CULAS, R.

, NERVOUS SYSTEM

Examination of the Function of the Nervous System: Brain, Spinal Cord, Neurons, and Sensory
Reflexes

by
Remely Culas
October 19, 2015
Physiology
Westminster High School
Instructor: Graham

Introduction

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system is the major controlling, regulatory, and communicating system in
the body. The nervous system is where all thoughts, memory, and learning occur. There are three
general functions that the nervous system has; Sensory, Integrative, and Motor. Like other
systems in the body, the nervous system is composed of organs, principally the brain, spinal cord,
nerves, and ganglia. These, in turn, consist of various tissues, including nerve, blood, and
connective tissue. Together these carry out the complex activities of the nervous system. The
Central and Peripheral nervous system makes up the nervous system. The Peripheral nervous
system consist of also Autonomic and Somatic nervous system. The Nervous system also is
linked to a reaction called Action Potential.

Neurons

There are different parts to a neuron and each neuron has a specific job. There are
Dendrites, Soma, Axon, Myelin Sheath, Synapse, and Axon terminal. Each part has a specific job

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

in order for the next neuron to receive the information. Neurons make up an action potential,
when activated. Action potentials are propagated changes in the membrane potential that, once
initiated, affect an entire excitable membrane. These electrical events are also known as the nerve
impulses. The Dendrites are responsible for sending the information through the soma to the
axon. The Dendrites receive information, typically from other neurons. They often look likes

branches or spikes extending out from the cell body. The main portion of the cell is called the
soma or cell body. The soma contains the nucleus, which in turn contains the genetic material in
the form of chromosomes. Then there are axons which are hard to distinguish from the dendrites.

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Axons transmit electrochemical signals to other neurons. the axons can be as long as three feet.
Axons are usually covered in something called the Myelin Sheath. Myelin Sheath is a series of
fatty cells which have wrapped around an axon many times.
There are three types of neurons; Sensory, Motor, and Interneurons. Sensory neurons are
sensitive to various non-neural stimuli. Afferent neurons. They form the afferent division of the
PNS. Motor neurons are able to stimulate muscle cells throughout the body. Efferent neurons.
They form the efferent division of the PNS. The human body has about half a million motor
neuron. Interneurons are the neurons that provide connections between sensory and motor
neurons. They are usually located between the sensory and motor neurons.
There are about five neurotransmitters; Acetylcholine, Dopamine, Glutamate, Serotonin,
Endorphins. Acetylcholine is responsible for much of the stimulation of muscles, including the
muscles of the gastrointestinal system. Dopamine is a CNS neurotransmitter that is released in
many areas of the brain. Dopamine is strongly associated with reward mechanisms in the brain.
Drugs like cocaine, opium, heroin, and alcohol increase the levels of dopamine, as does nicotine.
Glutamate is important in memory and learning. Glutamate is the most important excitatory
neurotransmitter in the brain. It is the most common neurotransmitter in the central nervous
system - as much as half of all neurons in the brain - and is especially important in regards to
memory. Serotonin is important in emotional states, moods, and body temperature. Serotonin is
an inhibitory neurotransmitter. Serotonin is associated with also depression and problems with
anger control. Endorphins are inhibitory. They are involved in pain reduction and pleasure.

Nervous system

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

Ther nervous system includes the Central and Peripheral Nervous system. Each part of
the nervous system branches out into different parts of the nervous system. For example the
Peripheral nervous system branches out into the Somatic and Autonomic nervous system and the
Central Nervous system branches out into the Brain and Spinal cord.

The central nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord. These complex
organs include not only neural tissue, but also blood vessels and the various connective tissues
that physically protect and support. The Central Nervous system's main function is to integrate,
process, and coordinate sensory data that motor commands. Sensory data is responsible for
conveying information about condition inside and outside of the body. Motor commands are
responsible for controlling or adjusting peripheral organs, like skeletal muscles.
There is also the Peripheral nervous system which consist of Autonomic and Somatic
systems. The peripheral nervous system includes all the neural tissue outside the CNS. Bundles
of axons carry sensory information and motor commands in the PNS. These bundles are called

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

peripheral nerves. Nerves connected to the brain are called cranial nerves and nerves that are
connected to the spine are called spinal nerves. We can divide the PNS into afferent and efferent
divisions, each has different functions. The afferent division of the PNS brings sensory
information to the CNS from receptors in peripheral tissues and organs. The efferent division of
the PNS carries motor commands from the CNS to muscles, glands, and adipose tissue. The
peripheral nervous system can be divided up into the Autonomic and the Somatic nervous
system. The Autonomic nervous system is also known as the visceral motor system automatically
regulates smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, glandular secretions, and adipose tissue at the
subconscious level. The Autonomic system also includes Sympathetic and Parasympathetic
divisions. For example the sympathetic division will increase heart rate and the parasympathetic
division will decrease heart rate. The Somatic system controls skeletal muscle contractions.
There are two types of contractions in the Somatic system; involuntary and voluntary. Voluntary
contractions are under conscious control and involuntary contractions maybe be simple,
automatic responses or complex movements, but they are controlled at the subconscious level.
For example if you touch a hot stove and pull away, that is the involuntary contractions reacting.

Brain

There are six major brain regions; the cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon, midbrain,
pons, and medulla oblongata. The brain can be broken up into three parts; the Hindbrain,
Midbrain, and Forebrain. Each part of the brain has regions that help make up the parts of the
brain. The Hindbrain consist of the Pons, medulla, and cerebellum. The Midbrain only consist of

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

the Reticular Formation and the Forebrain consist of the Thalamus, Basal ganglia,
Hypothalamus, Limbic system, and cerebral cortex.
The Hindbrain consist of the Medulla, Pons, and Cerebellum. The Medulla Oblongata
connects the brain to the spinal cord.

Cranial Nerves

There are twelve cranial nerves that arise from the brain and brainstem. They pass
through skull foramina, fissures, or canals to exit the cranial vault and then distribute their
innervation to their respective structures in the head and neck. One of the nerves, the vagus
nerve, is the most important and the biggest cranial nerve that continues into the trunk where it
innervates various thoracic and abdominal organs. The cranial nerves are named and numbered
in Roman numeral sequence. Each nerve plays an important part of our senses for example the
Optic nerve plays a role in our sense of sight and the Olfactory nerve plays a role in our sense os
smell.
The Abducens Primary Functions is Motor function and has to do with eye movement.
The nerve comes from the Pons. Pass through the superior orbital fissures of sphenoid and goes
to the lateral rectus muscle. The Contraction of the lateral rectus muscle makes the eye look to
the side and the abducens nerve emerges from the inferior surface of the brain stem. With the
oculomotor and trochlear nerves, it reaches the orbit through the superior orbital. The Facial
Colliculus. The Abducens Nucleus.
The Primary Function of the Accessory nerve is its Motor function to muscles of the neck
and upper back. The Accessory nerve is from the Motor Nuclei of spinal cord and medulla
oblongata. Internally it inhibits the innervates voluntary muscles of palate, pharynx, and larynx

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

and externally controls sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. This is also known as spinal
accessory nerves or spinal accessory nerves . There are two parts to the Accessory nerve; cranial
and spinal root. It is also composed of aberrant vagal fibers. Also it contains the nucleus
ambiguus, which controls the motor innervation of ipsilateral muscles of the soft palate, pharynx,
larynx and upper esophagus and gets fibers from spinal accessory nucleus. Spinal accessory
nerve exits from the cranial vault through the jugular foramen.
The Primary Function of the facial nerves, is its sensory and motor function. The
Sensory origin is from the taste receptors on anterior of the tongue and it is two-thirds of it. The
motor origin is at the motor nuclei of the pons and it passes through internal acoustic meatus to
canals leading to the stylomastoid foramina. Then it goes to the pons, sensory input. Goes to the
muscles of facial expression, somatic motor. Then eventually reaches the gland and nasal
mucous glands, visceral motor. It is connected to the branchiomotor. There are two parts in the
facial nerve, facial nerve proper and nervus intermedius. The facial nerve proper is the motor
root. The nervus intermedius is sometimes referred to as the sensory root, which is a misnomer
since in addition to sensory fibers it also carries parasympathetic fibers. The nervus intermedius
consists of the axons of the GVE (secretomotor) parasympathetic neurons, whose cell bodies
reside in the superior salivatory nucleus ( pg. 267-268).
The primary function are the sensory and motor functions to the head and the neck.
sensory origin is the posterior one-third of the tongue, part of the pharynx and palate. somatic
motor origin from the pharyngeal muscles involved in swallowing and visceral motor is part of
the parotid salivary gland by the way of the otic ganglion. It goes through the jugular foramina
between the occipital bone and temporal bone. The Glossopharyngeal is smallest cranial nerve.
The glossopharyngeal nerve exits the brainstem as a group of rootlets posterior to the olive in the

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

dorsolateral sulcus. These rootlets immediately collect to form the main trunk of the
glossopharyngeal nerve, which shortly exits the cranial vault via the jugular foramen where it
presents two swellings, its superior and inferior ganglia (Fig. 15.15). The superior ganglion
contains GSA, and the inferior ganglion contains GVA and SVA, cell bodies of first order pseudo
unipolar neurons. (Basic process pg. 272). Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia is similar to Trigeminal
Neuralgia but is much less common. The shooting pain occurs in the throat, tonsil region, and
base of the tongue on one side. The pain may be spontaneous or triggered by swallowing.
(Illness)
The Hypoglossal nerve is a motor function. It is from the nuclei of the medulla oblongata
and goes through the hypoglossal canals of occipital bone. Then goes to the muscles of the
tongue. The nerve cell bodies of the hypoglossal nucleus give rise to axons that course ventrally
to arise as a series of tiny rootlets on the ventral surface of the medulla in the sulcus separating
the pyramid and the olive. These rootlets collect to form the hypoglossal nerve, which exits the
cranial vault through the hypoglossal foramen. The nerve then courses to the submandibular
region to serve the ipsilateral side of the tongue. The hypoglossal nerve innervates the intrinsic
muscles (transverse, longitudinals, and vertical) and all the extrinsic muscles of the tongue
(styloglossus, hyoglossus, and genioglossus) with the exception of the palatoglossus. ( basic
process pg. 278). Tongue weakness can result from lesions of the tongue muscles, the
neuromuscular junction, the lower motor neurons of the hypoglossal nerve, or the upper motor
neurons originating in the motor cortex. Lesions of the motor cortex cause contralateral tongue
weakness. (illness)
The Oculomotors motor function controls eye movements. It originated from the
midbrain and goes through the superior orbital fissures of sphenoid. The oculomotor nerve

CULAS,R., NERVOUS SYSTEM

supplies skeletal motor innervation to the superior rectus, medial rectus, inferior rectus, and
inferior oblique muscles and the levator palpebrae superioris muscle. It also consist of the
oculomotor nuclear complex, which is a defect in the motor neurons, because there is a
displacement on motor neurons of the oculomotor nerve. The EdingerWestphal nucleus, a
subnucleus of the oculomotor nuclear complex is located dorsally, medially, and rostral to the
GSE nuclear complex. There are three ways to test the functions of the oculomotor. For example
you can do a pupil light reflex, swinging flashlight test, and an accommodation test.
The olfactory nerve is a special sensory function and is from the receptors of olfactory
epithelium. The olfactory nerve goes through the olfactory foramina in cribriform plate of
ethmoid and then proceeds to the olfactory bulbs. The Olfactory nerve Provides parasympathetic
innervation to the ciliary and sphincter pupillae muscles, two intrinsic smooth muscles of the eye
and is situated ventral to the periaqueductal gray, adjacent to the midline at the level of the
superior colliculus. It also consist of EdingerWestphal nucleus and ciliary ganglion. When
testing the olfactory nerve, it test the olfaction and impairment can be due to nasal obstruction,
damage to the olfactory nerves in the nasal mucosa, damage to the nerves as they cross the
cribriform plate, or intracranial lesions affecting the olfactory bulbs.
The optic nerve is a special sensory nerve. The nerve is from the retina of eye and goes
through optic canals of sphenoid. Then ends up in the diencephalon by way of the optic chiasm.
The optic nerve mediates the special sense of vision via its SSA fibers and is the first order
sensory bipolar neurons of the visual pathway reside in the retina and transmit electrical signals
of visual sensory input to the multipolar second order ganglion cells of the retina. There is an
optic chiasma below the brain where two optic nerves cross each other forming an X shape.

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10

There are nasal halves and temporal haves due to the two optic nerves crossed at the back of the
brain.
The Trigeminal is a mixed function nerve that comes from the cornea, nasal cavity, skin
of forehead, upper eyelid, eyebrow, nose, cheek, upper lip, gums, and teeth. The nerve goes
through the ophthalmic branch through superior orbital fissure. Then goes to the ophthalmic,
maxillary, and mandibular branches to sensory nuclei in pons. The trigeminal system consists of
the trigeminal nerve, ganglion, nuclei, tracts, and central pathways. The nerve transmits touch,
nociception, and thermal sensation, consists of a three neuron sequence. The nerve also consist
of a trigeminal nuclei which extends to the midbrain, pons, and medulla. Also this includes the
trigeminal tracts which serves as a temperature and pain pathway that goes from the face, head,
and neck.
The Trochlear nerve serves as a motor function and originates from the midbrain. The
nerve goes through superior orbital fissures of sphenoid and to the superior oblique muscle. The
trochlear nerve provides motor innervation to only one of the extraocular muscles of the eye. The
trochlear nucleus is located in the midbrain and it is a motor nucleus. The trochlear nerve is
unique because it is the only cranial nerve whose fibers originate totally from the contralateral
nucleus
The Vagus nerve is a mixed function, both sensory and motor. widely distributed in the
thorax and abdomen. Sensory function wise it is from the pharynx, auricle and external acoustic
meatus, diaphragm, and visceral organs in thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities. Motor function
wise motor nuclei in medulla oblongata. The nerve goes through the jugular foramina between
occipital bone and temporal bones. It is one of the largest cranial nerve that has the most
extensive distribution in the body. The vagus nerve carries five functional components.

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The Vestibulocochlear nerve is a special sensory function that controls balance and
equilibrium and hearing. It is from the monitor receptors of the internal ear and goes through the
internal acoustic meatus of temporal bones. Then to the vestibular and cochlear nuclei of pons
and medulla. The vestibulocochlear nerve consists of two distinct and separate nerves enclosed
within one connective tissue sheath; vestibular nerve and cochlear nerve. Both nerves transmit
SSA information from specialized peripheral ciliated mechanoreceptors. Vestibular ganglion of
Scarpa is a defect that is located in the internal auditory meatus.
Mnemonic:
Offensive Otters Only Take The Actions For Very Gassy, Venting Sea Horses.

Brain Dissection

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Materials:

Forcep
Scissor
Scalpel
Clamp

Eye Dissection

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References

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Martini, F., Nath, J., Bartholomew, E. (2015). Neural tissue; Fundamentals of anatomy and
physiology, 10th Ed. Pearson Education, Inc. San Francisco. 385-428.
The Author introduces the neural tissues and explains the functions of the nervous
system. The Author describes the function of each nervous and explains the location in
various types of neuroglia.
Martini, F., Nath, J., Bartholomew, E. (2015). The spinal cord, spinal nerves, and spinal reflexes;
Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology, 10th Ed. Pearson Education, Inc. San
Francisco. pp. 429-460.
The basic understanding is of the spine, which includes the spinal cord, spinal nerves, and
spinal reflexes. This chapter is a helpful source of information when trying to understand
and interpret the spines contribution to the human body.
Martini, F., Nath, J., Bartholomew, E. (2015). The brain and cranial nerves; Fundamentals of
anatomy and physiology, 10th Ed. Pearson Education, Inc. San Francisco. pp. 461-507.
The chapter of the book simplifies and goes in depth with the brain and cranial nerves.
The information is good for understanding the roles the brain and cranial nerves play in
the body. Also the functions of the nerves and the brain.
University of San Diego,. (2015). Cranial Nerve Disorders, UC San Diego health system:
Neurosurgery. University California San Diego. 1-5.
Retrieved 21 October 2015, from http://neurosurgery.ucsd.edu/cranial-nerve-disorders.
This website goes in depth with Neurosurgery and the type of clinical programs that San
Diego University offers to their students. Also this is good information that would relate
to the brain and neurons.
Hal B. Neuroexam.com,. (2010). Neuroanatomy through clinical cases: Cranial Nerves.

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Retrieved 21 October 2015, from

http://www.neuroexam.com/neuroexam/content.php?p=15.
Neuroanatomy by Hal B. talks about the brain and cranial nerves through cases in the
clinic.This is helpful in cases which there would be examples needed and situations that
would be encountered.
Maira P., Leslie P. Blackwellpublishing.com,. (2015). Retrieved 22 October 2015, from
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/patestas/chapters/15.pdf
This chapter of the book informs about the cranial nerves and the types of cranial nerves.
Also this book is a good source for the types of cranial nerves and their functions.
Webspace.ship.edu,. (2015). The Neuron. Retrieved 9 December 2015, from
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/theneuron.html
This website gives a brief summary about neurons, action potential, and types of neurons.
This is good for understanding neurons in a more simplistic way.
Exploratorium.edu,. (2015). Sheep Brain Dissection: The Anatomy of Memory. Retrieved 25
November 2015, from http://www.exploratorium.edu/memory/braindissection/1.html
This website informs about the sheep brain and the functions of each parts of the brain.
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of the sheep brain.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2015, October 13). How the brain controls sleep: Brain
structure generates pockets of sleep within the brain.
This helps in informing about the brain and how it controls sleep. Also helps in
generating the
structure of the brain as it is asleep.

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ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 22, 2015 from

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151019130750.htm 2/3
10/22/2015 Young babies don't experience tickles in the way you think they do -ScienceDaily
This helps in informing about the nerves in a baby's body. Also helps in understanding
how babies interpret some senses and respond to them.
Rockefeller University Press. (2014, May 26). Neurons can use local stores for communication
needs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 25, 2015 from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140526101843.htm
This helps in informing about the neurons and how they can store communicational
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Boeree, G. (2015). Neurotransmitters.Webspace.ship.edu. Retrieved 30 November 2015, from
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www2.estrellamountain.edu,. (2015). the nervous system. Retrieved November 30 2015, from
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This website helps with the nervous system and the
Instantanatomy.net,. (2016). Instant Anatomy - Head and Neck - Nerves - Cranial Branchiomotor . Retrieved 18 January 2016, from
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