To review:

neurons receive messages as generator

potentials, at synapses on the dendrites
or soma (cell body).
-- may be excitatory or inhibitory
neurons send messages as action potentials,
which self-propagate down axons to target cells.
-- action potentials are all or nothing
-- all action potentials on a particular
neuron are identical.
therefore, a neuron can send different

Message information coding via the

number or frequency of action potentials:
0

Message #1

mV
-100
0

Message #2

mV
-100
0

Message #3

mV

messages only by varying the number or

frequency of action potentials.

At any one synapse, messages are either excitatory or inhibitory

How does a nervous system (a bunch of neurons

connected together) process information and make
decisions?

How does a nervous system (a bunch of neurons

connected together) process information and make
decisions?

Fundamental question is: What causes a neuron

Fundamental question is: What causes a neuron

to trigger an action potential?

to trigger an action potential?

this happens when membrane potential at the base

of the axon exceeds threshold voltage
-- many neurons spontaneously generate APs,
but this output can be modified.

this happens when membrane potential at the base

all
theaxon
excitatory
and inhibitory
of the
exceeds threshold
voltage generator
potentials
on the
dendrites and
soma
-- many neurons
spontaneously
generate
APs,
but this output can be modified.

the generator potential coming from inputs to

dendrites and soma influences membrane

the generator potential coming from inputs to

dendrites and soma influences membrane

potential at the base of the axon

-100

Time

This potential is the sum (integration) of

potential at the base of the axon

How do generator potentials

from dendrites and soma
influence action potentials?

They affect membrane potential

at base of axon

How do generator potentials

from dendrites and soma
influence action potentials?

+
-

excitatory inputs ! depolarization

! greater probability for an AP

A mix of excitatory and inhibitory inputs

produces intermediate potential

Anatomy of nervous systems

Simple radially-symmetrical animals (cnidarians) have
a decentralized nerve net extending throughout the
body.
Bilaterians are usually cephalized, with centralized
nervous system: bundles of neurons called ganglia.
ganglia usually distributed around the body (often
in each segment in segmented animals)

+
-

inhibitory inputs ! hyperpolarization

! lower probability for an AP

A large ganglion in the head is the brain.

+
-

Many neurons produce

action potentials
spontaneously at some
frequency that can be
modified by generator
potentials.

Vertebrate nervous systems contain three kinds

of neurons:
sensory neurons gather information and bring
it into the nervous system
interneurons connect one neuron to another
(most central processing of information)
--> most of brain is interneurons
motor neurons carry information
(instructions, orders) to effector organs

The vertebrate nervous system:

Sensory
cell

The vertebrate nervous system:

Effector

Sensory
neuron

Interneuron

Motor
neuron

Central Nervous System (CNS):

brain and spinal cord

Sensory
cell

Effector
Sensory
neuron

Motor
neuron

Interneurons

Central Nervous System (CNS):

brain and spinal cord

contains all three types of neurons

contains all three types of neurons

most interneurons are located in the CNS

most interneurons are located in the CNS

-- usually multiple stages of interneurons

The vertebrate nervous system:

Sensory
cell

The peripheral nervous system:

Effector

Sensory
neuron

Interneurons

Motor
neuron

Peripheral nervous system (outside of CNS)

neurons, nerves (clusters of axons), ganglia
(clusters of nerve cell bodies)
Nerve cross section: both
sensory and motor axons

CNS
Sensory

Motor

External
Internal
Autonomic NS Somatic NS
environment environment internal control,
voluntary
skeletal muscles;
3 parts
acetylcholine

Enteric

Parasympathetic

Sympathetic

Digestive system
functions
Many transmitters

Energy conservation,
homeostasis;
rest and digest
acetylcholine

Prepares for action;

fight or flight
norepinephrine

The mammalian brain is the most

complex machine we know about
VERY difficult to comprehend how
the brain works.
It has no moving parts!
There is no obvious relationship
between form and function!
Function depends on how its many

billions of neurons (perhaps

80 billion in humans),
billions of other CNS cells
each neuron can have
thousands of axonal and
dendritic connections to
other neurons
perhaps > 100 trillion
total connections

component neurons are connected

neurons change
over time

What do we know?

What do we know?

Something about how neurons work

Something about how neurons work

A little about anatomy: which functions occur

where; how the parts are connected
A little about brain development and
evolutionary history

We
A little
about
anatomy:
occur
dont
even
knowwhich
why functions
we sleep!!!
where; how the parts are connected
even though we spend 30% of our
A little about brain development and
lives sleeping.
evolutionary history

Very little about mechanisms of the so-

Very little about mechanisms of the so-

A little called
about brain
development
higher
functionsand:
evolutionary
memory,history
learning, perception,

thought, consciousness

A little called
about brain
development
higher
functionsand:
evolutionary
memory,history
learning, perception,

thought, consciousness

The easy and hard problems in

Mammalian brain (especially human brain) is
understanding
consciousness:
the most complex machine
known:
billions of neurons (perhaps 100 billion in
humans), billions of other CNS cells

the easy problem: how the brain

each neuron can have thousands of axonal
processes
information whats
and dendritic connections to other neurons:
happening
in a working brain?
What do we know?
A lot about how the individual components
(neurons) work.

the hard problem: how do physical

processes in the brain give rise to
subjective experience? Why do we feel
our experiences???

Generalized mammalian brain anatomy

The higher functions are thought to result

from the properties of neurons and how they
connect and interact with each other
nothing more.
Our lack of understanding is just a
reflection of how complex the brain is,
not any special properties
the mind and the soul are simply
biology
. but they are extremely
complicated biology!

Generalized mammalian brain anatomy

(front)

midbrain
pons
medulla
relay messages (sensory and motor)
between peripheral NS and brain.
many autonomic reflexes associated
with homeostasis.

Cerebellum
coordination of movement; largely
inhibitory -- smooths and modulates
motor commands.
may also be involved in memory.

Generalized mammalian brain anatomy

sensory and motor processing
learning, memory, language
-- intelligence

cerebral cortex

Two hemispheres, nearly separate;

somewhat different functions
-- lateralization

corpus callosum
junction of the two
cerebral hemispheres

cerebral cortex

Next slide based on this cross-section:

mammalian brain cross-section

corpus
callosum

Generalized mammalian brain anatomy

cerebral hemispheres
Gray matter:
mainly cell
bodies
(processing)

Major subdivisions (lobes) of cerebral hemispheres

Left cerebral hemisphere
Parietal lobe
Frontal lobe

ventricles
cerebellum
spinal cord

White matter:
mainly axons
(wiring)

Other concentrations of cell bodies (ganglia,

nuclei) occur throughout the brain.

Occipital lobe
Temporal lobe

Location of some functions is known

Brain functional anatomy

Left cerebral hemisphere

Parietal lobe
Frontal lobe

motor sensory
speech
frontal
reading
taste
association
speech
area
hearing
visual
smell
processing
Auditory
processing

Occipital lobe

Temporal lobe

brain volume used for a function is proportional to

the importance of that function
(e.g., olfactory area small in humans, big in dogs)

How did we learn about brain function?

(especially where functions are located)
examine function in animals or people
where parts of the brain have been
accidentally or intentionally destroyed
stimulate or record from different
brain regions
! Stimulation can cause motor
responses, or elicit sensations
or memory (Wilder Penfield)

Cortical specialization
(proportion of brain
sensory areas devoted to
each body region)
This shows what two
small mammals would
look like if they had the
same relative proportions
as the touch receptor
area of the cortex:

anatomical techniques ("staining" of neurons)

can trace the wiring, or circuitry of the brain
isotopic labels can show where compounds (i.e.
drugs, hormones, fuel molecules) are bound or
metabolized
new imaging techniques show
regions where the brain is active
(MRI; PET scanning, etc.)
biotechnology and molecular
techniques (gene knockouts, etc)

The famous case of Phineas Gage.

A construction supervisor in the Rutland & Burland
Railroad, a man of great honesty, frugality, sobriety,
and piety.
In September, 1848, he was tamping a gunpowder
charge in preparation for blasting rock, using a 3foot, 13 lb iron bar.
The iron bar was blasted through Phineas head. He
became blind in one eye, but remarkably, he lost
consciousness briefly if at all. The wound healed
after a very difficult recovery, and he lived another
12 years.

In effect, Phineas Gage suffered a left frontal

lobotomy. In the mid-20th century, doctors tried a
related technique on patients diagnosed with mental
illness.
This was one of the more barbaric episodes in
the history of modern medicine.
Medical lobotomies were more or less invented
and popularized in the US -- by Dr. Walter Jackson
Freeman. He was concerned about the huge numbers
of patients in psychiatric hospitals. He saw lobotomy
as a way to bring them home .
He performed more than 3,400 lobotomies (killing
several patients in the process). Freeman died in 1972.

Remarkable that he survived ... he also

changed:
At least briefly, he became a foul-mouthed, hellraising, irresponsible liar -- completely different from
before the accident.
later in life, he seemed to recover to a substantial
extent (spent some time driving stagecoaches in Chile)
One of the first instances when scientists

realized that particular parts of ones personality

reside in specific parts of the brain:

the biological basis of behavior

This is what happened in a lobotomy:

instrument inserted about 2
inches through the tear
gland duct (tapped in with
a smart blow with a
hammer)
moved back and forth to
disconnect the frontal lobe
from the rest of the brain
usually, drastic and devastating effects on
personality and behavior ! but amazingly, brain
function not completely obliterated

Today medical lobotomies are extremely

rare.
physicians recognized the method was
brutal, irreversible, and usually did
not work well
antipsychotic drugs (lithium,
chlorpromazine, etc.) were discovered
in the 1950s and are safer, more
effective, and much more ethical

Mapping: geometrical position on

sensory cortex corresponds
(roughly) to geometrical
position on the body
not as clear at fine
scale (e.g., fingers)

How is information processed above the level

of neurons and synapses?

Not very clear

sensory processing often done in spatially
separated stages (vision, especially)
in some cases (visual cortex), processing steps are
arranged in layers:
Processing here
Connections to
next processing
steps

Mapping: geometrical position on

sensory cortex corresponds
(roughly) to geometrical
position on the body
not as clear at fine
scale (e.g., fingers)
similar mapping
in the motor cortex
to some extent, also
true for other senses

the homunculus

MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND:

how neurons code different messages with identical action
potentials
integration of excitatory and inhibitory inputs in a neuron
types of neurons in the vertebrate nervous system; sensory and
motor neurons, interneurons
divisions of the peripheral NS: autonomic, somatic, etc.
what we know (and don t know) about brain function
generalized brain anatomy; white and gray matter
functions of different brain regions; relationship of brain
region size to importance of its function
how we know about brain functions
sensory and motor processing; mapping