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Control and coordination2

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11 views

Control and coordination2

Uploaded by

mdaniyal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Control and coordination-2

Spinal cord
• All the cell bodies, apart from those in the dorsal
root ganglia, are concentrated in the central
region called the grey matter. The white matter
consists of nerve fibres.
• The dorsal roots (posterior roots) allow sensory
neurons to enter the spinal cord.
• Along each dorsal root is small bulge called the
dorsal root ganglion (or spinal ganglion). Inside
the ganglia are the cell bodies of the sensory
neurons.
• The dorsal and ventral nerve roots fuse to form
a spinal nerve Openings between the vertebrae
allow the spinal nerves to enter and exit the
vertebral column.
Reflex arc
How to describe a reflex action ?
• Ex:
• The pin (the stimulus) is detected
by a pain/pressure/touch
receptor in the skin
• Sensory neuron sends electrical
impulses to the spinal cord (the
coordinator)
• Electrical impulse is passed on to
relay neuron in the spinal cord
• Relay neuron connects to motor
neuron and passes the impulse
on
• Motor neuron carries impulse to
a muscle in the leg (the effector)
• The muscle will contract and pull
the foot up and away from the
sharp object (the response)
Synapse
• The junction between two neurones is known as a synapse
• Synapses slow down the rate of transmission of a
nerve impulse that has to travel along two or more
neurones
• Responses to a stimulus would be much quicker if action
potentials generated in a receptor travelled along
an unbroken neuronal pathway from receptor to
effector, rather than having to cross synapses on the way
• Although this seems disadvantageous or sub-optimal,
synapses are very important for several reasons:
How an Impulse is Passed Across a Synapse

• Neurons never touch each other


• The junctions (gaps) in between them are called synapses
• The electrical impulse travels along the first axon
• This triggers the nerve-ending of the presynaptic neuron to
release chemical messengers called neurotransmitters from
vesicles which fuse with the presynaptic membrane
• The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic gap
and bind with receptor molecules on the membrane of the
second neuron (known as the post synaptic membrane)
• This stimulates the second neuron to generate an electrical
impulse that travels down the second axon
Parts of a Synapse
How to describe a synaptic transmission of nerve impulses
• The neurotransmitters are
then destroyed to prevent
continued stimulation of
the second neuron which
would cause repeated
impulses to be sent
• Synapses ensure that
impulses only travel in one
direction, avoiding
confusion within the nervous
system if impulses were
travelling in both directions
• As this is the only part of the
nervous system where
messages are chemical as
opposed to electrical, it is
the only place where
drugs can act to affect
the nervous system – eg
this is where heroin works
• Heroin, for example,
stimulates receptor
molecules in synapses in
the brain, triggering the
release of dopamine
(a neurotransmitter),
which gives a short-lived
‘high’.
• Spider toxin, and also the
toxin released by tetanus
(an infection caused by
Clostridium bacteria),
breaks down vesicles,
releasing massive amounts
of transmitter substance
and disrupting normal
synaptic function.
• Symptoms caused by the
tetanus toxin include
muscle spasms, lock-jaw
and heart failure

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