Lecture 16 Outline Flashcards
Smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, glands & the effector organs (made up of muscle & gland tissue) as well as the visceral stimuli are…
unconscious
- may or may not be aware of this (unconscious)
- it’s detected & sent back to the CNS & ultimately processed again (ex: not aware of min to min blood pressure, heart rate ex)
key role in homeostasis
Describe the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
Innervates organs whose functions are not usually under voluntary control
Reflexes are important for autonomic control
For homeostatic control, effectors are often visceral organs and blood vessels
- changing diameter of blood vessels through the action of smooth muscle - dilating or constricting smooth muscle
Autonomic means self-governed
Most visceral effectors do not need the ANS to function, only to adjust their activity to match the body’s needs to maintain homeostasis
– Heart rate for example.
Why are reflexes important for automonic control?
– Sensory info may be processed within hypothalamus, limbic system, or even at the level of spinal cord
– Reflex (stimulus) may evoke CHANGES in autonomic output,
• in order to RETURN to a SETPOINT (negative feedback - homeostasis usually)
• In order to “FIGHT or FLIGHT” (feedforward - intended to prevent change in setpoint)
Why do we need sensory info?
need sensory info with regard to what’s happening inside your body in order to make decisions about autonomic control
What does autonomic means self-governed imply? And what are examples of “conscious control”?
its actions usually INvoluntary (without conscious intent or awareness - happen by itself)
there are examples of “conscious control)
- micturation (to pee or not to pee)
- control of heart rate (with practice), biathlon for ex
Most visceral effectors do not need the ANS to function…
only to adjust their activity to match the body’s needs to maintain homeostasis
– Heart rate for example.
*beats by itself, does not need the ANS to beat (you can remove all autonomic input - sympathetic/parasympathetic from the heart & it will continue to beat just fine
- issue is the ANS allows your heart to speed up or slow down
Describe the ANS anatomy
general autonomic nerve pathway output
- extends from CNS to an innervated organ
- 2-neuron chain
What is the 2-neuron chain? List and describe
- Preganglionic fiber (synapses with cell body of second neuron)
- will excite postganglionic fiber b/c the synapses happen in the autonomic ganglion
- Postganglionic fiber (innvervates effector organ or tissue)
What is a ganglion?
mass or group of neuronal cell bodies knot-like mass of tissue
Describe the synaptic terminals in the ANS
- no signal terminal
- end of synaptic region is a series of varicosities on the axon
- specialized in exactly the same way you would call a typical synaptic terminal (secretion of n.t., but it’s not the terminal end of the axons)
- contact
- axon meanders over that surface of the tissue but at regular intervals we’ll see these bulges called varicosities
What is the key difference b/t what we see in the CNS & what we see from the action from the postganglionic neurons on their targets?
Varicositities - specialized for releasing n.t. from that postganglionic neuron
*the synapse & synaptic connections are seen as these varicosities or chain like connections from that postsynaptic tissue
Varicosities
specialized for releasing n.t. from that postganglionic neuron
What is the Sympathetic Chain Ganglia?
- ganglia (enlargements) that run parallel to the spinal cord
- a lot of the sympathetic NS uses these paravertebral ganglion
Describe the SYMPAthetic Nervous System
T1-L2 (1st thoracic to the 2nd lumbar)
Cell bodies & axons of PREganglionics originate in THORACIC & LUMBAR regions of spinal cord
- will send out axons & those axons or the preganglionics will make a synapse somewhere on the cell bodies of the post ganglionics & then from there, the postganglionics will make a synapse on the target organ
What are the defining characteristics of the SYMPAthetic Nervous System
Most PREganglionic fibers are SHORT
LONG POSTganglionic fibers
therefore not a long axon of this preganglionic, but the axon of the postganglionic is really quite long going from chain ganglionic all the way to the heart
For the SYMPAthetic Nervous System, the axons do 1 of 3 things after exit spinal cord:
- Make a synapse in a SYMPATHETIC CHAIN GANGLION
- Pass thru SCG & synapse in the Adrenal Medulla
- Pass thru SCG & synapse in a collateral ganglion
PREganglionic fibers (of the SYMPATHETIC) release _____ ALWAYS
ACh
MOST POSTganglionic fibers (of the SYMPAthetic) release…
NE
The adrenal medulla is a…
modified sympathetic ganglion
- truly & dev. neurons?
- true part of the sympathetic NS b/c developmentally the adrenal medulla cells really are modified neurons (grew up/born as neurons)
Describe the path of the SYMPAthetic NS with the adrenal medulla
- Spinal cord innovated by a PREganglionic sympathetic neuron
- Adrenal medulla (modified neurons - born as neurons) release ACh onto those neurons
- the chromaffin cell is a modified postganglionic sympathetic neuron - When stimulated they’ll release Epinephrine (primarily) is a neurohormone that enters the blood
- To target tissues
Describe the PARAsympathetic Nervous System
fibers originate from CRANIAL & SACRAL areas of CNS
- many of the cell bodies of those neurons will either be found as 1 of the cranial nerves OR they’re far away in the sacral region of the spinal cord
What are the defining characteristics of the PARAsympathetic nervous system?
PREganglionic fibers are LONGER
VERY SHORT POSTganglionic fibers (hard to find sometimes (ex: on heart)
PREganglionic fibers (of the PARAsympathetic NS) release…
ACh
POSTganglionic fibers (of the PARAsympathetic NS) release…
ACh