Excitable Tissue and

Autonomic Nervous
System
Physiologic Anatomy
of the Neuron
 Brain Cells
• The brain is made up of two types of cells:
• Glia cells and Neuronal cells.
• Glia cells outnumber the neuronal cells in the ratio of
10:1
• Glia cells insulate, support and nourish neurons
• Neurons process information, sense environmental
changes, communicate changes to other neurons and
command the body’s responses to environmental
stimuli.
 Glia (Neuroglia)
• Smaller than neurons
• 5 to 50 times more numerous
Two types in PNS
• Schwann cells, myelin forming cells
• Satellite cells
Four types in the CNS
• Astrocytes
• Oligodendrocytes, myelin forming cells
• Microglia
• Ependymal cells
 The Neuron Doctrine
• A cell is the individual functional unit of all living
organisms.
• Neurons are the basic structural and functional
unit of the nervous system : Neurons conform
to Cell Theory.
• The nervous system is made up of the Central NS
and the Peripheral NS
 Neuron Gross Anatomy
• Neurons are structurally different from other cells in
the body.
• Their unique structure help them to perform their
function.
- Dendrites
- Cell body or Soma
- Axon
- Nerve ending/Synapses
Cell Structure of Neurons
Cell Structure of Neurons
 Neuron Classification
• Neurons can be classified according to
• Structural Classification: number of processes (axons and
dendrites) that extend from the soma
• Unipolar: a neuron that has a single neurite
• Bipolar: a neuron that has two neurite one axon,
• Multipolar: a neuron that has three or more neurite
• Function
• Sensory neurons carry messages toward brain
• Motor neurons carry messages from brain to muscles and glands
• Interneurons connect neuronal cells
• Neurotransmitter released by neuron
• Effects of neurotransmitter (excitatory vs. inhibitory)
9/13/23 11
 Functional Classification of
Neurons
Neurons can be divided into three functional
classes
1. Afferent neurons
2. Efferent neurons
3. Interneurons

9/13/23 12
 Functional Classification of
Neurons
Neurons can be divided into three functional classes
1. Afferent neurons: Transmits information into the CNS
from receptors at their peripheral nerve endings
2. Efferent neurons: Transmits information out of the
CNS to effector cells, particularly muscles, glands,
neurons and other cells
3. Interneurons: Connect groups of afferent and
efferent neurons into reflex circuits and they lie
entirely within the CNS, and they account for about
90% of all neurons.

9/13/23 13
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 Electrical Signals in Neurons
• Neurons have a resting membrane potential (like all cells)
• Membrane potential is negative at rest (-70mV)
• Neurons are excitable
• Can rapidly change their membrane potential
• Depolarization – membrane potential becomes less negative
• Repolarization – membrane potential returns to resting value
• Hyperpolarization – membrane potential becomes more
negative than resting value
• Changes in membrane potential act as electrical signals
9/13/23 16
 The action potential (AP)
• An action potential is a regenerating depolarization of
membrane potential that propagates (conducted without
decrement) along an excitable membrane
Action Potentials (AP)

• Occur only when membrane

potential at axon hillock
reaches threshold
• Three phases:
• Depolarization
• Repolarization
• Hyperpolarization
• Absolute refractory period
• Cell incapable of generating a
new AP
• Relative refractory period
• More difficult to generate new
AP
Voltage-Gated Channels
• Change shape due to changes in membrane
potential
• Closed at resting potential
• Positive feedback
• Influx of Na+  local depolarization  more
Na+ channels open  more depolarization
• Na+ channels open first (depolarization)
• K+ channels open more slowly (repolarization)
• Na+ channels close
• K+ channels close slowly
• relative refractory period caused by open K+
channels
Voltage-Gated Ion Channels
• Na+
• depolarization
• K+
• repolarization
• Ca2+
• neurotransmitter release
 Properties of the Action Potential

• The action potential:

• Is an “all or none” event: membrane potential either
passes threshold or doesn’t
• Is propagated down the axon membrane
• Notion of successive patches of membrane
• Has a fixed amplitude: AP’s don’t change in height to
signal information (nondegremental)
• Has a conduction velocity (meters/sec)
• Has a refractory period in which stimulation will not
produce an AP (limits the firing rate). it is the minimum
amount of time required before the area of the membrane
becomes capable of responding to a stimulus
Properties of the Action
Potential Cont..
• All or non law:
• Application of a threshold stimulus either produces a full
response or not at all.
• Further increase in the intensity of a stimulus produces no
increment or other changes in action potential.
• The action potential failed to occur if the stimulus is sub-
threshold, it produces only local changes with no
propagation.
• Latent period in a nerve: it is a period corresponding to
the time taken from the site of simulation till the recording
electrode.

22
 Graded Potential
• GP in neurons are depolarizations or hyper
polarizations that occur in the dendrites and cell
body or, less frequently, near the axon terminals.
• These changes in membrane potential are called
“graded” because their size, or amplitude is
directly proportional to the strength of the
triggering event.
• A large stimulus will cause a strong graded
potential, and a small stimulus will result in a
weak graded potential.

9/13/23 23
 Graded Potential
• So GP is a potential change of variable
amplitude and duration that is conducted
decrementally, they usually die out in 1-2 mm
of the origin. It has no threshold and refractory
period.
• GPs are given various names related to the
location of the potential or the function they
perform, for instance, receptor potential,
synaptic potential and pacemaker potential are
all different types of GPs.

9/13/23 24
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 Myelination

• Vertebrate neurons are myelinated

• Myelin
• Insulating layer of lipid-rich Schwann cells
wrapped around axon
• Reduce “leakage” of charge across
membrane
• Schwann cells are a type of Glial cell
• Cells other than neurons that support neuron
function
9/13/23 27
 Myelination…
• Nodes of Ranvier
• Areas of exposed
axonal membrane
between
Schwann cells
• Internodes
• The myelinated
region
• Saltatory
conduction
• APs “leap” from
node to node
• APs occur at
nodes of Ranvier,
and electrotonic
current spread
through
internodes
• This type of
conduction is very
rapid
 Why Myelinate a Neuron?
• Conduction velocity is increased
• Size requirement is diminished
• Electrical insulation
• Reduced cell-energy requirement
 Effect of Myelin on
Conduction Velocity

The two neurons illustrated below would have equal

conduction velocities.

6 mm diameter
myelinated

500 mm diameter
unmyelinated
Saltatory Conduction: Action Potential
Propagation in a Myelinated Axon

Dentistry 07 31
 Functions of action potentials
• Information delivery to CNS : carriage of all sensory input to
CNS.
• Information encoding :The frequency of APs encodes
information
• Rapid transmission over distance (nerve cell APs)
• Note: speed of transmission depends on fiber size and
whether it is myelinated. Information of lesser importance
carried by slowly conducting unmyelinated fibers.
• In non-nervous tissue APs are the initiators of a range of cellular
responses
• muscle contraction
• secretion (eg. Adrenalin from chromaffin cells of medulla)
 APPLICATIONS
• Local anesthetics are • Multiple Sclerosis: It is a
demyelinating disease. It
drugs that temporarily attacks the myelin sheaths of
block action potentials bundles of axons in the brain,
in axons. They are spinal cord and optic nerves.
called Local because So victims of MS often
complain of weakness, lack of
they are injected vision and speech.
directly into the tissue • Sclerosis is a Greek word for
where anesthesia (the hardening. Sclerosis is multiple
absence of sensation) is because the disease attacks
desired. many sites in the nervous
system at the same time
Physiology of Muscle
and Neuromuscular
Transmission
Properties of Muscle
• Excitability: capacity of muscle to
respond to a stimulus
• Contractility: ability of a muscle to
shorten and generate pulling force
• Extensibility: muscle can be
stretched back to its original length
• Elasticity: ability of muscle to recoil to
original resting length after stretched
 Types of Muscle
• Skeletal
• Attached to bones
• Makes up 40% of body weight
• Responsible for locomotion, facial expressions, posture, respiratory
movements, other types of body movement
• Voluntary in action; controlled by somatic motor neurons
• Smooth
• In the walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, eye, glands, uterus, skin
• Some functions: propel urine, mix food in digestive tract,
dilating/constricting pupils, regulating blood flow,
• In some locations, autorhythmic
• Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic nervous systems
• Cardiac
• Heart: major source of movement of blood
• Autorhythmic
• Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic nervous systems
SKELETAL MUSCLE
Skeletal muscle functions

• Produce skeletal movement

• Maintain posture and body position
• Support soft tissues
• Guard entrances and exits
• Maintain body temperature
 Connective Tissue Sheaths
• Connective Tissue of a Muscle
• Epimysium. Dense regular c.t. surrounding entire muscle
• Separates muscle from surrounding tissues and organs
• Perimysium. Collagen and elastic fibers surrounding a group
of muscle fibers called a fascicle
• Contains blood vessels and nerves
• Endomysium. Loose connective tissue that surrounds
individual muscle fibers
• Also contains blood vessels, nerves, and satellite cells
• Collagen fibers of all 3 layers come together at each end
of muscle to form a tendon or aponeurosis. Tendons or
aponeuroses attach muscle to bone or muscle
The Structure of a Skeletal Muscle FB
 Skeletal muscle fibers

• Sarcolemma (cell membrane)

• Sarcoplasm (muscle cell cytoplasm)
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum (modified ER)
• T-tubules and myofibrils aid in contraction
• Sarcomeres – regular arrangement of myofibrils
Sarcolemma and
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR)
• SR is an elaborate, smooth endoplasmic reticulum
• runs longitudinally and surrounds each myofibril
• SR stores Ca++ when muscle is not contracting
• When stimulated, calcium is released into sarcoplasm
• SR membrane has Ca++ pumps that function to pump Ca++ out
of the sarcoplasm back into the SR after contraction
Sarcomere: functional unit of striated muscle
Levels of Functional Organization in Skeletal
Muscle Fiber
 • Muscles consists of two heavy myosin
Myosin molecules wound together to form a rod
portion lying parallel to the myosin

(Thick)
myofilament and two heads that extend
laterally.

Myofilament • Myosin heads

1. Can bind to active sites on the actin
molecules to form cross-bridges.
(Actin binding site)
2. Have ATPase activity: activity that
breaks down adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), releasing energy. Part of the
energy is used to bend the hinge
region of the myosin molecule during
contraction
 Actin (Thin)
Myofilaments

• Thin Filament: composed

of 3 major proteins
1. Actin
2. Tropomyosin
3. Troponin
• Actin site bind
myosin during
muscle
contraction.
Actin filament
Sliding Filament Model of
Contraction
• Thin filaments slide past the thick ones so that
the actin and myosin filaments overlap to a
greater degree
• In the relaxed state, thin and thick filaments
overlap only slightly
• Upon stimulation, myosin heads bind to actin
and sliding begins
Changes in the appearance of a Sarcomere
during the Contraction of a Skeletal Muscle Fiber
Z line Z line
Sarcomere Relaxed
Sarcomere Partially
Contracted
Sarcomere Completely Contracted
 Rigor Mortis
• If the supply of ATP becomes depleted, attached
crossbrigdes are unable to detach, and the muscle
becomes stiff and unable to relax, so there is
permanent attachments between the thick and thin
filaments.
• This condition is known as rigor mortis, which
occurs after death as the supplies of ATP in the
muscle become exhausted.
Muscle contraction: Cell events

Figure 11.13
Neuromuscular Junction
Neuromuscular Junction
Acetylcholine Opens Na+ Channel
 Acetylcholine synthesis:
• In the cholinergic neurons acetylcholine is
synthesized from choline. This reaction is
activated by cholineacetyltransferase

As soon as acetylcholine is
synthesized, it is stored within
synaptic vesicles.

61
 Release of acetylcholine
from presynaptic neurons:

1) When the nerve impulse (Action potential) moves down the presynaptic

axon to the terminal bulb the change in the membrane action potential causes

the opening of voltage gated Ca+2 into the axonal bulb.

2) Within the bulb the increase in Ca +2 concentration causes the synaptic

vesicles that contain acetylcholine to fuse with the axonal membrane and

open spilling their contents into the synaptic cleft.

 Synaptic events
• The AP reaches the axonal
bulb
• Voltage-gated calcium
channels open
• The influx of calcium in the
bulb activates enzymes
the vesicles containing the
neurotransmitter molecule
dock and release the
neurotransmitter in the
synapse
• The neurotransmitter for
skeletal muscles is always
acetylcholine
• The receptors on the muscle
fiber are cholinergic
receptors
• These receptors are
nicotinic (fast) acting
receptors
 Muscle Contraction
• Ach binds with receptors in the muscle
membrane to allow sodium to enter
• Sodium influx will generate an action potential in
the sarcolemma
• Action potential travels down into the muscle
membrane
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum releases calcium
• Binding of myosin and actin occurs, thereby
bringing about contraction.
.
 Removal of
Acetylcholine from
the synaptic cleft:
• In order to ready the synapse for another impulses:
• 1) The neurotransmitters, which are released from the synaptic
vesicles, are hydrolyzed by enzyme present in the synaptic cleft
“Acetylcholinestrase” giving choline, which poorly binds to acetylcholine
receptors.

Acetylcholinestrase

Acetylcholine + H2O Choline + H+ acetate

• 2) The empty synaptic vesicles, which are returned to the axonal

terminal bulb by endocytosis, must be filled with acetylcholine.

65
 Muscle relaxation
• Ach is removed from the
receptors by
acetylcholinesterase
• Ligand-gated Na+channels
close
• Na/K pumps reestablish the
RMP
• Ca++ ions leave troponin and
are brought back into the SR
(this process needs energy)
• The myosin heads release
their binding to actin
• The filaments passively move
back into resting position
 Myasthenia Gravis
• It is an autoimmune disease where the immune
system of affected individuals generates
antibodies against the bodies own nicotinic Ach
receptors. The antibodies bind to the receptors,
interfering with the normal actions of Ach at the
neuromuscular junction. So a muscle action
potential does not result from a nerve impulse,
and so the muscle fail to contract.
• The disease is characterized by muscular
weakness and extreme fatigue of voluntary
muscle.