Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to As specialists in communication, neurons do not work on their own, but in interconnected groups, often called a neural circuit or a neural network. Even small numbers…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to The 86 billion neurons in your brain differ dramatically in size, shape, and gene expression (Herculano-Houzel, 2012). What they all have in common is a specialization for…
Figure 2.1 Puffer fish collaborate with bacteria to produce tetrodotoxin (TTX), a neurotoxin that clogs the inactivating voltage-gated Na+ channels responsible for the rising phase of an action potential. Image credit: amandarichard421 on flickr CC BY 2.0 Chapter Outline 2.1 Neural Communication 2.2 Neural Circuits…
Building a Nervous System The basic cellular building blocks of the nervous system are neurons and glia. While sharing all features of eukaryotic cells, including membrane bound organelles and the central dogma, neurons and glia differ in some important ways…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to When you enter a dimly lit room, your pupils enlarge. When you are nervous before an exam, your heart might start racing and your palms get sweaty.…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to As described earlier, during the development of the central nervous system at about 50 days post conception, 5 major embryonic divisions can be observed: the telencephalon and…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to The central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord. Unlike the PNS, the CNS is encased in bone (skull and vertebral column).…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to The ways in which nervous systems across the animal kingdom are organized are both different and extremely similar. The section below will highlight some of the differences…
Learning Objectives By the end of this section, you should be able to Across the animal kingdom, nervous systems are constructed using the same basic cell types: neurons and in most cases glia. Although neurons and glia come in different shapes and sizes,…
Figure 1.1 Brainbow with each neuron a different color. Image credit: Stephen J Smith, CC BY 3.0 Chapter Outline 1.1 Building a Nervous System 1.2 Organization of the Nervous System 1.3 The Central Nervous System: CNS 1.4 The Brain: Structure and Function 1.5 The Peripheral Nervous System:…