in the Evolution of the Cerebral Cortex

Genes identified by studying developmentally disabled individuals or comparing human genes to other species Polymicrogyria results in mental impairment, disrupted gait and language production
Abnormal surface folds and fewer layers of cells Mutations alter receptors ability to bind ligand

Microcephalin and ASPM genes

Determinants of brain size May be involved in brain evolution

greater changes in

humans and great apes

Learning and memory

Learning process by which new information is acquired Memory involves retention of that information over time Long-term potentiation (LTP)
Long-lasting

strengthening of connections between

neurons Experiments with rabbits showed short, electrical stimulations to a neuron strengthened synapses with adjacent cells Neurons communicated more readily
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Work with California sea slug (Aplysia californica) Has only 20,000 nerve cells Some neurons extremely large Can isolate proteins and mRNA to identify biochemical and genetic changes during learning Gill-withdrawal reflex subject to learning
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Sea slugs process in 2 phases Short-term memory lasts for minutes or hours
Typically single stimulus No new proteins Intracellular second messengers

make it easier for

neurons to communicate

Long-term memory lasts days or weeks

Repeated stimuli Activates genes, leads

to mRNA synthesis, new proteins for additional synaptic connections

Learning does not change neuron pathways but changes strength of signals along those pathways
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Neurogenesis

Until recently, adult brain thought incapable of producing new neurons through cell division Late 1990s, stem cells found in primate and human CNS 1998, found new hippocampal cells in recently deceased patients Some evidence suggests that neurogenesis is involved in learning and memory
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Neuorgenesis

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/nextworldneurogenesis.html

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Brain images in assessment

Computerized tomography (CT) scan 3D image based on density but not great detail Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) detection of structures as small as 1/10th mm Function MRI (fMRI) modification to assess functional activity based on oxygen in active tissue
Oxygenated

hemoglobin increases in metabolically

active areas
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Gaser and Schlaug Showed That the Sizes of Certain Brain Structures Differ Between Musicians and Nonmusicians

Used MRI to examine sizes of brain structures in professional musicians, amateur musicians, and nonmusicians Brain areas involved in hearing, moving the fingers, and coordinating movements with vision and hearing were larger in professional musicians than in amateur musicians, and larger in amateurs than in nonmusicians Have not determined underlying reason(s) for increased brain size

People with increased brain size in these areas may be more likely to become musicians or musical training may cause these areas to enlarge

Impact on public health

Meningitis
Viral

or bacterial infection of meninges Increased pressure effects range from severe headaches to death Bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics Viral form less serious and short lasting Vaccine has reduced cases but still dangerous and prevalent disease (especially close quarters like college dorms)
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Alzheimers disease (AD)

Leading worldwide cause of dementia Characterized by memory loss and intellectual

and

emotional function Definitive diagnosis can only be made after death 2 noticeable changes senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles Not clear how changes influence function Genetics plays a role but not the only possible cause Impact on public health enormous especially as baby boomers age
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KWL Jeopardy http://staff.washington.edu/chudler/jeopard y.html

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