Module 11 Flashcards
Parenchymal Unit of The Nervous System
The Neuron
Afferent means…
Sensory
Periphery –> Brain
Efferent means…
Motor
Brain –> Periphery
2 Types of Cells for Nervous Tissue
Supporting Cells (Microglial, Schwan (PNS), Appendimal, etc)
Neurons
Soma
Cell body of the neuron with DNA/RNA for protein synthesis in the cytoplasm
The cytoplasm extends into the dendrite and axon length
Dendrite
Conducts information toward the cell body through the synaptic terminal
Communicates with axons and dendrites
Axons
Long efferent processes carrying information away from the cell body
Myelin Sheath
White Color - Made up of lipids
Surrounds the axons and allows for the sending of nerve impulses
The more heavily myelinated, the faster the velocity of the nerve impulse
Multiple Sclerosis
Loss of myelin sheathe in the CNS in patches
Gullain Barre Disease
Loss of myelin sheathe in the PNS in patches
Nodes of Ranvier
Interruptions of myelin insulation at intervals across the axon allowing for saltatory conduction (Jumps of action potential) which allows rapid neuron impulse travel
Neurons communicate via …
Action Potentials (Depolarization, Repolarization, Resting Membrane Potential Set by K, Na and K pump, and Threshold is set by calcium)
Grey Matter
Outer layer of brain
Made up of cell bodies (soma)
White Matter
Inner layer of brain
Made up of axons (white due to myelin)
How does grey and white matter differ in the spinal cord?
It is backward
Instead of grey matter being outside like the brain, it is the inside
Instead of white matter being inside like the brain, it is outside
Divisions of the Nervous System
NS –> CNS and Peripheral NS
CNS –> Brain and Spinal Cord
Peripheral NS –> Motor (efferent) Neurons and Sensory (Afferent) Neurons
Motor (Efferent Neurons) –> ANS and Somatic NS
ANS —> SNS and PNS
Covering/Layers Protecting the Brain (Outward to Inward)
Bony Skull –> Dura Mater –> Subdural Space –> Arachnoid Membrane –> Subarachnoid Space –> Pia Mater
Subarachnoid Space
Where CSF circulates to prevent brain damage / cushion
Choroid Plexus
Where CSF is made
Concentrated area of ependymal cells of the CNS with a rich vascular network allowing them to make cerebral spinal fluid
The spinal cord runs from …
the Lumbar to Sacral area
What protects the spinal cord
Boney Vertebrae
Dorsal Horn
Sensory/Afferent Information enters here and some of it will cross over while some of it stays on the same side
Anterior/Ventral Horn
Efferent/Motor information will travel through the front of the spinal cord and through here
Cervical Nerve Roots
lower segment (of the root)
Lumbar Nerve Roots
upper segment (of the root)
How many peripheral nerves are there?
8 Cervical
12 Thoracic
5 Lumbar
1 Coccygeal
What parts of the nervous system do motor neurons oversee?
ANS (SNS + PNS)
Somatic NS (Voluntary)
Things that Parasympathetic NS Causes
Constricts pupil
Stimulates Salivations
Inhibits Heart
Constricts Bronchi
Stimulates Digestive Activity
Stimulates Gallbladder
Contracts Bladder
Relaxes Rectum
Cholinergic (Muscarinic) Receptors - stim by acetylcholine
Things that the Sympathetic NS Causes
Dilates pupil
Inhibits Salivation
Relaxes Bronchi
Accelerates Heart
Inhibits Digestive Activity
Simulates Glucose Release by the Liver
Secretion of EP and NEP from kidney
Relaxes Bladder
Contracts Rectum
Adrenergic (Beta) Receptors - stim by EP and NEP
Anterolateral Afferent (Sensory) Tracts
Ascending cell bodies/pathways
Unmyelinated or Lightly Myelinated causing slow Conduction
Cell bodies are in the contralateral dorsal horn
Posterior Afferent (Sensory) Tracts
Ascending cell bodies/pathways
Large caliber axons and heavily myelinated causing Fast Conduction
Cell bodies are in the ipsilateral dorsal horn
Where are the anterolateral tract cell bodies?
Contralateral dorsal horn
Where are the posterior tract cell bodies?
Ipsilateral Dorsal Horn
What sort of sensation is the anterolateral tracts responsible for?
Pain
Temperature
Crude or Light Touch
Itch
Tickle
Sexual Sensation
What sort of sensation is the posterior tracts responsible for?
Position Sense
Discriminative Touch
Vibration Sense
Stereognosis
Graphesthesia
Stereognosis
Ability to recognize the form of an object/what it is when holding it
Graphesthesia
Can tell what someone wrote with their finger on your back/ back of hand
Efferent (Motor) Tracts
Descending pathways allowing for voluntary control of muscle movements
Cell bodies are in the contralateral motor cortex
Fiber crossed in the pyramidal decussation (medulla) and then synapse with ipsilateral interneurons
These tracts influence the activity of lower motor neurons (LMNs) which allow voluntary muscle control, movement, and motor function
Pyramidal Decussation
In the medulla oblongata
Axons crossing over and stacking up to form a pyramid shape. Allows crossing over and then ipsilateral synapsing for motor neurons
Frontal Lobe
Front
Higher Order thinking
Awareness, Memory, Emotion, Behavior, Skilled Movements
Temporal Lobe
lower area close to brainstem
Occipital Lobe
Back of the brain
vision and visual recognition
Parietal Lobe
upper part of the brain
processing sensory information
What lobe possesses the Motor Cortex?
frontal lobe
What lobe possesses Wernickes Area?
Temporal lobe
What lobe possesses Brocas Area?
frontal lobe
Motor Cortex
Area of the frontal lobe anterior to the central sulcus
Controls basic movements
next to central fissure
Cerebellum
part of the brainstem
the “bulb” in back of the brain
controls balance and muscle coordination
“Bella” Balance
Right v Left Brain Functions
Right: Reasoning, Language, Scientific Skills
Left: Insight, Spatial Awareness, Creativity
Cranial nerves
12 nerves connecting the CNS to various parts of the body/head
CN I
Olfactory Nerve
Smell
CN II
Optic Nerve
Vision
CN III
Oculomotor Nerve
Eye movements
CN IV
Trochlear Nerve
Eye movements
CN V
Trigeminal Nerve
Facial sensation and jaw movements
CN VI
Abducens Nerve
Lateral eye movements
CN VII
Facial nerve
Facial expression and taste
CN VIII
Acoustic (Vestibulocochlear) Nerve
Hearing and Balance
CN IX
Glossopharyngeal Nerve
Taste and Throat Sensations
CN X
Vagus nerve
Breathing, circulation and digestion
*unique as it runs throughout the whole body
CN XI
Spinal Accessory Nerve
Movements of neck and back muscles
CN XII
Hypoglossal Nerve
Tongue Movements
Mechanisms of Injury for the Brain
Hypoxic and Ischemic Injury
Injury from Excitatory Amino Acids
Increased Volume and Pressure
Brain Herniation
Cerebral Edema
Hydrocephalus
How is the brain a selfish organ?
Body is 2% of the body weight, but received > 15% of cardiac output and consumes 20% of the oxygen available to the body
This is important to know since it relates to hypoxic and ischemic injury
Without oxygen, how long will it take before death of brain cells occur?
4-6 minutes
The brain cannot do what in regard to oxygen?
cannot store oxygen or do anaerobic metabolism
Hypoxia
Deprivation of oxygen with maintained bloodflow
So its bloodflow w/ no oxygenation
What does Hypoxia do to the brain?
Depressant effect on the brain –> Euphoria, Listlessness, Drowsiness, Impaired Problem Solving ability
Examples of Hypoxic Injury/Situations for the brain?
Reduced Atmospheric Pressure from living at high altitude
Carbon Monoxide poisoning
Severe Anemia
Failure to oxygenate blood
Ischemia
Reduced or interrupted blood flow (with metabolic toxin byproduct buildup occurring as a result)
Can be focal or global
Hypoxia and Ischemia:
You can have ____ and no ____, but if you have ____ you do have ____
You can have hypoxia and no ischemia, but if you have ischemia you do have hypoxia
Focal Ischemia
when blood flow is inadequate to meet the metabolic demands of a PART OF THE BRAIN
ex: Stroke
What is Global Ischemia
when blood flow is inadequate to meet the metabolic demands of the ENTIRE BRAIN
ex: Cardiac arrest or circulatory shock
Shock
massive vasodilation and blood movement to the periphery, taking away from the brain, and leading to global ischemic injury
How fast does global ischemia use up brain resources?
Oxygen - used up in 10 seconds
Glucose Stores - exhausted in 2-4 minutes
Cellular ATP Stores - depleted in 4-5 minutes
What occurs, in regard to sodium, calcium, and potassium during global ischemia?
Excessive influx of Na and Ca occurs, with efflux of K
What does a large influx of sodium in neuronal cells cause?
Neuronal and Interstitial edema
*The sodium has water follow it down its concentration gradient leading to the in between cell edema (interstitial) *
Calcium Cascade
Excessive influx of calcium into neuronal cells (Where it does not belong)
Causes release of intracellular and nuclear enzymes causing cell destruction
Watershed Zones
Type of global ischemic injury
Concentrated injury occurs in anatomically vulnerable BORDER ZONES BETWEEN OVERLAPPING TEZRRITORIES supplied by major arteries
Since areas overlap, a lot of deficit, damage, and infarction occurs in junctions of two vascular territories
This type occurs due to a blockage of the cerebral vessel
Essentially, these areas of the brain are receiving shared blood supply from multiple arteries, and those arteries get blocked meaning widespread damage occurs between areas sharing the arteries
3 Major Cerebral Arteries
Middle
Anterior
Posterior
(MAP)
Laminar Necrosis
Type of global ischemic injury
In areas supplies by penetrating (the grey matter) arteries of the cerebral cortex (These are small penetrating arteries)
Necrosis occurs in a laminar way (along a parallel plane or layer) and is most severe in the deeper layers of the cortex
How is laminar necrosis like broccoli?
The grey cell bodies are like the florets
The axons are like the stems
A lot of fluid can go in and around the stems/axons during global ischemia (from Na, K, and Ca Influx and Efflux)
What is post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
Damage to blood vessels and CHANGES IN BLOOD FLOW as a result of [any] ischemia that prevents the return of adequate tissue perfusion despite reestablishment of circulation
What happens to fluid during post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
Inflammatory response launches causing fluid to move from vessels to brain tissue (leading to edema in the brain) and what is left in the capillaries clots and grows sludgy making reperfusion difficult
What mechanisms are involved with post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
- Desaturation of Venous Blood
- Capillary and Venous Clotting
- Increased blood viscosity –> Increased flow resistance
- Ischemic vasoconstriction
- Increased cerebral metabolic rate and increased need for energy producing substrates
How and why does venous blood become desaturated during post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
VENOUS (not arterial) blood is drained of all the oxygen left in it due to the brain needing oxygenation for metabolic processes despite the capillaries being clotted with blood
This causes the venous blood to become sludgy and start clotting too
What does the capillary and venous clotting cause in Post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
Clotting –> Sludging of blood –> Increased blood viscosity –> Increased resistance to blood flow in the brain
What leads to ischemic vasoconstriction during post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
immediate vasomotor paralysis d/t extracellular acidosis
What causes vasomotor paralysis during post-ischemic hypo perfusion?
Acidic conditions/extracellular acidosis leads to vasomotor paralysis immediately
This becomes dangerous because they constrict and are constricted permanently which then causes vasospasm (ischemic vasoconstriction)
Why is hypermetabolism a part of post-ischemic hypoperfusion?
To try and rescue the brain (compensatory) EP and NEP is released and circulates which causes increased cerebral metabolic rate and increased need for energy producing substrates (hypermetabolism) which just leads to more substrates and waste products in circulation (which makes circulation even more difficult to fix)
Treatment for Global Ischemia
Aimed at providing oxygen and lowering metabolic needs during times when cerebral flow is not occurring as it should