SMARTER UK – RESOURCES FOR SCHOOLS Please feel free to use this PowerPoint presentation in the classroom. It is intended to support the KS3 & KS4 curriculum and the Scottish S3-S4 curriculum. KEY LEARNING: The structure of the brain and how the central nervous system works, including information about what happens at a synapse and information about how our brains adapt and change. Specific curriculum areas include: KS4 GCSE Biology Syllabuses OCR 3.3 Fundamental Scientific Processes. Module B1d – The nervous system Foundation tier only: low demand Name and locate the main parts of the nervous system, to include: the central nervous system (CNS) (brain and spinal cord) the peripheral nervous system Both tiers: standard demand Name and locate the parts of a motor neurone: cell body, axon and sheath. Recall that the nerve impulse passes along the axon of a neurone. Higher tier only: high demand Recall that the gap between neurones is called a synapse. Describe how an impulse triggers the release of a transmitter substance in a synapse and how it diffuses across to bind with receptor molecules in the membrane of the next neurone causing the impulse to continue. OCR 21st Century Science MODULE B6: BRAIN AND MIND – OVERVIEW B6.2 How is information passed through the nervous system? Structure of motor neurons; transmission of electrical impulses, including synapses. AQA 11.1 How do human bodies respond to changes inside them and their environment? The nervous system enables humans to react to their surroundings and coordinate their behaviour. Information from receptors passes along cells (neurones) in nerves to the brain. The brain coordinates the response. The role of receptors, sensory neurones, motor neurones, relay neurones, synapses and effectors in simple reflex actions. Edexcel Topic 2: Responses to a changing environment 2.19) Recall that the central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord and is linked to sense organs by nerves 2.20) Explain the structure and function of dendrons and axons in the nervous system 2.21) Describe how stimulation of receptors in the sense organs sends electrical impulses along neurones 2.23) Describe the structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurones and synapses Scottish S3-S4 science Biological Systems - Body systems and Cells SCN 2-12a I have explored the structure and function of organs and organ systems and can relate this to the basic biological processes to sustain life. Scottish Certificate in Education, Standard Grade Biology. Topic 5: The body in action. Subtopic c: Coordination 18) Examine the gross structure of the nervous system of a mammal. 19) Obtain and present information on the flow of information in the nervous system. State that the nerves carry information from the senses to the central nervous system and from the central nervous system to the muscles. 20) Obtain and present information on the three main parts of the brain. Identify the cerebrum, cerebellum and the medulla and state their functions in simple terms.

Your brain and nervous system How does it work?

peripheral nervous system (PNS) your nervous system is divided into the central nervous system (CNS) which is the brain and spinal cord Medical Art Service, Munich /, Wellcome Images and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) Credit Medical Art Service, Munich /, Wellcome Images which connects everything to the brain and spinal cord Smarter UK N0022597 N0022610 

your brain Different parts of your brain have different functions… interprets the information it gets though your senses in order to monitor and regulate your body as well as being responsible for thinking, learning, memory and emotion Different parts of your brain have different functions…  Credit: Heidi Cartwright, Wellcome Images  Smarter UK B0005749

Cerebral cortex Corpus callosum Brain stem Cerebellum different regions have different functions Cerebral cortex Functions include: planning; reasoning; language; recognising sounds and images; memory. Corpus callosum connects the brain’s right and left hemispheres Cerebellum important for coordination, precision and timing of movement Brain stem regulates heart rate, breathing, sleep cycles and emotions Credit: Mark Lythgoe & Chloe Hutton, Wellcome Images Smarter UK

axon structure of a neurone nerve endings dendrites myelin sheath the cells of the nervous system are called neurones nerve endings dendrites myelin sheath cell body nucleus axon structure of a neurone Smarter UK

there are different types of neurone sense organ direction of electrical signal dendrites cell body myelin sheath axon muscle nerve endings motor neurone sensory neurone relay neurone sends signals from your sense organs connects neurones to other neurones sends signals to your muscles to tell them to move Smarter UK

But what happens when the signal reaches the end of the axon? neurones communicate with each other using a mixture of electrical & chemical signals nerve endings dendrites But what happens when the signal reaches the end of the axon? myelin sheath cell body an electrical signal is transmitted along the axon nucleus axon Smarter UK

signals cross between neurones at the synapse nerve endings dendrites neurotransmitter vesicle synaptic cleft receptor myelin sheath cell body the signal is transmitted to another neurone across a junction called a synapse by chemicals called neurotransmitters. nucleus axon Smarter UK

signals cross between neurones at the synapse electrical impulse triggers vesicles to move to the synapse membrane 1 synapse vesicles fuse with the membrane and release neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft 2 nerve endings dendrites neurotransmitter diffuses across the cleft and binds to receptors on the other side 3 neurotransmitter vesicle synaptic cleft receptor myelin sheath cell body the signal is transmitted to another neurone across a junction called a synapse by chemicals called neurotransmitters. nucleus Once enough receptors have neurotransmitters bound to them, the signal is transmitted… 4 axon Smarter UK

The point where your muscles and nervous system meet is called the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) Signals sent from your central nervous system to the NMJ tell muscles to move The synapses at the NMJ use a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine Smarter UK

Your brain changes and adapts What happens as our brains mature?

your brain changes and adapts all the time and all through your life your brain learns and forms memories by strengthening synapses that are used a lot and weakening those that are used less often Credit Marina Caruso, Wellcome Images Smarter UK

Between birth and age 3 your brain makes lots of new synapses What happens as you grow? Between birth and age 3 your brain makes lots of new synapses A toddler has 2-3 times more synapses than an adult As your brain matures, it prunes synapses to make it more efficient During adolescence your brain has a major tidy-up and gets rid of lots of connections it isn’t using This is a critical and delicate process. It is thought that conditions such as schizophrenia could be the result of it going wrong Some evidence suggests that using drugs can disrupt this process