Biological basis of human behaviour

CONTENTS

1) Brain, its structure and functions.

2) Neurons, neural transmissions, synaptic transmission-overview.

 HUMAN BRAIN
• Human brain is an amazing three pound organ that controls all functions of
the body, interprets information from the outside world, and embodies the
essence of the mind and soul.
• It is protected within the skull, composed of the cerebrum, cerebellum and
brain stem.
• The human brain is one of the most complex systems on earth.
• The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system, which
alongside the peripheral nervous system is responsible for regulating all bodily
functions.
 STRUCTURE OF THE BRAIN
• The human brain is split up into three major layers: the hindbrain, the
midbrain, and the forebrain.
• The hindbrain is the well-protected central core of the brain. It includes the
cerebellum, reticular formation, and brain stem, which are responsible
for some of the most basic autonomic functions of life, such as breathing
and movement. The brain stem contains the pons and medulla
oblongata.
• The midbrain makes up part of the brain stem. It is located between the
hindbrain and forebrain. All sensory and motor information that travels
between the forebrain and the spinal cord passes through the midbrain,
making it a relay station for the central nervous system.
• The forebrain is the most anterior division of the developing vertebrate
brain, containing the most complex networks in the central nervous
system.
• The forebrain has two major divisions: the diencephalon and the
telencephalon. The diencephalon is lower, containing the thalamus and
hypothalamus (which together form the limbic system);
• the telencephalon is on top of the diencephalon and contains the
cerebrum, the home of the highest-level cognitive processing in the
brain.
• It is the large and complicated forebrain that distinguishes the human
brain from other vertebrate brains.
 CEREBRAL CORTEX
• In humans, Cerebrum comprising the cerebral cortex and several subcortical
structures, including the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb.
• The cerebrum is composed of Gray and white matter. Gray matter is the mass of
all the cell bodies, dendrites, and synapses of neurons interlaced with one
another, while white matter consists of the long, myelin-coated axons of those
neurons connecting masses of Gray matter to each other.
• The cerebral cortex, the largest part of the brain, is the ultimate control and
information-processing centre in the brain.
• The grey, folded, outermost layer of the cerebrum responsible for higher brain
processes such as sensation, voluntary muscle movement, thought, reasoning,
and memory.
 The cerebrum is divided into two halves; the right and left
hemispheres.
 They are joined by a bundle of fibres called corpus callosum that
transmits messages from one side to the other.
 Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body.
 In general, the left hemisphere controls speech, comprehension,
arithmetic and writing. The right hemisphere controls creativity,
spatial ability, artistic and musical skills.
 The left hemisphere is dominant in hand use and language in about 92
% of people.
• The cortex is made of layers of neurons with many inputs.
these cortical neurons function like mini microprocessors or
logic gates. It contains glial cells, which guide neural
connections, provide nutrients and myelin to neurons, and
absorb extra ions and neurotransmitters.
• The cortex is wrinkly in appearance. The “valleys” of the
wrinkles are called sulci (or sometimes, fissures); the “peaks”
between wrinkles are called gyri. One notable sulcus is the
central sulcus, or the wrinkle dividing the parietal lobe from
the frontal lobe.
• The cerebral hemispheres have distinct fissures which
divide the brain into lobes. Each hemisphere has 4 lobes;
frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital.
 neurons
• A neuron can be defined as a nerve cell. The neuron is often thought of as the
"building block" of the nervous system.
• Neurons are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, the cells
responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending
motor commands to our muscles, and for transforming and relaying the
electrical signals at every step in between.
• The human neural system is divided into two parts :
(i) the central neural system (CNS)
(ii) the peripheral neural system (PNS)
• The CNS includes the brain and the spinal cord and is the site of information
processing and control. The PNS comprises of all the nerves of the body
associated with the CNS (brain and spinal cord).
TYPES OF NEURONS
NEURONS FUNCTION NEURONS CHARECTARISTICS

Sensory neurons carry messages from Unipolar that only have one
the "outside world", the projection that includes both
sensory receptors, to the dendrite and axon.
the spinal cord
and brain
Motor neurons carry the messages to
Bipolar There are also neurons that
the "outside
have only one dendritic
world“.
projection
Interneurons typically found in
integrative areas of the
Multipolar the "typical" neuron has
CNS, are limited to a
multiple dendritic
single brain area.
projections and one axon
from the soma.
 TRANSMISSION OF IMPULSES

• Neurotransmission (or synaptic transmission) is communication between

neurons as accomplished by the movement of chemicals or electrical
signals across a synapse.
• For any interneuron, its function is to receive INPUT "information" from other
neurons through synapses, to process that information, then to send
"information" as OUTPUT to other neurons through synapses.
• A nerve impulse is transmitted from one neuron to another through junctions
called synapses. The membranes of the pre- and post-synaptic neurons are
separated by a fluid-filled space called synaptic cleft.
• Chemicals called neurotransmitters are involved in the transmission of
impulses at these synapses. The axon terminals contain vesicles filled with
these neurotransmitters.
• When an impulse (action potential) arrives at the axon terminal, it stimulates the
movement of the synaptic vesicles towards the membrane where they fuse with
the plasma membrane and release their neurotransmitters in the synaptic cleft.
• The released neurotransmitters bind to their specific receptors, present on the
post-synaptic membrane. This binding opens ion channels allowing the entry of
ions which can generate a new potential in the post-synaptic neuron.
Terminal buttons of a neuron (axon terminals) contain the chemical
messengers, neurotransmitters, chemical messengers are responsible for
communication among neurons.
 REFERENCES

• https://mayfieldclinic.com/pe-anatbrain.htm
• https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/
anatomy-of-the-brain#:~:text=The%20brain%20is%20a%20compl
ex,central%20nervous%20system%2C%20or%20CNS
.
• Mohan, A. (2014). Neural Control and Coordination.
• Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Ruiz, P. (2015). Kaplan &
Sadock's synopsis of psychiatry: Behavioral sciences/clinical
psychiatry (Eleventh edition.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
• Stufflebeam, R. (2008). Neurons, synapses, action potentials,
and neurotransmission. Consortium on Cognitive Science
THANK YOU