Organization of Nervous

System
Organization of Nervous System

• The nervous system has three general

functions:
• 1. Collection of sensory input:
• Identifies changes occurring inside or
outside the body by using sensory
receptors. These changes are called
stimuli.
• 2. Integration: Processes, analyzes, and
interprets these changes and makes
decisions.
• 3. Motor output, or response by
activating muscles or glands (effectors).
• The nervous system is responsible for all our behaviors and thought
processes. The nervous system of the humans has two major
divisions, namely, the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). Figure indicates the two major
divisions
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

The Central Nervous System (CNS) consists of the brain and the
spinal cord. The system is located within the skull and the
spine.
It’s the most important and delicate structures of the human
body.
Protected in bone and covered with the help of meninges.
Meninges are three thin membranes or soft-tissue layers that
protect the CNS called as the dura mater, arachnoid membrane
and pia mater.
Another protective mechanism is the presence of colorless fluid
known as cerebrospinal fluid that is found in the central canal
of the spinal cord and cerebral ventricles (hollows) of the brain
that provides a protective cushion to the brain and spinal cord.
Patients whose cerebrospinal fluid is drained in some way, suffer from
intense headaches and intense pain while jerking their heads.
Also, in case of a tumor, the fluid accumulates in the ventricles and
causes the walls of the ventricles as well as the brain to expand. This
condition is known as hydrocephalus. It is cured by removing the
tumor and draining out the excess fluid from the ventricles.
Brain integrates the inputs from the sensory receptors and delivers the
motor output to the effectors.
It is also involved in complex functions as regulation of heart rate,
breathing, consciousness, cognitive functions, etc.
The spinal cord is placed within the spinal columns.
Spinal cord
Structure of the Spinal Cord

• The shape of the spinal cord is oval, like a

cylinder and about 45 cms in length in an average
person. It is placed within the spinal column.
• The spinal cord is a very delicate structure hence
it is protected by the cranial bones and the
vertebrae that surround it.
There is pair of spinal nerves attached to the spinal
cord at 31 different levels of the spine.
The pair of the nerves - one is attached to the left,
and the other is attached to the right. It is also
slightly tapered in the lower end.
• There are two places where it bulges, at the cervical region and the other at the lumbar
region. There are number of vertebrae that surround it.
• There are two deep groves in the spinal cord in the middle known as the anterior median
fissure and the posterior median sulcus.
There are nerve roots that enter and leave the spinal cord.
The dorsal nerve root helps to send the information from the sensory receptors to the
spinal cord and ventral nerve root carries motor information from the spinal cord to the
parts of the body.
From the cross-section of spinal cord, it is evident that it comprises of two different areas,
namely the gray matter and the white matter.
The inner core H-shaped area comprises of gray matter and mostly it constitutes of cell
bodies and unmyelinated interneurons. The surrounding area comprises of white matter
which constitutes myelinated axons
Functions of the Spinal Cord
• Spinal cord is responsible for the simple reflexes that take place in the body. The
neurons of the spinal cord are responsible for sending information to the brain from
the sensory receptors and to deliver the information received from the brain to the
muscles and other glands of the body. It integrates the information coming to and
going from the brain and other regions in the body.
• It also functions as the reflex center as it takes care of the ascending and descending
tracts to and from the spinal cord. To say more clearly, the ascending tracts take the
impulses towards the brain while the descending tracts carry impulses from the brain
to the spinal cord to other muscles and glands in the body.
• Bundle of nerves together is known as a tract. Each tract serves one major function.
Spinothalamic tracts include the axons that originate from the cell bodies of the
neurons located in the spinal cord that end in the thalamus. These tracts are
responsible for sensory functions including sensations of touch, pain and temperature.
• There are major ascending tracts of the spinal cord that serve important
functions such as, lateral spinothalamic tract is responsible for pain,
temperature, and touch; anterior spinothalamic tract is involved in crude touch
and pressure; fascicule gracilis is involved in touch and conscious kinesthesia;
and anterior and posterior spino-cerebellar tract is involved in subconscious
kinesthesia.
• Major descending tracts of the spinal cord are lateral and anterior
corticospinal tract, involved in voluntary movement, muscle contraction of
hands and feet; medial reticulospinal tracts have inhibitory influence on motor
functioning while lateral reticulospinal tracts have a facilitatory influence on
the motor neurons going to the skeletal muscles and the rubrospinal tract
helps in coordinating body movement and posture.
• Spinal cord also serves as a reflex center for many reflexes. It is the center of
the reflex arc where in, the incoming sensory impulses are converted to
outgoing motor impulses.
• The spinal cord plays an important role of being the integrator center in the
brain, being responsible for gait, posture, reflexes, reaction to noxious stimuli,
etc.
Brain
• The brain is located at the top of the central nervous system. It is
protected by the skull and is interconnected with the body through the
brain stem region to the spinal cord.
• The peripheral nervous system extends from the brain to the regions
throughout the body and back again sends and receives neural signals
that provide information related to pain, pressure, touch, movement,
balance, and the senses of vision, audition, smell and taste. The cortex or
neocortex is the seat of human cognition and sensory processing.
• The brain is ‘sliced’ using three planes and these planes resemble to
actual slicing done for instance at the time of post mortem examination
or virtual slicing using magnetic resonance images of the brain.
• Slicing sideways across the brain so that the
left and right hemispheres are exposed, is
known as axial slice. It is also called horizontal
slice because it is a horizontal cut across the
brain.
• The second way to slice the brain is sagittal
slice. The sagittal plane slices the brain
vertically from left side to the right side, and
the coronal slice is when the brain is sliced
vertically from the front of the brain to the
back. The other related terms are dorsal,
indicating top of the brain, and ventral,
meaning the bottom of the brain.
• The front of the brain is known as anterior and
the back of the brain is known as the posterior.
• The middle part of the brain is referred as the
medial section and the left and right outside
edges are called lateral.
• The brain keeps growing till one reaches an age of 18 years. Brain is a
delicate organ and hence, it is protected firstly by a hard-bony structure,
known as skull. The brain is enclosed in the skull that not only protects it
but also retains its shape.
• Brain is protected with the help of meninges, the soft-tissue layers that
help in absorbing any kind of shock.
• The first layer under the skull is dura matter, which is thick and tough.
• The next layer is arachnoid membrane which is mesh-like, soft and
spongy. Below this layer is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Brain is surrounded
by CSF and it floats.
• the final layer is pia matter, which is a soft tissue layer.
• There are four ventricles in the brain. Two large ventricles are present in
the middle of the brain, one in each hemispheres and are known as lateral
ventricles. Located below this is third ventricle and, fourth ventricle is
located between cerebellum and the brain stem, at the base of the brain.
The ventricles are filled with CSF.
• The brain has three major divisions as the fore brain, mid brain
and the hind brain.
FOREBRAIN
Forebrain has two divisions known as
the telencephalon and diencephalon.
The telencephalon includes the
cerebral cortex, basal ganglia and the
limbic system. It is the largest division
of the human brain. The cerebral cortex
covers the two cerebral hemispheres
while the basal ganglia is placed in the
sub-cortical area in the brain.
The diencephalon includes the
thalamus and the hypothalamus, optic
chiasma and pineal body. It is present
between the cerebrum and the mid
brain.
CEREBRAL CORTEX (telencephalon)
The cerebral cortex is about 2 to 4 mm thick. It is on
top of the cerebrum. It is outer, observable part of
the brain.
There are millions of dendrites that synapse here with
the other neurons. The presence of small
unmyelinated neurons in the cerebral cortex gives it a
gray color and, is also known as gray matter.
The layer beneath the cortex constitutes of large
myelinated axons which gives a white colour and
hence is referred as the white matter.
There are small and big bulges called as convolution.
There are grooves between the bulges, the smaller
ones are known as sulci and the larger grooves as
fissures.
There are many functions of the cerebral cortex. The
post central gyrus functions as a general somatic
sensory area.It receives sensations of touch,
temperature and pressure.
The precentral gyrus works as a somatic motor area
which is involved in motor responses and maintaining
 Different areas of the cortex have important sensory functions to perform.
The primary visual cortex helps in mapping the visual information and
primary auditory cortex helps to map auditory information.
Along with registering simple information, it also helps to compare and
evaluate sensory information, it helps in integrating information pieces
together into more meaningful perception.
The motor functions help in regulating the motor movement.
The primary somatic area is the precentral gyrus that is present in the
frontal lobe. This helps in controlling individual muscles and the muscles of
the feet, hands, toe for proper movement.
Since the cortex receives sensory information, it integrates the information
and sends out the motor responses, it functions as an integration center.
This is responsible for consciousness and various other mental activities as
language ability, emotions and memory.
Cortex is also involved in other language functions, such as the ability to
understand speech and written language. Cortex also helps in storing and
retrieving information form short-term memory as well as long-term
memory.
Basal Ganglia
Basal Ganglia is present under the cerebral cortex. It is made up
of white matter mostly which is composed of a number of
tracts. There the gray matter is present deep inside the cortex
unlike the white matter.
Being an important part of the cerebrum, the basal ganglia
helps in regulating voluntary motor functions, as muscle
contractions that are involved in maintaining the posture,
walking or making other movements.
If there is any damage to the blood vessels in this area, it
causes a local interruption in the blood flow causing tissue
damage or stroke locally. This causes a partial paralysis on one
side of the body with problems in vision too.
Parkinson's disease which is caused by the degeneration of
certain neurons in the midbrain that sends its impulses to basal
ganglia. This disease causes the person to experience
weakness, tremors, poor balance, rigidity of limbs, and
difficulty in initiating movements.
Limbic System
The limbic (limbic means 'ring') system makes a border around the corpus
callosum that connects the left hemisphere with the right one.
It includes structures as cingulated gyrus and hippocampus which are
connected to other areas of the brain as amygdala, septal, nucleus,
hypothalamus and thalamus.
Limbic system is also known as the ‘old brain’, performing functions related to
emotional experience and expression and motivation.
Since it is involved in the experience of different emotions such as fear, anger,
sadness, feeding, sexual behaviour, fighting, etc.,
Along with the cortex is also known as the emotional brain. If there is any
damage in this area, it may lead to abnormal emotional reactions to
situations.
Since limbic system also plays an important role in learning and memory, any
damage to the hippocampus causes deficits in memory.
Thalamus (Diencephalon)
Thalamus is a large, two-lobed structure that is located on top of the brain
stem.
It is the central part of the forebrain that has important nuclei known as
geniculate bodies and many neurons lie in the nuclei of the thalamus.
The geniculate bodies play an important role in the processing of auditory
and visual information.
Hence, thalamus is responsible for sensation of pain, temperature and
touch, and consciousness.
The nuclei in the thalamus receive impulses form the brain stem and send
it to the different regions of the cortex.
The thalamic nuclei have an intermediate position are involved in relaying
information from sensory receptors to motor effectors.
Any damage to the thalamic region may be fatal or cause coma.
Hypothalamus
Hypothalamus ('hypo' means below) is located below the anterior thalamus.
It is a small part of the brain weighing about 7 grams only. Despite its small
size, it is functionally very important.
It has three important nuclei, known as supraoptic nuclei, the paraventricular
nuclei, and the mamillary bodies.
The mid-portion gives rise to a stalk known as infundibulum that is
connected to the posterior pituitary gland.
The hypothalamus is responsible for the survival as well as enjoyment of life.
Since it links the nervous system to the endocrine system, it connects the
mind (psyche) and the body (soma).
The mamillary bodies are responsible for olfactory sensations. It also
functions as pleasure centre, satisfying various drives as eating, hunger, sleep
and sexual behaviour.
Hypothalamus also regulates autonomic activities and integrates all
It regulates the release of hormones from the pituitary gland. It
functions as the relay center transferring information between
the cerebral cortex and the autonomic centers.
It also maintains water balance of the body and controls the
functions of all body cells as it regulates the endocrine glands.
Since hypothalamus regulates arousal or alerting mechanism, it
helps to maintain the waking state.
There is an appetite center in the hypothalamus to regulate
eating behaviour.
If there is any damage to the hypothalamus, it causes a variation
in the body temperature and it increases above the normal level.
MID BRAIN
The middle portion of the brain is known as mid brain.
Another name for it is mesencephalon.
This has two parts known as tectum and tegmentum.
The mid brain is composed of white tracts and
reticular formation. Its function is to transmit impulses
between the mid brain and the cerebrum.
There is inferior colliculus which serves as an auditory
center while the superior colliculus functions as the
visual center.
The mid brain is also responsible for certain nerve
reflexes such as, papillary reflexes and eye movements
Tectum
The top part of the mid brain is known as tectum.
It has two colliculi on either side as superior colliculus
and inferior colliculus.
The function of the inferior colliculi is to relay auditory
information. The function of the superior colliculi is to
relay visual motor system.
Tegmentum
Tegmentum lies in the middle of the midbrain.
It includes some parts of the reticular formation, and
some extensions that lie in the path between the fore
brain and the hindbrain.
It has two nuclei as substantia nigra and the red
nucleus.
The red nucleus is involved in motor function while the
substantia nigra (black substance) produces dopamine
that prevents Parkinson's disease. Both are important
components of the sensorimotor system.
The reticular formation has number of neurons that are
interconnected to one another. This network serves as a pathway
to project the information to the cortex, thalamus and spinal cord.
It is responsible for maintaining arousal, sleep, attention and
muscle movements.
HIND BRAIN
The hind brain is the posterior part of the brain which consists of
metencephalon and myelencephalon.
Metencephalon contains the cerebellum and pons while
myelencephalon includes the medulla oblongata.
Cerebellum
The cerebellum is the second largest part of the brain, also
referred as 'little brain'. It is located at the base of the skull, behind
the pons and below the main part of the brain and runs directly
into the spinal cord.
The internal white matter of the cerebellum looks like veins of a
leaf.
There are a number of grooves known as sulci and raised areas
known as gyri.
There are long and small tracts in the cerebellum that send
impulses within and to the cerebellum.
The cerebellum controls the movement of the skeletal muscles
and enables in making smooth, efficient and coordinated
movements than jerky ones.
It helps in maintaining the body posture and equilibrium.
Learned reflexes, habits and skills are also maintained by this
area.
If the cerebellum is damaged due to an injury, disease, tumor,
etc. then it causes cerebellar disease that is associated with
typical symptoms.
For example, in ataxia (means without coordination), the person
faces problem in moving parts of the body the way one wants.
Tremors become more frequent, gait and walking, is not stable
and there are disturbances in the equilibrium
Pons
Pons consists of white matter and reticular formation. It lies just
above the medulla.
Pons means "bridge" and infact, it serves as the bridge between
cerebellum and upper parts of the brain. Pons functions to
control the reflexes of the body.
It also helps in regulating respiration, and influences sleep,
Medulla Oblongata
The medulla oblongata is about an inch in size. It is
located at the top of spinal cord and is the lowest part
of the brain.
It contains projection tracts, reticular formation, and
white matter.
The nuclei in the reticular formation function as control
centres such as cardiac, vasomotor or respiratory
control centres, and thus, it controls life-sustaining
functions.
Medulla has other centres which take care of non-vital
reflexes such as vomiting, coughing, sneezing, etc.
It is also the place where the sensory nerves coming
from the left and right sides of the body cross-over
making the sensory information from left side of the
body going to the right side of the brain and vice versa.
LOBES OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX
The cortex is the outer covering of the brain that consists of
tightly packed neurons. It is highly wrinkled, though initially
(before birth), it is smooth but with the increase in size and
complexity of the brain, it becomes more wrinkled.
This process is known as corticalization.
The cortex has two sections, known as cerebral hemispheres.
It is covered by a thick and hard band of neural fibres known
as corpus callosum.
Corpus callosum enables the left and right hemispheres to
exchange information with each other and communicate.
If the corpus callosum is damaged, communication can be
disrupted and each hemisphere acts independently, one side
of the body does something without the other side knowing.
This causes behavioural changes, common in 'split-brain
patients'.
The fissures or grooves in the cortex divide the cerebral
hemispheres into five lobes.
FRONTAL LOBE
frontal lobes (left and right) are present in front of the
brain. The most anterior part of the frontal lobes is
known as the pre-frontal cortex.
The pre-frontal cortex helps to receive sensory
information and project it to various portions around it.
Frontal lobes are responsible for motor movements
and fine movements, such as moving of a finger at a
point of time, etc.
There is the precentral gyrus that is involved in the
motor functions.
The rostral part of the frontal lobes is involved is higher
order functions like, in cognition, complex decision-
making and ideation.
Since it is connected to limbic system, it also controls
emotions
The frontal lobe is also involved in
language functions (in most cases, the
left frontal lobe).
This area is known as Broca's area,
named after French physician, Paul Broca.
If there is any damage or lesion to the
Broca's area, then it causes difficulties in
producing and fluency in speech and
sound, also called as Broca's aphasia.
It is an impairment of language, affecting
the production or comprehension of
speech and the ability to read or write
PHINEAS GAGE
Phineas Gage was a young, reflective,
determined, and goal-oriented man who,
despite his youth, had been promoted to
foreman on an American railroad
construction project. But in an
unfortunate accident on September 13,
1848, an explosion drove a tamping rod
up through the left side of his face and
out the top of his head. The rod passed
through and destroyed much of his left
PFC. Amazingly, Gage survived, and was
1868 diagram of Phineas Gage’s
even speaking within minutes of the
skull and the damaged caused
accident. He was still conscious and by the tamping rod – by John M.
talking to a physician. Harlow
TEMPORAL LOBE
Temporal lobes lie on the either side of the
brain, at the temples on the lateral sides.
A deep groove known as lateral sulcus
distinguishes the temporal lobe form the
other lobes in the cortex.
There is a gyrus known as transverse gyrus
that serves as the primary auditory area
and helps in the processing of language
functions.
This lobe is also involved in more complex
functions as vision, movement perception
and facial recognition.
damage to the temporal lobe it may give rise to hallucinations that could be
both auditory or visual.
Temporal lobe is also involved in emotions and motivational behaviours.
if there is any damage to temporal lobe it can lead to Kluver Bucy Syndrome.
This is apparent in wild monkeys who do not display fear or anxiety responses.
Kluver Bucy syndrome is a rare behavioral impairment characterized by
inappropriate sexual behaviors and mouthing of objects. Other signs and
symptoms, include a diminished ability to visually recognize objects, loss of
normal fear and anger responses, memory loss, distractibility, seizures, and
dementia. It is associated with damage to the anterior temporal lobes of the
brain.
In the left temporal lobe, is the Wernicke's
area, named after physiologist Carl Wernicke,
a contemporary of Paul Broca.
This area of the brain helps in speech
comprehension.
A person with Wernicke's aphasia will speak
wrongly and will also not be able to
understand what other people are saying to
her/him, though there is no problem in
fluency and articulation.
Thus, any damage or lesion to this area might
lead where the person can produce words and
speak fluently but will be incorrect.
PARIETAL LOBE
The parietal lobes are located at the top
and back of each hemisphere and lie
between the occipital lobe and the central
sulcus.
There is a deep groove known as the post
central gyrus that functions as the primary
somatosensory cortex.
This lobe is involved in sensation of touch
and receives information from the muscle-
stretch receptors.
This knowledge of the touch and body
sensations facilitates in the interpretation
of visual and auditory information.
OCCIPITAL LOBE
Occipital lobes are located at the back
and base of each cerebral hemisphere.
It is responsible for processing of the
visual information that is received from
the eyes.
The primary visual cortex area is
Brodmann Area 17. It is involved in
perceiving complex visual stimuli.
Any damage to the occipital lobe leads
to problems in vision when flashes of
light are seen, visual hallucination or
visual agnosia.
INSULA
It is present under the temporal lobe and is
hidden from view.
This lobe is responsible for vision, so if there is any
damage to this area then there could be cortical
blindness.
Extensive damage to this area, especially in the
right hemisphere may damage the left visual field
causing blindness in that area.
The person having cortical blindness may not be
able to perceive patterns or visual images (Sabo &
Kirtley, 1982).
It is known to be involved in consciousness,
emotions and regulation of homeostasis. Other
functions include self awareness, compassion,
empathy etc.
 DISORDERS OF THE
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Alzheime Multiple Cerebral

Parkinson Stroke Seizure amnesia
r sclerosis Palsy
ACTIVITY
❑The ________ is a sensory station where all sensory information, except for smell,
goes before being sent to other areas of the brain for further processing:
a) Amygdala b) Hippocampus c) Hypothalamus d) Thalamus.
❑Damage to the ________disrupts one's ability to comprehend language, but it leaves
one's ability to produce words intact:
a) amygdala b) Broca's area c) Wernicke's area d) occipital lobe
❑Which of the following is not a structure of the forebrain?
a) thalamus b) hippocampus c) amygdala d) substantia nigra
❑The visual cortex processes visual information. In which part of the cerebral cortex is it
located?
a) occipital lobe b) temporal lobe c) parietal lobe d) frontal lobe
PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
peripheral nervous system (PNS) is that part of your nervous
system that lies outside your brain and spinal cord.
It plays key role in both sending information from different
areas of your body back to your brain, as well as carrying out
commands from your brain to various parts of your body.
it consists of all the nerves that branch out from the brain and
spinal cord (not contained in the brain and spinal cord). From
there it extends to other parts of the body as various muscles or
organs.
It is divided into somatic nervous system and the autonomic
nervous system
The sensory information from the eyes, ears, skin and muscles is
carried by the somatic nervous system to the CNS and the motor
responses are mediated by the motor fibers from the CNS.
The Autonomic Nervous system, another part of PNS, regulates
emotional behavior, other organs and glands.
The main role of the PNS is to connect the CNS with the limbs,
and organs of the body.
SOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
The somatic nervous system conducts all sensory and motor information to and
from the CNS. It is responsible for voluntary movement.
This system consists of two major types of neurons such as sensory neurons and
motor neurons.
The sensory neurons are afferent neurons as they conduct impulses from the
sensory organs to the central nervous system.
The motor neurons are efferent neurons that convey information from the brain
and spinal cord to muscle throughout the body. This is responsible for making
voluntary movements.
Thus, the somatic nervous system receives sensory information from the sensory
organs and controls the movements of the skeletal muscles.
When a predictable response is given to a stimulus it is known as
a reflex.
In a reflex, the nerve impulse passes over a reflex arc.
If the center of the reflex arc is in the brain, it is known as a
cranial reflex, while if the center of the reflex arc is in the spinal
cord, it is known as spinal reflex.
Somatic reflexes involve the contraction of the skeletal muscles.
Autonomic or visceral reflexes consist of contractions of smooth
or cardiac muscles or glandular secretions.
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is that part of the peripheral nervous system
that helps to transmit the efferent neurons to various autonomic or visceral effectors.
As the name autonomic suggests that the functions are more or less automatic.
It helps to regulate the effectors, like the cardiac muscles in the heart, smooth
muscles on the skin, blood vessels and epithelial tissue in the glands.
Thus, the somatic nervous system controls the senses and voluntary muscles, while
as, the autonomic nervous system controls the organs, glands and involuntary
muscles.
The ANS functions involve regulating the heart rate, contraction of smooth muscles in
the gall bladder and urinary bladder and maintain a state of homeostasis by
regulating the glandular secretions.
Hence, the ANS regulates the autonomic effectors that not only
help to maintain homeostasis but also restores it.
ANS has two divisions, sympathetic division and parasympathetic
division.
These two divisions are very different from one another but work
in conjunction with each other. Their functions are also very
distinct.
Functions of the Sympathetic Division Functions of the Parasympathetic Division
Sympathetic division is located primarily on The neurons of this system are located top
the middle of the spinal column (top of the and bottom of the spinal column on both
ribcage to the waist area that is thoracic the sides of neurons of sympathetic division
and lumbar areas). (para means 'beyond' or 'next to’).
The sympathetic division is responsible for It is also known as craniosacral system
"fight-or-flight" mechanism (fight : anger; because it consists of cranial nerves and
flight : fear). nerves from sacral spinal cord
However, when there is a change in the The parasympathetic division is active most
external environment, it serves as an of the time and controls various functions of
emergency response to cope with the the body in non-stressful situations or when
changes in the external environment and everything is all right, that is in day-to-day
maintaining homeostasis. functioning
s. It helps the person or animal to deal with The activities of sympathetic division
stressful situation (sympathy with one's are replaced by the parasympathetic
emotions). division when the stress is over.
In stress, the sympathetic division becomes
very active, and starts sending its impulses It helps in repairing the body systems
very rapidly to defend the body. and bringing them back to a resting
state and restoring the body to normal
It also stimulates the adrenal gland to functioning after arousal.
produce epinephrine and norepinephrine
which help to enhance heart rate, blood It produces acetylcholine that reduces
sugar level, and increase the blood flow to the heart rate and brings it to a normal
the skeletal muscles to deal with stress. level and also tends to improve the
Most of the sympathetic nervous system digestion by stimulating the digestive
use norepinephrine glands.
The sweat glands, the adrenal It enhances the activity of the
glands, the muscles that erect gastric and intestinal system for
the hairs of the skin, and the smooth functioning of the
muscles that constrict the body.
blood vessels are only
Parasympathetic division
stimulated by sympathetic restores the energy that is
division. burned by the sympathetic
division. Thus, it is also known
as "eatdrink-and-rest system".
1) The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of the nerves that
lie in the _______ region.
2) PNS is divided into ________ and _______.
3) The somatic nervous system is responsible for _______
movement.
4) When a predictable response is given to a stimulus it is known as
a _______.
5) Autonomic nervous system has two divisions which are
_____division and ______ division.
DOPAMINE AND SEROTONIN HYPOTHESIS

Abnormalities in dopamine transmission is one of the causes of psychotic disorder,

such as schizophrenia.
Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia states that schizophrenia is caused due to
excess activity at dopamine synapses in certain brain areas.
Researches have concluded that there is an increase in dopamine release in people
showing the first symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations and delusions).
Drugs that are most effective in treating schizophrenia, are the most effective at
blocking dopamine receptors.
This hypothesis is further supported by researches who have concluded that
continuous use of drugs like amphetamine, cocaine, etc. also show psychotic
symptoms and causes substance-induced psychotic disorder.
These drugs increase the activity at dopamine synapses.
Apart from dopamine hypothesis, glutamate hypothesis also has a role in
schizophrenia.
Dopamine inhibits glutamate cells in many brain areas, and glutamate
stimulates neurons that inhibit dopamine.
Thus, the effects of increasing dopamine are similar to those of
decreasing glutamate.
So, the effect of anti-psychotic drugs that block dopamine are in
consonance with either excess-dopamine hypothesis or deficient
glutamate hypothesis.
NEURON PLASTICITY OF BRAIN NEURON
DEGENERATION, NEURON REGENERATION
AND NEURON REORGANIZATION
It was earlier believed that any damage to the central nervous system
(brain and the spinal cord) is permanent or more or less permanent.
It was also hypothesized that the adult (mature) brain was incapable of
any reorganization.
But the recent advances in research by neuroscientists (1980s onwards)
have concluded that the brain has the ability to constantly change the
structure and functions of the cells in response to any experience, injury
or any trauma.
The mature brain is constantly changing and adapting.
This ability of the brain is known as neuroplasticity.
The brain keeps changing in the course of a persons' life, with changes
in synaptic activity, genetic and environmental influences.
There may be changes in the neuronal activity or more complex
changes in cortical mapping in response to an injury or trauma.
Throughout the lifespan, neurons continuously die out and it was
assumed that old cells are lost without being replaced by the new ones.
The recent evidence on neurogenesis (growth of new neurons) throws
light on the capability of an adult brain to generate new nerve cells.
The adult neurogenesis comes from hippocampus and olfactory bulb.
Hippocampus is the unique structure located in the medial
temporal lobe of the brain and is involved in memory, emotions
and mood.
Olfactory bulbs are the first cranial nerves, whose output goes
primarily to amygdala and piriform cortex. Diet and enriched
environment play an important role in neurogenesis while as,
sleep deprivation and stress impede neurogenesis.
Neural Degeneration
Neural degeneration is a result of brain development and disease. It is
affected by nearby glial cells, degenerating neurons and any process or
disease that triggers degeneration.
When the axon of the neuron is cut, it causes two kinds of degeneration or
deterioration. When the axon breaks from the point of cut towards the
terminal button, it is known as anterograde degeneration and the distal end
of the axon degenerates.
When the neuron breaks from the center of the axon including the cell body,
it is known as retrograde degeneration. It is the degeneration of the segment
that is proximal cut between the cut on the axon and the cell body.
Neural Regeneration
Neural regeneration is the regrowth of damaged neurons. Once the
neurons are destroyed in the CNS in adult mammals, they do not recover.
However, in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), they do try to
regenerate, but the normal functions may not be possible.
If the recovery process does take place then there are different ways. If
the myelin sheath is intact, then the regenerating axons may grow
through them to their desired target areas.
If the nerve is severed and the ends of the myelin sheath moves apart,
then no meaningful regeneration will take place.
 If the nerve is severed and the myelin sheath ends slightly gets separated
from one another, then incorrect myelin sheaths develop that reaches out
to undesired target areas.
The PNS neurons have the inherent capability to regenerate, while as, CNS
neurons cannot regenerate.
Some CNS neurons are capable of regeneration if transplanted to the PNS,
while some PNS neurons transplanted to CNS are not capable of
regeneration.
This clearly indicates the environment of PNS that promotes regeneration.
When an axon degenerates, new axons branch out from adjacent healthy
axons and synapse at the place vacated by degenerating axon. This is known
as collateral sprouting.
Collateral sprouts may grow from axon terminal branches or the nodes of
Ranvier on adjacent neurons.
Neural Reorganization
Studies conducted on laboratory animals to study neural reorganization after brain
damage have primarily focused on sensory and motor cortex areas of the brain.
The results of the studies by Kaas and Colleagues (1990), Pons and Colleagues
(1991) and Sanes, Suner, and Donaghue (1990) clearly indicate cortical
reorganization following damage in laboratory animals.
Experiments conducted on adult mammalian brain also conclude that adult brain
can reorganize its primary motor and sensory functions after gaining sufficient
experience.
Mechanisms like strengthening of existing connections, collateral sprouting, adult
neurogenesis, etc. have a role to play in neural reorganization.
Recovery
Recovering the brain function after damage is very difficult.
It is difficult to do cognitive experiments on brain damaged patients and
hence it is poorly understood.
But there is some evidence that education and intelligence create cognitive
resources to help in recovery functions, referred to as cognitive reserve.
Cognitive and physical exercise helps to recover from nervous system damage.
Cognitive reserve has been used to explain that educated people are less
vulnerable to the impact of ageing related brain deterioration (Reuters-Lorenz
& Cappell, 2008).
With the discovery of neuroplasticity, neuroscientists are
conducting studies on neurotransplantation (eg. to transplant
human fetal dopamine cells to treat Parkinson's disease) as a
treatment for CNS damage, as well as rehabilitative training to
promote recovery from CNS damage.
HEMISPHERIC SPECIALIZATION
THE LEFTAND RIGHT HEMISPHERES :
Anatomically our brain consists of two structures-left cerebral hemispheres
and right cerebral hemispheres.
These hemispheres have contralateral (opposite) connection with the rest of
the body.
That is, left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex is connected to the right side of
the body while the right hemisphere is connected to the left side of the body.
Due to this contralateral connection, our left hemisphere sees only the right
side of the world while the right hemisphere sees only the left side of the
world.
These hemispheres are separate from
each other but they do exchange
information through a number of
channels.
One of these channels is known as
corpus callosum-a set of axons that
connects left and right hemispheres.
Other channels of communication
between these two hemispheres include
anterior commissure, the hippocampal
commissure, massa commissure,
posterior commissure, and optic chiasm.
These hemispheres are similar in structure but not similar in functions.
Left hemisphere possesses superiority in certain functions over the right
hemisphere. Similarly, the right hemisphere is specialized over left in other
cognitive functions.
This difference in the specialization of function of hemispheres is known as
hemispheric specialization or lateralization of function.
Earlier, it was believed that our left hemisphere has a dominant role over
right hemisphere in controlling and executing all important cognitive
processes.
This thinking led to the development of a theory known as cerebral
dominance.
As a result of this theory, left hemisphere was often termed as the
dominant hemisphere while right hemisphere was called as the minor
hemisphere.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LEFTAND
RIGHT HEMISPHERES
"lateralization of function is
statistical rather than
absolute"(Pinel & Barnes 2017,
pp. 428). It means that there is
a relative functional difference
between left and right
hemispheres and one
hemisphere possesses
comparatively more
specialization.
1) Language dominance: This is the first ability for which cerebral
lateralization was discovered. As already discussed in section 5.2.1, Paul
Broca (1864) in his seminal work mentioned the correlation between left
hemisphere and aphasia, suggesting a dominance of left hemisphere over
right hemisphere in language ability.
2) Ipsilateral movement : Opposite of contralateral is ipsilateral. It means on
the same side.It is a well-established fact that our hemispheres are
contralaterally connected to our body parts, i.e., left hemisphere controls
right part and right hemisphere controls left body part. However, in 1996,
Haaland and Harrington first observed in their fMRI study that complex,
cognitive movement performed by one hand led to usual contralateral
activation along with ipsilateral activation of the hemisphere. Interestingly,
this ipsilateral hemispheric activation was found to be greater in the left
hemisphere in comparison to the right hemisphere. It means that any
damage to left hemisphere will affect left-hand movements more in
comparison to the effect of the damage of right hemisphere on right-hand
movements.
3) Spatial ability: Levy (1969) found in her study that in the context of spatial abilities,
our right hemisphere has superiority over the left hemisphere. Any damage to right
hemisphere leads to the disorders of spatial perception such as direction, geometry or
distance.
4) Emotional ability: Numerous studies have suggested that our right hemisphere is
better in decoding emotional cues than the left hemisphere. In a recent study by
Etcoff and his colleagues (2000), found that people with left hemisphere lesion were
more accurate in reading gesture, facial expression and detecting lie than the normal
population. This suggests that people with aphasia are better at detecting a liar
because of their damaged left hemisphere, thus, they are free to use right hemisphere
and make reliable judgments. Further, it has also been reported that damage to right
hemisphere prevents an individual from comprehending people's emotional
expressions including humor and sarcasm (Beeman & Chiarello, 1998).
5) Musical ability: Using dichotic listening task, Kimura (1964) reported
that our right hemisphere is superior in musical ability. Many other
studies on patients with damage in the right hemisphere, are consistent
with the finding of Kimura i.e., right hemisphere lesion disrupts the
musical ability of such patients.
6) Differences in memory: Studies have suggested that both of our
hemispheres have memory ability. However, the types of memory in
which these hemispheres specialize differ from each other. According to
the findings of Kelley et al. (2002), our left hemisphere plays a major
role in verbal memory hemispheres whereas, right hemisphere plays
greater role non-verbal memory.
CUTTING THE CORPUS CALLOSUM:
THE SPLIT BRAIN
Before 1950, corpus callosum was one of a great mystery for
neuroscientists.
Corpus callosum is made up of 200 million axons and located in
the middle of the two hemispheres.
Due to its enormous size and central position, scientists always
believed that it has some major role to play.
Yet, studies on several laboratory animals (monkeys, rats, and
cats) and people with damaged corpus callosum did not suggest
anything.
MYERS AND SPERRY'S
GROUNDBREAKING EXPERIMENT
5.4.1 Myers and Sperry's Groundbreaking Experiment However, this
conception about corpus callosum changed in 1953, when Myers and
Sperry conducted a groundbreaking experiment on cats.
For their experiment, they took 4 groups of cats:
1) Cats with severed corpus callosum (control group)
2) Cats with severed optic chiasm (control group)
3) Cats with severed corpus callosum and optic chiasm both (key
experimental group)
4) Cats with intact brain or no damage to their brain (control group)
Corpus callosum and optic chiasm are the only two routes by which visual information
can travel from one hemisphere to another hemisphere. The researchers cut
completely through them for their key experimental group. This experiment was
conducted in two phases.
In the first phase, all cats were trained for a lever-press pattern discrimination task
with a patch on one eye. Cats of all groups, including key experimental group, learned
this task without any difficulty. This suggests that single hemisphere can also learn any
task independently and as rapidly as two hemispheres can learn together.
In the second phase of the experiment, the patch was switched to cats' other eye and
were again given the same discrimination task to perform. It was found that the
switching of the patch to other eye had no effect on the performance of cats except
for key experimental group.
In fact, this transferring of the patch had a devastating effect on key experimental
group cats.
Their performance immediately dropped down and they had to relearn the task like a
beginner. This result made Mayer and Sperry conclude that our hemispheres have the
capability to act as separate brains and the role of the corpus callosum is to transfer
information across hemispheres
Based on this experiment, following two theoretical points may be concluded:
1) The role of the corpus callosum is to transmit information from one hemisphere to another.
2) If corpus callosum is completely cut down or damaged, each hemisphere can work independently as if
they are carrying two separate brains in one skull
SPLIT-BRAIN IN HUMANS
In order to treat critical cases of epilepsy, Vogel and Bogey started conducting
commissurotomy- the operation of cutting through a band of muscle or nerve
fibers (Merriam-Webster, 2018).
These operations proved remarkably effective, as many epilepsy patients
never experienced another major convulsion or epilepsy attack. People who
have undergone such surgery are known as spilt-brain people.
In order to understand the effect of this commissurotomy on human behavior,
Sperry and Gazzaniga conducted experiments on spilt-brain patients.
The basic premise of their methodology was similar to Sperry's previous
experiment on laboratory cats: limiting information to one hemisphere only
(Gazzaniga, 2005).
Split-brain patients were asked to fix their gaze
at the center of a display screen. A stimulus was
presented on either left or right side of the
screen just for 0.1 second.
This short duration of stimuli presentation was
enough for perceiving it but not enough for
patients to make any eye movement.
Further, some fine tactual and motor activities
were given to perform by each hand under a
ledge.
This procedure made sure that information
about stimuli would not transmit to ipsilateral
hemisphere. Their study concluded two findings:
▪Just like laboratory animals, split-brain patients
also have two independent hemispheres having
their own consciousness, capabilities, and
memories.
▪Contrary to the hemispheres of laboratory
animals, hemispheres of spilt-brain patients are
not equal in their abilities
1) In their study, Gazzaniga and Sperry presented either visual or tactual
stimuli to either side of their hemispheres. When a picture of a spoon was
presented on the right visual field or the spoon was placed in the patients'
right hand, the left hemisphere gets activated and he or she does the
following things:
▪the patient simply tells the name of the object i.e., spoon, or
▪ picks out the correct object kept under the ledge with the right hand
These two steps taken by patients indicate that their left hemisphere had
received and stored the information.
In the second phase of the study, a picture of the spoon was presented on
the left visual field or the spoon itself was placed in the patients' left hand.
This activates the right hemisphere, however, the responses given by
patients were completely different.
▪patients claimed that nothing appeared on the screen, or
▪ patients could not pick out the correct object kept under the
ledge from their left hand
▪ patients claimed their unawareness about any object that has
been placed in their left hand.
2) Cross-cueing/ cuing: According to Gazzaniga and Sperry (1967), hemispheres of
spilt-brain patients were capable of communicating with each other through
nonneural routes or external routes. They termed it "cross-cueing/cuing". Pinto et
al., (2017) have defined the process of cross-cueing as "one hemisphere informing
the other hemisphere with behavioral ticks, such as touching the left hand with the
right hand". In their study, Gazzaniga and his colleagues presented red or green
colour in the left visual field of the spilt-brain patients and asked them to name it
after seeing it. They found that initially, their participants were not able to perform
better than chance level (i.e., 50% correct response). However, gradually their
performance improved dramatically. Initially, they believed that information is
travelling between two hemispheres through some neural pathway. However, later
they found that some external route such as head shakes or frowning inform left
hemispheres of an incorrect answer
3) Doing two things simultaneously: Gazzaniga (2005) in their studies found that
each hemisphere of the split-brain patients can work independently.
Interestingly, their efficiency in certain visual tasks was found to be better than
healthy participants (Luck et al., 1989).
4) The Z lens: For split-brain patients, visual stimuli requiring more than 0.1
second to perceive could not be studied using the conventional method for
restricting visual input to one hemisphere. To eliminate this barrier, Zaidel in
1975 developed the Z lens. It is a contact lens that is opaque on left side or right
side. The Z lens limits the visual input to one hemisphere of the split-brain
patients while they scan complex visual material for instance, pages of a book.
Since the lens moves with the eye, it permits visual input to enter only one
hemisphere, irrespective of eye movement.
METHODS TO STUDY BRAIN
LATERALISATION
There are broadly five methods to study cerebral lateralization namely,
unilateral lesions, studies of split-brain patients, the sodium amytal test,
the dichotic listening test and, functional brain imaging.
▪ The Sodium Amytal Test
The sodium amytal test is also known as the Wada test (named after a
neurologist, Juhn A. Wada) or intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure
(ISAP).
This test is often performed prior to any neurosurgery, especially epilepsy
surgery in order to determine which side of the hemisphere is
responsible for language and memory functions.
In a standard sodium amytal test, a small amount of sodium
amytal or sodium amobarbital is injected into the right or left
internal carotid artery.
Sodium amytal works as anesthesia and for few minutes suspend
the activity of that hemisphere on which injection is given.
This allows neurosurgeons to assess the capabilities of other
hemisphere using various procedures and tests.
▪The Dichotic Listening Test:
the dichotic listening test was used to investigate the phenomenon of
selective attention. It is a non-invasive test, it is quite popular among
neuroscientists for studying cerebral lateralization.
In this method, using earphone, participants are presented with two
different auditory stimuli to right and left ears simultaneously.
Kimura (2011) simultaneously presented different pairs of digits in both
ears of participants and asked to report all of the digits. He found that
majority of the participants were able to reproduce digits correctly
presented to their right ear than the left ear.
Thus, suggesting that for the majority of participants their left-hemisphere
was specialized for language.
▪Functional Brain Imaging:
Brain imaging techniques offer researchers and neuroscientists to study
the structure and functioning of our brain without operating it.
There are many brain imaging techniques available such as fMRI, CT scan,
PET scan, EEG, MEG etc.
Studies investigating cerebral lateralization have used fMRI and PET scan
extensively.
"While a volunteer engages in some activity, such as reading, the activity
of the brain is monitored by positron emission tomography (PET) or
functional magnetic resonance (fMRI)",.
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