Chapter 8

Integration of
Nervous System
Functions

Presynaptic terminals associated

with a postsynaptic neuron
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 Sensation (Perception)
• The conscious awareness of stimuli
received by sensory receptors
• Sensation requires
– A stimulus
– A receptor
– Conduction of an action potential to the CNS
– Translation of the action potential
– Processing of the action potential in the CNS
so that the person is aware of the sensation
 Sensation
• Sense is the ability to perceive stimuli
• Senses are the means by which the brain
receives information about the environment and
the body
• Senses are divided into two basic groups:
– General senses
• Somatic senses (touch, pressure, proprioception,
temperature, and pain)
• Visceral senses (pain and pressure)
– Special senses
• Smell
• Taste
• Sight
• Hearing
• Balance
Classification of Senses

Fig. 12.1
 Types of Sensory Receptors
• Mechanoreceptors
– Respond to mechanical stimuli (compression, bending
or stretching of receptors)
• Chemoreceptors
– Respond to chemicals (odor molecules)
• Photoreceptors
– Respond to light
• Thermoreceptors
– Respond to temperature changes
• Nociceptors (pain receptors)
– Respond to painful mechanical, chemical, and
thermal stimuli
 Sensory Receptors
• Are sensory nerve endings or specialized cells capable of
responding to stimuli by developing action potentials
• Most general sense receptors are associated with the skin,
others are associated with deeper structures
– Free nerve endings
• Simplest and most common type of receptor
• Detect pain, temperature, itch, and movement (proprioception)
– Touch Receptors
• Merkel disks
• Hair follicle receptors
• Meissner corpuscles
• Ruffini end organs
• Pacini corpuscles
– Proprioceptors
• Awareness of body position and movements
 Sensory Receptors for Touch
• Merkel disks
– Small superficial nerve endings
– Respond to light touch and superficial pressure
• Hair follicle receptors
– Wrap around the hair follicle
– Involved in the sensation of light touch when the hair is bent
• Meissner corpuscles
– Located deep to the epidermis
– Responsible for two-point discriminative touch
• Ruffini end organs
– Located in the dermis
– Involved in continuous touch or pressure
• Pacini corpuscles
– Located in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue
– Detect deep pressure and vibration
– In joints, they serve a proprioceptive function
Fig. 12.2
 Sensory Receptors for Proprioception

• Provide information about the precise

position of body parts
• Rate of movement of various body parts
• Weight of an object being held in the hand
• Range of movement of a joint
• Major receptors
– Muscle spindles
– Golgi tendon organs
– Pacini corpuscles
– Free nerve endings
 Sensory Tracts
• Ascending pathways carry conscious and
unconscious sensations
– Each pathway carries specific sensory information
because each pathway is associated with specific
types of receptors
– Anterolateral system
• Conveys cutaneous sensory information to the brain
• Spinothalamic tracts
– Carries pain, temperature, light touch, pressure, tickle, and itch
sensations
– Ascend to the thalamus
• Spinoreticular tracts
– Ascend to the thalamus
– Unconcious pain
• Spinomesencephalic tracts
– Ascend to the midbrain
– Unconscious pain and touch
 Sensory Tracts
• Ascending pathways (cont.)
– Dorsal column/medial lemniscal system
• Carries the sensations of two-point discrimination
• Proprioception
• Pressure
• Vibration
– Trigeminothalamic tracts
• Carries sensory information from the face, nose,
and mouth
– Spinocerebellar tracts
• Proprioception
Fig. 12.3
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Synapses with secondary neuron

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Synapses with secondary neuron

Crosses to opposite side of the spinal cord

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Synapses with secondary neuron

Crosses to opposite side of the spinal cord

Ascends to the thalamus

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Synapses with secondary neuron

Crosses to opposite side of the spinal cord

Ascends to the thalamus

Synapses with tertiary neuron

Fig. 12.4
 Sensory Tracts
• Spinothalamic tract of the Anterolateral System
Primary neuron enters spinal cord

Synapses with interneurons

Synapses with secondary neuron

Crosses to opposite side of the spinal cord

Ascends to the thalamus

Synapses with tertiary neuron

Tertiary neurons connect to the somatic

sensory cortex

Fig. 12.4
 Dorsal
Column/Medial
Lemniscal System

Fig. 12.5
Tab. 12.1
 Sensory Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

• Sensory pathways project to primary

sensory areas in the cerebral cortex
– Somatic sensory
– Visual
– Auditory
– Taste
– Olfactory

Fig. 12.6
 Sensory Areas of the Cerebral Cortex

• Sensory areas are

organized topographically
in the somatic sensory
cortex

Fig. 12.7
 Control of Skeletal Muscles
• Lower motor neurons are found in the
cranial nuclei or the anterior horn of the
spinal cord gray matter
• Upper motor neurons are located in the
cerebral cortex, brainstem, and cerebellum
• Upper motor neurons form tracts that
directly or indirectly control the activities of
lower motor neurons
 Motor Area of the Cerebral Cortex

• The primary motor cortex

is the precentral gyrus
and is organized
topographically
• The premotor and
prefrontal areas are
staging areas for motor
function

Fig. 12.8
 Motor Tracts
• Direct pathways
– Arise from the cerebral cortex
– Upper motor neurons extend to lower motor neurons
in the brainstem and spinal cord
– Corticospinal tract
• Control muscle movements below the head
– Especially the distal limbs
– Make fine motor control of the fingers possible
• Lateral corticospinal tracts
• Anterior corticospinal tracts
– Corticobulbar tracts
• Innervate the head muscles (except for muscles moving the
eyes)
Direct Pathways in
the Motor Tracts

Fig.
12.11
 Motor Tracts
• Indirect pathways
– Arise from the cerebral cortex and cerebellum
– Upper motor neurons extend to brainstem nuclei
• Axons from the nuclei extend to lower motor neurons
– Involved in conscious and unconscious trunk and
proximal limb muscle movements, posture, and
balance
– Rubrospinal
– Reticulospinal
– Vestibulospinal
 Indirect Pathways
in the Motor Tracts

Fig.
12.12
Fig. 12.9
Tab. 12.2
 Descending
Pathways in the
Motor Tracts

Fig.
12.10
Modifying and Refining Motor Activities
• Basal nuclei are important in planning,
organizing, and coordinating motor movements
and posture
• The cerebellum has three parts
– Vestibulocerebellum controls balance and eye
movement
– Spinocerebellum corrects discrepancies between
intended movements and actual movements
– Cerebrocerebellum can “learn” highly specific
complex motor activities
• Cerebellum receives input from, and projects to,
the contralateral cerebral motor cortex
• Cerebellum receives proprioception input from
the ipsilateral body
Cerebellar Comparator Function

Fig. 12.13
 Speech
• Located only in the left cortex in most
people
• Wernicke’s area comprehends and
formulates speech
• Broca’s area receives input from
Wernicke’s area and sends impulses to
the premotor and motor areas, which
cause the muscle movements required for
speech
Cortical Activities During Speech

Fig. 12.14
 Brain Waves and Sleep
• Normal brain function involves continuous
electrical activity
• An electroencephalogram (EEG) records this
activity
• Patterns of neuronal electrical activity recorded
are called brain waves
• Each person’s brain waves are unique
• Continuous train of peaks and troughs
• Wave frequency is expressed in Hertz (Hz)
 Brain Waves and Sleep
• Alpha waves: regular and rhythmic, low-
amplitude, slow, synchronous waves indicating
an “idling” brain
• Beta waves: rhythmic, more irregular waves
occurring during the awake and mentally alert
state
• Theta waves: more irregular than alpha waves;
common in children, but they can occur in adults
experiencing frustration or who have certain
brain disorders
• Delta waves: high-amplitude waves seen in
deep sleep, in infancy, and in patients with
severe brain disorders
 EEGs Showing Brain Waves
• A typical night’s sleep pattern in a young adult

Fig. 12.15
 Memory
• At least three kinds of memory exist
– Sensory
• Very brief (less than a second) retention of sensory input
received by the brain while something is scanned, evaluated,
and acted on
– Short-term memory
• Lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes and is limited to 7
or 8 pieces of information
– Long-term memory
• Lasts for hours or longer (a lifetime)
• Two types
– Explicit memory: retention of facts, such as names, dates, and
places
– Implicit memory: development of skills such as riding a bicycle
or playing a piano
 Fig.
12.16
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