PHAR 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Central Nervous System, Neurotransmission, Brainstem

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Course: PHAR 100
• Professor: Bill Racz

Document Summary

All nervous system tissues outside of cns. Conducts signal to and from the brain. Divided into two hemispheres: left and right. Subdivided into 4 lobes: occipital: vision, temporal: hearing, parietal: sensory perception, frontal: higher-level cognitive functions. Relay station for sensory and motor information to cerebral cortex: hypothalamus. Integration of the autonomic nervous system: e. g. sleeping, body temperature. Controls hormonal output of the pituitary gland: e. g. hormone releasing factors, pituitary gland. Cns: brainstem: connected to upper part of spinal cord, divided into three parts. Medulla: all impulses between brain and spinal cord pass through brainstem, regulation of vital body functions. E. g. blood pressure, heart rate, respiration: behavioural responses. Cns: cerebellum: connected to brainstem by large fibre tracts, integration of movement and posture. Does not initiate movement, but organizes voluntary activity initiated elsewhere: alcohol: depresses cerebellum, causing loss of balance and co-ordination (drunkenness) The neuron: a nerve cell capable of generating and transmitting electrical signals, basic functional cell of the nervous system.