Chapter

45: Organization of the

Nervous System, Basic Functions of
Synapses, and Neurotransmitters
Guyton and Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology, 12th edition

General Design of the Nervous System

CNS Neuron: The Basic Functional Unit

Fig. 45.1

General Design of the Nervous System

Sensory Part of the Nervous System- Sensory
Receptors

Fig. 45.2 Somatosensory axis of

the nervous system

General Design of the Nervous System

Sensory Part of the Nervous System- Sensory
Receptors

a. Information enters the CNS through peripheral
nerves and is conducted immediately to sensory
areas in

1. The spinal cord at all levels
2. The reticular substance of the medulla, pons,
and mesencephalon
3. Cerebellum
4. Thalamus
5. Areas of the cerebral cortex

General Design of the Nervous System

Motor Part of the Nervous System- Eectors- most
important role of the nervous system is to control
various bodily activities. This is achieved by
controlling:

a. Contraction of appropriate skeletal muscles
b. Contraction of smooth muscles in internal organs
c. Secretion of chemical substances by exocrine and
endocrine glands

General Design of the Nervous System

Skeletal Motor Axis

Fig. 45.3 Skeletal motor nerve axis of the nervous system

General Design of the Nervous System

Skeletal Motor Axis- skeletal muscles can be
controlled from many levels of the CNS

a. The spinal cord
b. The reticular substance of the medulla, pons,
and mesencephalon
c. The basal ganglia
d. Cerebellum
e. Motor cortex

General Design of the Nervous System

Processing of Information- Integrative Function
of the Nervous System

a. Channeling and processing of information

b. Approximately 99% of sensory information is

ltered out and considered irrelevant and
unimportant by the nervous system

General Design of the Nervous System

Role of Synapses in Processing Information

a. Some synapses transmit info from one neuron to
another with ease, and others with diculty
b. Facilitatory and inhibitory signals from other areas
of the nervous system can control synaptic
transmission
c. Synapses perform a selective action, often blocking
weak signals and allowing strong signals to pass
but sometimes select and amplify certain weak
signals

General Design of the Nervous System

Storage of Information (Memory)

a. Information stored for future control of motor
activities and for use in the thinking process is
stored in the cerebral cortex

b. Facilitation-each time a synapse transfer info, the
synapses become more and more capable

Major Levels of CNS Func<on

Spinal Cord Level

a. A conduit for information to travel from the
periphery of the body to the brain and vice versa

b. Can cause walking movements
c. Withdrawal reexes
d. Reexes that stien the legs to support the body
against gravity

e. Reexes that control local blood vessels, G.I.
movements, and urinary excretion

Major Levels of CNS Func<on

Lower Brain or Subcortical Level

a. Control of most of the subconscious activities
b. Arterial pressure and respiration
c. Control of equilibrium
d. Feeding reexes
e. Many emotional patterns (anger, excitement,
sexual response, reaction to pain and pleasure)

Major Levels of CNS Func<on

Higher Brain or Cortical Level

a. Cerebral cortex is an extremely large memory
storehouse

b. Never functions alone but in association with
lower centers of the nervous system

c. Essential for most thought processes

CNS Synapses
Types of Synapses

a. Chemical
1. Almost all of the synapses in the CNS
2. First neuron secretes a neurotransmitter
3. Neurotransmitter binds to receptors on the
second neuron (excites, inhibits, or modies
its sensitivity

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Types of Synapses

b. Electrical
1. Have direct open uid channels that conduct
electricity from one cell to the next
2. Have gap junctions which allow the movement
of ions
3. Very few in the CNS but are the predominant
type in the periphery of the body (i.e. skeletal
muscle and smooth muscle contraction)

CNS Synapses (cont.)

One-Way Conduction at Chemical Synapses
a. Always transmit signals in one direction (from the
pre-synaptic neuron (releases neurotransmitter) to
the post-synaptic neuron

b. Called the principle of one-way conduction

c. Allows signals to be directed toward specic goals

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Physiologic Anatomy of the Synapse

Fig. 45.5 Typical anterior motor neuron, showing pre-synaptic

terminals on the neuronal soma and dendrites

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Physiologic Anatomy of the Synapse

a. Presynaptic terminals may be either stimulatory or
inhibitory
b. (Fig. 45.5) Neurons in other parts of the spinal cord
and brain dier from the anterior motor neuron in:

1. Size of the cell body
2. Length, number, and size of the dendrites
3. Length and size of the axon
4. The number of presynaptic terminals

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Presynaptic Terminals

Fig. 45.6 Physiologic anatomy of the synapse

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Neurotransmitter Release From the Presynaptic Terminal
a. The membrane of the presynaptic terminal contains
large numbers of voltage gated Ca channels
b. When the membrane depolarizes, the channels open and
Ca ions ow into the terminal
c. Quantity of transmitter released is directly related to the
amount of Ca that enters
d. Ca binds with special proteins called release sites which
open and allow the transmitter to diuse into the
synaptic cleft

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Action of the Neurotransmitter
a. The postsynaptic membrane contains receptor proteins
that have two components:

1. A binding part that protrudes outward and binds the
neurotransmitter, and
2. An ionophore part that passes through to the interior
of the postsynaptic neuron
3. The ionophore is either an ion channel or a second
messenger activator

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Ion Channels- two types
a. Cation- most often allow Na ions to pass, but sometimes
K, and Ca also; lined with negative charges which attract
cations but repel anions; opened by excitatory transmitters
b. Anion- when channels are large enough, Cl ions pass
through (cations are hydrated and too large); opened
by inhibitory transmitters

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Second Messenger Systems

Fig. 45.7 Second messenger systems

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Second Messenger Systems- the alpha component of the
G protein performs one of four functions:

a. Opening specic ion channels through the post-
synaptic membrane

b. Activation of cAMP or cGMP
c. Activation of one or more cellular enzymes

d. Activation of gene transcription

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Excitatory Receptors in the Postsynaptic Membrane

a. In excitation: the opening of Na channels to allow
large numbers of + electrical charges to ow to the
interior. This raises the membrane potential toward
threshold (most widely used method of excitation)

b. In excitation: depressed conduction through chloride
or potassium channels or both; decreases the diusion
of Cl to the inside or K to the outside which makes the
membrane potential more positive

c. Metabolic changes to excite cell activity, increase
excitatory receptors or decrease inhibitory receptors

CNS Synapses (cont.)

Inhibitory Receptors in the Postsynaptic Membrane

a. Opening of chloride channels allowing the rapid inux
of ions which causes the membrane potential to become
more negative, and therefore inhibitory

b. Increase in conductance of potassium ions out of the
neuron allowing positive ions to diuse to the outside
causing increased negativitiy, and therefore inhibitory

c. Activation of receptor enzymes that inhibit metabolic
functions or increase the number of inhibitory receptors
or decrease the number of excitatory receptors

Types of NeurotransmiBers

Small Molecule, Rapidly Acting Transmitters

Table 45.1

Class I
Acetylcholine

Class II:
The Amines

Class III:
Amino Acids

Norepinephrine

GABA

Epinephrine

Glycine

Dopamine

Glutamate

Serotonin

Aspartate

Histamine

Class IV
Nitric Oxide

Types of NeurotransmiBers

Neuropeptide, Slow Acting Transmitters or Growth Factors

Hypothalamic

Pituitary
Peptides-Act on Peptides- Act
From Other
Releasing
Hormones

Peptides

Thyrotropin RH ACTH

Table 45.2

Gut and Brain

Leucine
enkephalin

on Gut and
Brain

Tissues

Insulin

Angiotensin II

Glucagon

Bradykinin

Leutinizing
HRH

Beta-endorphin Methionine
enkephalin

Somatostatin

Alpha-MSH

Substance P

Carnosine

Prolactin

Gastrin

Sleep peptides

LH

CCK

Calcitonin

Thyrotropin

VIP

GH

Nerve growth
factor

Vasopressin

Brain derived
neurotropic
factor

Oxytocin

Neurotensin

Electrical Events During Excita<on

Resting Membrane Potential (-65 mV for a
spinal motor neuron)

Fig. 45.8

Electrical Events During Excita<on

Concentration Dierence of Ions

Fig. 45.8

Electrical Events During Excita<on

Uniform Distribution of Electrical Potential
Inside the Soma

Eect of Synaptic Excitation on the Postsynaptic
MembraneExcitatory Postsynaptic
Potential

Electrical Events During Excita<on

Fig. 45.9 Three states of a

neuron

Electrical Events During Excita<on

Generation of APs in the Initial Segment

a. Axon hillock
b. The membrane has 7x the voltage gated Na
channels as does the membrane of the soma

c. Threshold is about -45 mv (Fig. 45.9)

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Eect of Inhibitory Synapses on the Postsynaptic
MembraneInhibitory Postsynaptic Potential

a. Inhibitory synapses open mostly Cl channels
b. As the chloride ions enter, the membrane
potential becomes more negative (toward -70 mV)

c. Opening K channels allows the positive ions to move
out; with the Cl, this causes a hyperpolarization

d. Causes an IPSP (inhibitory postsynaptic potential)

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Presynaptic Inhibition

a. Release of an inhibitory substance onto the outside
of the presynaptic nerve brils (usually GABA)

b. Opens anion channels, allows Cl to diuse inward
c. Negative charges cancel much of the excitatory eect
d. Occurs in many sensory pathways

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Time Course of Postsynaptic Potentials

Fig. 45.10 EPSPs

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Spatial Summation- stimulation of many
presynaptic terminals; the eects can summate
until neuronal excitation occurs (Fig. 45.10)


Temporal Summation- successive discharges from
a single presynaptic terminal; if they occur
rapidly enough, they also summate

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Simultaneous Summation of IPSPs and EPSPs-
the two eects either completely or partially
nullify each other


Facilitation of Neurons
a. Occurs when the summated postsynaptic potential is
excitatory but has not reached the threshold

b. Another excitatory signal can then excite the
membrane quite easily

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Special Functions of Dendrites for Exciting Neurons
a. Large spatial eld of excitation of the dendrites- 80-95%
of all presynaptic terminals of the anterior motor neuron
terminate on dendrites

b. Most dendrites cannot transmit APs but they can
transmit signals by ion conduction of the uids in
cytoplasm

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Decrement of Electrotonic Conduction in the Dendrites-
Greater Excitatory or Inhibitory Eect by Synapses
Located Near the Soma

Fig. 45.11

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Summation of Excitation and Inhibition in Dendrites

Fig. 45.11

Electrical Events During Inhibi<on

Relation of State of Excitation of the Neuron to Rate
of Firing- excitatory state is the summated degree
of excitatory drive to the neuron

Fig. 45.12 Response characteristics of dierent

types of neurons to dierent levels
of excitatory state

Special Characteris<cs of Synap<c Transmission

Fatigue of Synaptic Transmission

Eect of Acidosis or Alkalosis
Eect of Hypoxia
Eects of Drugs
Synaptic Delay