08 - Brain Protection & Vasculature Flashcards
What is part of the central nervous system?
Brain
Spinal Cord
What is part of the peripheral nervous system?
Mixed spinal nerves carrying
1. Sensory info from the body to CNS
2. Motor info from CNS to the body
Are sensory info afferents or efferents?
AFFERENTS
- Input to CNS
- Body to CNS (entering the CNS)
Are motor info afferents or efferents?
EFFERENTS
- Output from the CNS
- CNS to body (exiting the CNS)
What are the 3 functional classes of neurons?
Afferent neurons
- cell body in the peripheral NS
- peripheral axon endings terminate in the peripheral organ
- central axon terminates in the CNS
Efferent neurons
- the cell body and dendrites are in the CNS
- enters the PNS as it travels to the effector organ
Interneurons
- 99% of all neurons in the body
- all are in the CNS or in the brain
Where do sensory info messages go?
Messages ENTER the CNS through the BACK of the spinal cord
Where do sensory info messages go?
Messages LEAVES the CNS through the FRONT of the spinal cord
Where do sensory info messages go?
Messages LEAVE the CNS through the FRONT of the spinal cord
Can neurons switch what they do?
No
Once the neurons are established & created the circuitry, they NEVER switches
- An afferent neuron will always be an afferent neuron (vice versa)
What do interneurons do?
Does the integration of signals that determine the appropriate output
What are PNS & CNS responsible for?
PNS brings info in & out of the CNS to the rest of the body
CNS is largely responsible for integration of that info
Why are spinal nerves “mixed”
B/c it’s a mixture of afferent & efferent neurons that are running through those spinal nerves
- Sensory neurons and motor neurons are wrapped together
- They’re glued together but info is either travelling in or out through them
What is the dorsal root ganglion?
- Sensory neuron
- A collection of nerve cell bodies out of the CNS
- Most of its axon is out in the PNS and some is in the spinal cord (CNS)
Do afferent neurons send sensory messages from the back or front of the spinal cord?
Afferent neurons send sensory messages from the body to the spinal cord through the BACK
Do efferent neurons send motor messages from the back or front of the spinal cord?
Efferent neurons send motor messages out to the effectors in the body through the FRONT of the spinal cord
Where are the axons of motor neurons?
Axons go out into the PNS to interact with the effector
What are the cell types in the central nervous system?
Ependymal cells (CSF)
Astrocytes (blood-brain barrier)
Neurons (signals)
Microglia (immune)
Glial cells (support cells)
What are ependymal cells?
- Lines all the ventricles (sites of CSF production) of your brain
- Dialyzing/purifying the plasma of the blood to create CSF
What are astrocytes?
- Foot-like processes go out and touch BVs where exchange of nutrients is going to occur
- Signal to the cell of the BVs (the endothelium) to say which substance should be permitted to pass and which ones not
- Creates the blood-brain barrier)
- Many substances in the blood never enter the brain to protect the brain from potentially noxious stimuli
What are neurons?
- Signalling cells
- The smallest # of cells that we have in the CNS
What are microglia?
- The immune cells in the brain
- Has limited ability to do phagocytosis
- All other immune cells that provide protection are stuck in the blood & can’t go to the brain due to the blood-brain barrier)
- Those other immune cells can only get into the brain if there’s a problem with the blood-brain barrier
Microglia
- micro - small
- glia - glue
What are oligodendrocytes?
- Has a few branches and arms hanging out
- Those branches & arms are creating myelin sheaths around the axons of neurons in the CNS
- Myelinate more than 1 axon
Oligodendrocytes
- oligo - few
- dendro - branches
- cytes - cells
What do glial cells do?
Glial cells hold everything together
- Includes all the types of cells
Glial - glue
What is the grey matter?
Area where the soma/cell bodies of neurons are found
- Nucleus
- Cellular machinery
What is the white matter?
Area where the axons of the neurons are the myelin that’s wrapped around it are found
- Myelin is essentially plasma membrane (fat) wrapped around the axons
- Fat –> light in colour
What are the glial cells involved in myelination?
Oligodendrocyte
Schwann cells
What are the differences between oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells?
Oligodendrocyte:
- Forms several myelin sheaths for the axons around it
- Myelinates sections of several axons
- Found in the CNS
Schwann cell:
- Forms one myelin sheath
- Myelinates one section of an axon
- Found in the PNS
Do both the Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells have Node of Ranvier?
Yes both types of cells have it
How does node of Ranvier help conduction?
They speed up the neural conduction?
Can CNS regenerate? Why?
Very limited
- regeneration is extremely limited
- Once the neurons has formed and created their circuitry, they do not change
- They do not divide or create new neurons
- B/c we cannot have a lot of new, weird connections forming in the brain
- neurons are postmitotic and glia inhibit axon growth
- Largely due to the influences –> the inhibiting factors secreted by the glial cells
- Only a few specific areas where there is the possiblility for neurons to regrow and make new connections
- Largely in the memory centers
Can PNS regenerate? Why?
Yes - 1mm of regrowth of axon that was damaged per day
- neurons can sprout collaterals & regenerate
- There’s a 1:1 ratio b/w a Schwann cell and an axon making myelin sheath thus regeneration can happen
- Schwann cells secrete growth factors and promote axonal growth
- No inhibitory factors (b/c they’re not in the PNS)
- glia produce growth factors
- macrophages remove debris
- from the blood out in our body which can remove debris and set the stage for healing & repair
What are the bony protections for the CNS?
Brain - Bony encasement (skull)
Spinal cord - Protection (vertebrate & veretbral column)
What are meninges?
Another layer of protection for the brain
What is the dura mater?
Part of the meninges
- A leathery matter that is very durable
- Firmly attached to skull (glued to the skull)
- Keep the skull in place so there’s no space b/w the dura mater and the skull
What’s running through the meninges and the dura mater?
Meningeal veins, arteries & nerves
- Plastered between the dura mater and the skull
What’s under the dura mater?
The arachnoid mater
What is the arachnoid mater?
Tiny spider-like projections coming down from the dura mater
- Lines inner surface of the dura mater
What does the arachnoid mater form?
Subarachnoid Space
Those spider-like webs span the gap b/w the dura mater and the surface of the brain
- There’s potential space there
- Where CSF are found
Where are cerebral BVs found?
Right under the pia mater
- The BVs that supplies blood to the brain
What is the pia mater?
Covers the surface of the brain and cerebral vessels
Do cerebrum BVs and Meningeal BVs have the same blood supply?
NO they have different blood supply
What are the meningeal layers of the brain?
Scalp
Skull
Periosteal dura mater (attached to the skull)
- peri- around
- osteal - bone
Meningeal dura mater
Arachnoid mater
Subarachnoid space
Pia mater
Cerebral cortex (brain)
How many layers does the dura mater have? What are they called?
2
Periosteal dura mater
- peri - around
- osteal - bone
Meningeal dura mater
What are the 2 dura mater layers?
Periosteal dura mater - attached to skull
- The layer intimately glued to the skull
Meningeal dura mater
- Dive away from the skull and create little invaginations/cavities that create compartments within the skull
What separates the left & right cerebral hemispheres?
Flax cerebri
- Sickle-shaped
What divides the cranium into compartments?
The inward extensions of the dura mater
- Dura mater can create little flaps & folds (invaginations) in the skull to create compartments
What creates the SPACES for the hemispheres?
Dural extensions
- Separates the hemisphere above from the cerebellum below
What is the tentorium cerebelli
A flap (a dura) that sits on top of the cerebellum
- Forms a tent-like shape
What are the 2 types of damages to the brain or cranial by extreme movements of the CNS?
Herniation
Coning
- Extreme movements of the CNS may be restricted by the dural extensions, resulting in damage to the brain or cranial nerves
What does a hematoma do in the brain?
Compresses the brain and move it around
What happens if you have a space-occupying lesion in your brain (eg. hematoma)?
- Can lead to the brainstem to move out of the way, to exit the skull through the foramen magnum
- Can move the brain from one compartment to another within the skull
What is it called if the brainstem moves out of the way due to a space-occupying lesion in the brain and exit the skull through the foramen magnum?
Coning
- B/c the brainstem look like an ice cream cone
What happens to the brainstem in coning?
- If you force it through that hole to exit the skull, you will shear off all the cranial nerves
- Lead to an inability to do things like having any sensations, moving muscles, etc
- The brainstem is where all the cranial nerves arise from
- Cranial nerves: All the nerves that’s control all the muscles, the skin and everything attached to the skull