• Discuss neurons

• Discuss Astrocytes

• Discuss Oligodendrocytes

• Discuss Ependymocytes

• Discuss glial cell

• Discuss the peripheral nervous system

 CELLS OF THE NERVOUS TISSUES
• Tissues of the nervous system are composed of several different types of cells known as nerve cells performs various
functions, but the primary functional unit of the nervous system is the neuron
• All body’s activities such sensations, movements, thoughts, memories and feelings are the result of signals that pass
through neurons

• Cells of the central nervous system are typically divided into two major categories:
A. Cells of neuroectodermal origin include:
• Neurons
• Astrocytes
• Oligodendrocytes
• Ependymocytes

B. Cells of mesenchymal origin include:

• Meninges
• Blood vessels
• Adipose tissue
• Microglia
 NEURON
• The brain and the rest of the nervous system are composed of many different types of cells, but the primary functional
unit is a nerve cell known as the neuron. All sensations, movements, thoughts, memories, and feelings are the result of
signals that pass through neurons. Neurons sends signals or messages through neurotransmitters across the body to allow
daily activities of the body to take place such as breathing, talking, eating, walking, thinking, etc.
• Until recently, most neuroscientists thought we were born with all the neurons we were ever going to have. As
children, we might grow some new neurons to help build the pathway called neural circuits, that act as information
pathways between different areas of the brain

• However, scientists believed that once a neural circuit was in place, adding any new neurons would change the flow of
information and break the brain’s communication system

• They are responsible for the electrical signals that communicate information about sensations, and that produce
movements in response to those stimuli, along with inducing thought processes within the brain

• An important part of the function of neurons is in their structure or shape. The three-dimensional shape of these cells
makes the immense numbers of connections within the nervous system possible
 Neuron Birth
• The vast majority of neurones is generated before birth. Persisting stem cells give rise to a small number of
new neurones throughout the lifetime of mammals, including humans
• The permanent addition of neurones may be important for the maintenance and plasticity of some parts of
the CNS, but it is insufficient to replace neurones that die because of disease or acute damage to the CNS.
Neurones should last a lifetime. Mature neurones are not mitotically active, i.e. they do not divide Neurons are
born in areas of the brain that are full of neural stem cells, or precursor cells
• Stem cells have the potential to make most, if not all, of the different types of neurons and glia found in the
brain
• Neurones are generally large cells. Neural activity and its control require the expression of many genes,
which is reflected in the large and light nuclei of most neurones
• The understanding of the function of a neurone depends on three key factors:
(1) the shape of the neurone and, in particular, its processes
(2) the chemicals the neurone uses to communicate with other neurones (neurotransmitters)
(3) the ways in which the neurone may react to the neurotransmitters released by other neurones
• Neural stem cells increase by dividing in two. Then they can become either two new stem cells, or two
early progenitor cells (parent cells to new neurons or glia), or one of each
• When a stem cell divides to produce another stem cell, it is said to self-renew. This new cell has the
potential to make more stem cells
• When a stem cell divides to produce an early progenitor cell, it is said to differentiate. Differentiation means
that the new cell is more specialized in how it’s formed and what it can do
• Early progenitor cells can make other progenitor cells, self-renew like stem cells, or can change in
either of two ways. One way will make new astrocytes. The other way will make neurons or oligodendrocytes
 Migration Of Neuron
• Once a neuron is born, it must travel to the place in the brain where it will do its work.
• How does a neuron know where to go? What helps it get there?
• Neuroscientists have seen that neurons use at least two different methods to travel:
• Some neurons travel, or migrate, by following the long fibers of cells called radial glia. These fibers
stretch from the inner layers to the outer layers of the brain. Neurons glide along the fibers until they reach their
destination
• Neurons also travel by using chemical signals. Scientists have found special molecules on the surface of
neurons—adhesion molecules—that attach to similar molecules on nearby glial cells or nerve axons. These
chemical signals guide the neurons to their final location
• Not all neurons are successful in their journey. Scientists think that only a third reach their destination.
• Some cells die in development or while traveling.
• Other neurons survive the trip but end up where they should not be. Accidental changes (called
mutations) in the genes that control migration create brain areas of misplaced or oddly formed neurons that can
cause disorders like childhood epilepsy
• Some researchers think that certain disorders, such as schizophrenia and dyslexia, are partly the result
of misguided neurons.
 Differentiation: Neurons Take Shape and Get to Work
• Once a neuron reaches its destination, it must settle into work. There is still a lot that scientists don’t understand about
the part of neurogenesis called differentiation

• Neurons are responsible for sending and receiving neurotransmitters—chemicals that carry information between brain
Cells

• Depending on its location, a neuron can perform the function of a sensory neuron, a motor neuron, or an interneuron,
sending and receiving specific neurotransmitters.

• In the developing brain, a neuron depends on molecular signals from other cells, such as astrocytes, to determine its
shape and location, the kind of transmitter it produces, and the other neurons it will connect to. These freshly born cells
create neural circuits—or information pathways connecting neurons to neurons—that will be in place throughout adulthood

• But in the adult brain, neural circuits are already developed, and neurons must find a way to fit in. As new neurons settle
in, they start to look like the surrounding cells. They develop axons and dendrites and begin to communicate with their
neighbors through synapses.
 The Architecture of the Neuron
The central nervous system (which includes the brain and spinal cord) is made up of two basic types of cells:
• Neurons, the nerve cells that send and receive signals
• Glia, cells that provide structure in the brain
• In some parts of the brain, there are many more glia than neurons, but neurons are the key players in the
brain
Neurons are information messengers
• They use electrical and chemical signals to send information between different areas of the brain, as well as
between the brain, the spinal cord, and the entire body
• Everything we think, feel, and do would be impossible without the work of neurons and their support cells, the
glial cells called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes
• A neuron has three basic parts: a cell body, and two branches called an axon and a dendrite. Within the cell
body is a nucleus, which controls the cell’s activities and contains the cell’s genetic material

• The axon looks like a long tail and sends messages from the cell. A dendrite looks like the branch of a tree and
receives messages for the cell. Neurons communicate with each other by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters,
across a tiny space called a synapse, between the axons and dendrites of nearby neurons
• Anaxonic neurons are very small, and if you look through a microscope at the standard resolution used in
histology (approximately 400X to 1000X total magnification), you will not be able to distinguish any process specifically
as an axon or a dendrite

• Any of those processes can function as an axon depending on the conditions at any given time. Nevertheless,
even if they cannot be easily seen, and one specific process is definitively the axon, these neurons have multiple
processes and are therefore multipolar

• Neurons can also be classified on the basis of where they are found, who found them, what they do, or even
what chemicals they use to communicate with each other. Some neurons are named on the basis of those sorts of
classifications . For example, a multipolar neuron that has a very important role to play in a part of the brain called the
cerebellum is known as a Purkinje (commonly pronounced per-KIN-gee) cell. It is named after the anatomist who
discovered it (Jan Evangilista Purkinje, 1787–1869)

• These cells have a single, long, nerve tract entering the bottom of the cell body. Two large nerve tracts typically
leave the top of the cell body but immediately branch many times to form a large web of nerve fibers.

• Therefore, the purkinje cell somewhat resembles a shrub or coral in shape. Pyramidal cells and olfactory cells are
two other examples of neurons named for these classifications
 • Neurons consist of three parts: the cell body, dendrites, and the axon

• The cell body contains the nucleus, where most of the molecules required by the neuron to survive and perform
various function are produced

• Dendrites extend out from the cell body like the branches of a tree and receive messages from other nerve cells
The shape and orientation of the dendritic tree of the neurone determines the amount and type of information that may reach
the neurone. The course of its axon determines to which neurones this information may be passed on. The location of the
neurone within the CNS determines to which major system the neurone belongs

• There are several hundred functionally different areas, i.e. groups of neurones, in the CNS. Based on their location, the shape
of their dendritic tree and the course of their axon, several thousand types of neurones can be distinguished in the CNS
 TYPES OF A NEURON

There are three kinds of neurons:

• Sensory neurons carry information from the sense organs (such as the eyes and
ears) to the brain.
• Motor neurons control voluntary muscle activity, such as walking and talking, and
carry messages from nerve cells in the brain to the muscles.
• Other neurons, all of which are called interneurons.
• Neuroscientists think that neurons are the most diverse kinds of cells in the body. Within these three
kinds of neurons are hundreds of different types, each able to send and receive messages in different
ways
• How these neurons communicate with each other by making connections is what makes each of
unique in how we think, feel, and act.
• Other Neuron Classifications. Three examples of neurons that are classified on the basis of other criteria.
(a) The pyramidal cell is a multipolar cell with a cell body that is shaped something like a pyramid.
(b) The Purkinje cell in the cerebellum was named after the scientist who originally described it.
(c) Olfactory neurons are named for the functional group with which they belong.
• Neuron Classification by Shape. Unipolar cells have one process that includes both the axon and dendrite. Bipolar
cells have two processes, the axon and a dendrite. Multipolar cells have more than two processes, the axon and two or
more dendrites
• Unipolar neurons have only one process emerging from the cell body which causes them to appear T-shaped. True
unipolar cells are only found in invertebrate animals, so the unipolar cells in humans are more appropriately called
“pseudo-unipolar” cells
• Human unipolar cells have an axon that emerges from the cell body, but it splits so that the axon can extend along
a very long distance. At one end of the axon are dendrites, and at the other end, the axon forms synaptic connections
with a target. Unipolar cells are exclusively sensory neurons and have two unique characteristics. First, their dendrites are
receiving sensory information, sometimes directly from the stimulus itself. Secondly, the cell bodies of unipolar neurons
are always found in ganglia
• Sensory reception is a peripheral function (those dendrites are in the periphery, perhaps in the skin) so the cell
body is in the periphery, though closer to the CNS in a ganglion. The axon projects from the dendrite endings, past the
cell body in a ganglion, and into the central nervous system

• Bipolar cells have two processes, which extend from each end of the cell body, opposite to each other. One is the
axon and one the dendrite, forming a straight line. Bipolar cells are not very common. They are found mainly in the
olfactory epithelium (where smell stimuli are sensed), and as part of the retina

• Multipolar neurons are all of the neurons that are not unipolar or bipolar. They have one axon and two or more
dendrites (usually many more). With the exception of the unipolar sensory ganglion cells, and the two specific bipolar
cells mentioned above, all other neurons are multipolar. Some cutting edge research suggests that certain neurons in the
CNS do not conform to the standard model of “one, and only one” axon. Some sources describe a fourth type of neuron,
called an anaxonic neuron.
• There are many neurons in the nervous system—a number in the trillions. And there are many different types
of neurons. They can be classified by many different criteria

• The first way to classify them is by the number of processes attached to the cell body. Using the standard
model of neurons, one of these processes is the axon, and the rest are Degenerated myelin. Because information
flows through the neuron from dendrites or cell bodies toward the axon, these names are based on the neuron’s
polarity
 The shape of the neurone and its processes
• Neurones have long processes, which extend from the part of the cell body around the nucleus, the perikaryon or
soma. The processes can be divided into two functionally and morphologically different groups, dendrites and axons
• Dendrites are part of the receptive surface of the neurone

• As a rule, neurones have one to several primary dendrites, which emerge from the perikaryon. Primary dendrites may
divide into secondary, tertiary etc. dendrites. Dendrites can be smooth, or they can be studded with small, mushroom-
shaped appendages, which are called spines as below

• Each neurone has one axon which emerges from the perikaryon or close to the trunks of one of the primary dendrites

• The point of origin of the axon from the perikaryon is the axon hillock. The axon may, like the dendrites, branch as it
travels through the nervous tissue to its destination(s). The axon is the "transmitting" process of the neurone

• The shape and orientation of the dendritic tree of the neurone determines the amount and type of information that
may reach the neurone

• The course of its axon determines to which neurones this information may be passed on. The location of the neurone
within the CNS determines to which major system the neurone belongs

• There are several hundred functionally different areas, i.e. groups of neurones, in the CNS. Based on their location, the
shape of their dendritic tree and the course of their axon, several thousand types of neurones can be distinguished in the
CNS.
 The shape of the neurone and its processes

H & E Stain SILVER Stain

• Signals then pass from the dendrites through the cell body and may travel away from the cell body down an axon
to another neuron, a muscle cell, or cells in some other organ

• Neuron are usually surrounded by several supporting cells. Some types of cells wrap around the axon to form an
insulating myelin sheath
• Myelin is a fatty molecule which provides insulation for the axon and helps nerve signals travel faster and farther

• Axons may be very short, such as those that carry signals from one cell in the cortex to another cell less than a
hair’s width away. Or axons may be very long, such as those that carry messages from the brain all the way down the
spinal cord
• The axon forms small, bulb-shaped swellings called boutons at the ends (terminal boutons) or along the course
(boutons) of its branches

• Synapses are morphologically specialised contacts between a bouton formed by one neurone, the presynaptic
Neurone and the cell surface of another neurone, the postsynaptic neurone as shown below
• Synaptic vesicles contain the neurotransmitters. Synaptic vesicles typically accumulate close to the site of contact
between the bouton and the postsynaptic neurone

• The release of the neurotransmitter from the synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft, i.e. the space between the
Bouton and the postsynaptic neurone, mediates the transfer of information from the pre- to the postsynaptic neurone
• Both the release of the synaptic vesicles and the mediation of the response to the transmitter require membrane
associated specialisations - the pre- and postsynaptic densities
The Synaptic activity
The Synaptic activity
 Neurotransmitters
• Neurotransmitters are chemicals substances that facilitates communication between brain cells. Neurotransmitters
either excite or inhibit the postsynaptic neurone

• Scientists have learned a great deal about neurons by studying the synapse, where a signal passes from
the neuron to another cell. When the signal reaches the end of the axon it stimulates the release of tiny vesicles.
These structures release chemicals substances known as neurotransmitters into the synapse

• The neurotransmitters cross the synapse and attach to receptors on the neighbouring cell. These receptors
can change the properties of the receiving cell. If the receiving cell is also a neuron, the signal can continue the
transmission to the next cell
• Based on their function, these neurotransmitters are classified into: (1). Excitatory neurotransmitters which make
cells more active and (b). Inhibitory neurotransmitters that block or dampen activity of cells

• The most prominent excitatory transmitter in the CNS is L-glutamate and the most prominent inhibitory transmitter
in the CNS is gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA).

• Acetylcholine is an excitatory neurotransmitter because it generally makes cells more excitable. It governs muscle
contractions and causes glands to secrete hormones. Alzheimer’s disease, which initially affects memory formation, is
associated with a shortage of acetylcholine

• Glutamate is a major excitatory neurotransmitter. Too much glutamate can kill or damage neurons and has been
linked to disorders including Parkinson's disease, stroke, seizures, and increased sensitivity to pain
• Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that helps control muscle activity and is an important
part of the visual system. Drugs that increase GABA levels in the brain are used to treat epileptic seizures and tremors in
patients with Huntington’s disease

• Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that constricts blood vessels and brings on sleep. It is also involved in temperature
regulation. Low levels of serotonin may cause sleep problems and depression, while too much serotonin can lead to seizures

• Dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in mood and the control of complex movements. The loss of
dopamine activity in some portions of the brain leads to the muscular rigidity of Parkinson’s disease. Many medications used
to treat behavioural disorders work by modifying the action of dopamine in the brain

• Other main neurotransmitters are noradrenaline and glycine

• Each neurone uses only one of the main neurotransmitters at all synaptic boutons that originate from the neurone.
One or more of the "minor" neurotransmitters including cholecystokinin, endogenous opioids, somatostatin, substance P)
may be used together with a main neurotransmitters

• The molecular machinery that is needed to mediate the events occurring at excitatory synapses differs from that at
inhibitory synapses

• Differences in the morphological appearances of the synapses accompany the functional differences. The pre-and
postsynaptic densities are typically of equal width, or symmetric, at inhibitory synapses

• The postsynaptic density is thicker than the presynaptic density at asymmetric synapses, which are typically excitatory
Receptors
• Usually there exists a multitude of receptors which are all sensitive to one particular neurotransmitter. Different
receptors have different response properties, i.e. they allow the flux of different ions over the plasma membrane of the
neurone or they may address different second messenger systems in the postsynaptic neurones

• The precise reaction of the neurone to the various neurotransmitters released onto its plasma membrane at the
synapses is determined by the types of receptors expressed by the neurone
 Death of Neurons
• Although neurons are the longest living cells in the body, large numbers of them die during migration and
differentiation. The lives of some neurons can take strange turns. Some diseases of the brain are the result of the unnatural
deaths of neurons

• In Parkinson’s disease, neurons that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine die off in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain
that controls body movements. This causes people with this disease to experience shaking, to move more slowly, and to have
problems with balance

• In Huntington’s disease, a genetic mutation causes neurons to create too much of a neurotransmitter called glutamate,
which kills neurons in the basal ganglia. As a result, people twist and move uncontrollably, and over time, they lose the ability
to do many everyday tasks like walking and eating. People with this disease typically have shorter lives than those without this
disease

• In Alzheimer’s disease, unusual proteins build up in and around neurons in the neocortex and hippocampus, the parts of the
brain that control memory. When these neurons die, people lose their abilities to remember and do everyday tasks.
• Physical damage to the brain and the spinal cord can also kill or disable neurons. Damage to the brain caused by shaking or
hitting the head, or because of a stroke, can kill neurons immediately or slowly, starving them of the oxygen and nutrients
they need to survive

• A spinal cord injury can cut off communication between the brain and the muscles. When neurons lose their connection to
the axons (the parts of neurons that send messages to other neurons) located below the site of injury, the neurons may still
live, but they lose their ability to communicate as shown blow
 Neuroglia
• Glial cells, or neuroglia or simply glia, are the other type of cell found in nervous tissue. They are considered to
be supporting cells, and many functions are directed at helping neurons complete their function for
communication

• The name glia comes from the Greek word that means “glue,” and was coined by the German pathologist
Rudolph Virchow, who wrote in 1856: “This connective substance, which is in the brain, the spinal cord, and the
special sense nerves, is a kind of glue (neuroglia) in which the nervous elements are planted.”

• Today, research into nervous tissue has shown that there are many deeper roles that these cells play. And
research may find much more about them in the future

• There are six types of glial cells. Four of them are found in the CNS and two are found in the PNS. The table
below outlines some common characteristics and functions
 Glial Cells of the CNS
• One cell providing support to neurons of the CNS is the astrocyte, so named because it appears to be star-shaped
under the microscope (astro- = “star”). Astrocytes have many processes extending from their main cell body (not axons
or dendrites like neurons, just cell extensions)

• Those processes extend to interact with neurons, blood vessels, or the connective tissue covering the CNS that is
• called the pia mater (Figure 4). Generally, they are supporting cells for the neurons in the central nervous system.

• Some ways in which they support neurons in the central nervous system are by maintaining the concentration of
chemicals in the extracellular space, removing excess signalling molecules, reacting to tissue damage, and contributing
to the blood-brain barrier (BBB)

• The blood-brain barrier is a physiological barrier that keeps many substances that circulate in the rest of the body
from getting into the central nervous system, restricting what can cross from circulating blood into the CNS

• Nutrient molecules, such as glucose or amino acids, can pass through the BBB, but other molecules cannot. This
actually causes problems with drug delivery to the CNS

• Pharmaceutical companies are challenged to design drugs that can cross the BBB as well as have an effect on the
nervous system
• The glial cells of the CNS consists astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, microglia, and ependymal cells that support the
neurons of the CNS in several ways

• Similar to other body parts, the brain has a constant blood supply with very little can passing through by diffusion.
allow most substances to cross the wall of a blood vessel into the CNS by active transport process. This because only
specific types of molecules can pass across BBB to the CNS

• For example Glucose as the primary energy source to body cells is allowed to pass as are amino acids. Water and
some other small particles, like gases and ions, can enter the CNS. But other substances cannot, including white blood
cells, which are one of the body’s main lines of defence

• While this barrier protects the CNS from exposure to toxic or pathogenic substances, it also keeps out the cells that
could protect the brain and spinal cord from disease and damage. The BBB also makes it harder for pharmaceutical
drugs to be developed that can affect the nervous system. Aside from finding efficacious substances, the means of
delivery is also crucial

• Many glial cells do express neurotransmitter receptors. Neuronal activity may regulate glial function by a spill over
of transmitter from synaptic sites, which are typically surrounded by fine processes of glial cells

• Occasionally, neurones also make synapse-like contacts with glia cells. Glial cells may also communicate with each
Other via GAP junctions.
 Glial Cell Types by Location and Basic
Function
CNS glia PNS glia Basic function
Astrocyte Satellite cell Support
Oligodendrocyte Schwann cell Insulation, myelination
Immune surveillance and
Microglia
phagocytosis
Lining ventricles of the brain,
Ependymal cell
creating CSF
 Astrocytes

• Astrocytes (or astroglia) are star-shaped cells as shown below. Their processes are often in contact with a blood vessel
(perivascular foot processes)
• Astrocytes provide mechanical and metabolic support to the neurones of the CNS. They participate in the maintenance
of the composition of the extracellular fluid
• Although not themselves directly involved in the process of communication between neurones, they may be involved in
the removal of transmitters from synapses and the metabolism of transmitters. Astrocytes are also the scar-forming cells of
the CNS.
 OLIGODENDROCYTES

• Oligodendrocytes (or oligoglia) have fewer and shorter processes. Oligodendrocytes form myelin sheath around axons
in the CNS and are the functional homologue of peripheral Schwann cells. Oligodendrocytes may, in contrast to Schwann
cells in the periphery, form parts of the myelin sheath around several axons

• Oligodendrocyte, sometimes called just “oligo,” which is the glial cell type that insulates axons in the CNS. The name
means “cell of a few branches” (oligo- = “few”; dendro- = “branches”; -cyte = “cell”)

• There are a few processes that extend from the cell body. Each one reaches out and surrounds an axon to insulate it in
myelin

• One oligodendrocyte will provide the myelin for multiple axon segments, either for the same axon or for
separate axons
 MICROGLIA CELLS
• Microglia are small cells with complex shapes, smaller than most of the other glial cells. They have rectangular bodies
and many dendrite like projections stemming from their shorter sides. The projections connect at the dendrites and are so
extensive that they give the microglial cell a fuzzy appearance

• Microglia in contrast to neurones and the other types of glial cells, are of mesodermal origin. They are derived from the
cell line which also gives rise to monocytes, i.e. macrophage precursors which circulate in the blood stream. In the case of
tissue damage, microglia can proliferate and differentiate into phagocytotic cells

• Microglia are the cells in the CNS that can do this in normal, healthy tissue, and they are therefore also referred to as
CNS-resident macrophages

• Ongoing research into these cells, although not entirely conclusive, suggests that they may originate as white blood
cells, called macrophages, that become part of the CNS during early development

• While their origin is not conclusively determined, their function is related to what macrophages do in the rest of the
body. When macrophages encounter diseased or damaged cells in the rest of the body, they ingest and digest those cells
or the pathogens that cause disease
MICROGLIA CELLS
 EPENDYMAL CELL
• The ependymal cell is a glial cell that filters blood to make cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), that circulates through
the CNS
• The ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the spinal cord are lined with ependymal cells as shown below.
• The cells are often ciliated and form a simple cuboidal or low columnar epithelium. Ependymal cells can specialise
into tanycytes, which are rarely ciliated and have long basal processes. Tanycytes form the ventricular lining over the few
CNS regions in which the blood-brain barrier is incomplete

• These glial cells appear similar to epithelial cells, making a single layer of cells with little intracellular space and tight
connections between adjacent cells. They also have cilia on their apical surface to help move the CSF through the
ventricular space. Ependymal cells line each ventricle, one of four central cavities that are remnants of the hollow
centre of the neural tube formed during the embryonic development of the brain, as well as the central canal of the
spinal cord

• The choroid plexus is a specialized structure in the ventricles where ependymal cells come in contact with blood
vessels and filter and absorb components of the blood to produce cerebrospinal fluid. Because of this, ependymal cells
can be considered a component of the BBB, or a place where the BBB breaks down

• Due to blood supply inherent in the BBB, the extracellular space in nervous tissue does not easily exchange
components with the blood. The lack of tight junctions between ependymal cells allows a free exchange between
cerebrospinal fluid and nervous tissue
• They do form tight junctions and control the exchange of substances between these regions and surrounding
nervous tissue or cerebrospinal fluid
EPENDYMAL CELL