L24-26: CNS Flashcards
Brain requires what percentage of cardiac output?
20%
Spinal injuries
C1-C2 - loss of involuntary function-breathing
Cervical region - quadraplegia
Thoracic nerves - paraplegia
CSF is produced by
choroid plexus of ventricle cavities
CSF flows through which layer of membrane
Arachnoid mater
Flow of CSF
CSF enters subarachnoid space, flows between meningeal layers of brains and spinal cord, reabsorbed into the blood
CSF functions
Shock-absorbing to prevent brain from bumping against
the skull
Contributes to the composition of interstitial fluid
Blood brain barrier
Highly specialised brain endothelial structure of the fully differentiated neurovascular system which separates components of blood from neurones
Maintains chemical composition of interstitial space by limiting entry of plasma components, RBC and leukocytes
Regulated active transport of ions and carrier mediated
transport of glucose and amino acids
Pericytes
Adjacent to endothelial cells, share common basement
membrane
Contribute to microvascular stability
Release growth factors + angiogenic molecules
Microvascular permeability, remodelling, angiogenesis
Smooth muscle cell lineage
Contractile – regulate blood flow
Blood brain barrier allows diffusion of
small lipid soluble molecules (400Da)
Grey matter contains
Cell bodies and dendrites
Glia
Blood vessels
White matter contains
Myelinated axons
Glia
Blood vessels
Glial cells
Oligodendrocytes (myelin forming) Astrocytes (homeostasis) Microglia (immune surveillance), Ependymal cells (lining of ventricles and central canal) Adult progenitor cells
Glia: oligodendrocyte function
synthesises myelin
1 oligodendrocyte myelinates how many axons?
4-40 depending on axon size and position
Function of myelin
- Enables saltatory conduction - node to node
- Acts as insulator, reduces current leakage across internodal axonal membrane
- Increases conduction velocity
- Miniaturisation of nervous system - large fibre
diameter, high conduction velocity
Saves space, metabolic and synthetic energy
Very metabolically active - eg. proteins continually
phosphorylating
Glia: Astrocytes
Support and maintain the CNS
Two major types:
1. Protoplasmic (grey matter) - processes spread radially
2. Fibrous (white matter) - arranged in rows between axon bundles, send processes to nodes of adjacent myelinated axons
Astrocytes endfeet
Endfeet – at the end of processes-
- Contact blood vessels
- Interact with ependymal cells (CSF-brain barrier)
- Associated with the Node of Ranvier
- Ensheath synapses
- Associated with nerve cell bodies
- Communicate with other astrocytes
- Communicate with oligodendrocytes and microglia
Astrocytes and homeostasis
- CNS development: neuronal path finding oligodendrocyte maturation (growth factors)
- Maintenance of environment at the synapse (removal and recycling of neurotransmitters)
- Synthesis of precursors for transmitters (glutamate and GABA)
- Maintenance of the environment at the Node of Ranvier
- Supply of energy to neurons
- Brain water homeostasis
- Maintenance of blood brain barrier integrity (glia limitans)
- Regulation of extracellular pH
- Modulation of synaptogenesis/synaptic activity
- Regulation/modulation of neurogenesis
- Modulation of post-injury repair
- Modulation of memory formation
Glia: microglia
Resident macrophages
- 10 - 20% glial cell population
- From mesoderm - mononuclear phagocyte precursors
- Enter brain during early development, before the formation of the blood brain barrier
- Distributed equally in grey and white matter - but there are regional differences, reason/mechanism not known
- In adult brain - low turnover, down-regulated phenotype
Microglia function
- Homeostasis, first-line of defence against viruses, bacteria, parasitic CNS infections
- Present at the blood brain barrier
- Remove debris
4 different phenotypes of microglia
- Ameboid microglia – during development & perinatal period
- Ramified, under normal conditions - in mature CNS
- Reactive, non-phagocytic microglia - sublethal injury
- Phagocytic microglia
Acute neuronal injury sequence of events
- Damaging event - hypoxia/ ischemia, acute insult
- Nuclear pyknosis, shrinkage of cell body, loss of Nissl substance, disappearance of nucleolus, eosinophilia of cytoplasm
- Dissolution of cell, phagocytosis of debris
Transynaptic degeneration
The neurons that input or synapse the damaged neuron may also die, e.g. effect of eye enucleation on cells of lateral genticulate neurons