An Overview of the Nervous System (pp.428-430)

1. Subdivisions of the nervous system
   a.  Central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
   b.  Peripheral nervous system
   
   • Cranial and spinal nerves
   • Somatic and autonomic divisions
2. Functions of the nervous system
   a.  Sensory function and afferent neurons
   b.  Integrative function and interneurons
   c.  Responsive function and efferent neurons
   
3. Properties of nerve cells
   a.  Excitability
   b.  Conductivity
   c.  Secretion of chemical messengers
   
4. The nervous and endocrine systems compared (table 13.1)
   

Cells of the Nervous System (pp.430-437)

1. Neuroglia (table 13.2)
   a.  Schwann cells
   b.  Satellite cells
   c.  Oligodendrocytes
   d.  Astrocytes
   e.  Ependymal cells
   f.  Microglia
   
2. Structure of a representative neuron
   a.  Soma (cell body)
   b.  Dendrites
   c.  Axon hillock
   d.  Axon (nerve fiber)
   
   • Axoplasm and axolemma
   • Collaterals
   • Terminal arborization
   • Synaptic knobs
   • Fiber types A, B, and C (table 13.3)
3. Schwann cells and myelin
   a.  Neurilemma
   b.  Formation of myelin sheath
   c.  Nodes of Ranvier and internodes
   d.  Initial segment and trigger zone
   
4. Unmyelinated nerve fibers
   
5. Structural diversity in neurons
   a.  Multipolar neurons
   b.  Bipolar neurons
   c.  Unipolar neurons
   
6. Axonal transport (table 13.4)
   a.  General functions
   b.  Fast axonal transport
   
   • Anterograde
   • Retrograde
   c.  Slow axonal transport
   
7. Regeneration of nerve fibers
   

Electrophysiology of Neurons (pp.437-446)

1. Concepts in review
   a.  Resting membrane potential
   b.  Depolarization and repolarization
   c.  Role of the Na⁺-K⁺ pump
   d.  Electrical potentials and currents
   
2. Local potentials
   a.  Role of the current sink
   b.  Characteristics of local potentials
   
   • Graded
   • Decremental
   • Local
   • Reversible
   • Excitatory or inhibitory
3. Action potentials
   a.  Necessity of voltage-gated ion channels
   b.  Current sink and generator potential
   c.  Threshold
   d.  Action of Na⁺ and K⁺ gates
   e.  Depolarization and repolarization
   f.  Hyperpolarization
   g.  Spikes
   h.  All-or-none law
   
4. Refractory period
   a.  Absolute
   b.  Relative
   
5. Signal conduction in unmyelinated fibers
   
6. Signal conduction in myelinated fibers
   a.  Conduction in internodes
   b.  Nodes of Ranvier
   c.  Saltatory conduction
   

Synapses (pp.446-452)

1. Presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons
   
2. Axodendritic, axosomatic, and axoaxonic synapses
   
3. Discovery of neurotransmitters
   
4. Electrical and chemical synapses
   
5. Structure of a chemical synapse
   a.  Presynaptic neuron
   
   • Synaptic knob
   • Synaptic vesicles
   b.  Postsynaptic neuron
   
   • Neurotransmitter receptors
   • Absence of synaptic vesicles
6. Neurotransmitters and related messengers (table 13.6)
   a.  Acetylcholine
   b.  Amino acids
   c.  Biogenic amines (monoamines)
   d.  Neuropeptides
   
7. Synaptic transmission
   a.  Arrival of nerve impulse
   b.  Opening of Ca²⁺ gates
   c.  Exocytosis of synaptic vesicles
   d.  Reloading of synaptic vesicles
   e.  Binding of transmitter to receptor
   f.  Na⁺ influx, K⁺ efflux
   g.  Local postsynaptic potential (PSP)
   h.  Synaptic delay
   i.  Ionotropic and metabotropic effects
   
8. Cessation of the signal
   a.  Diffusion from synaptic cleft
   b.  Reuptake of neurotransmitter
   c.  Degradation of neurotransmitter
   
9. Other modes of chemical communication
   a.  Neuropeptides
   b.  Neuromodulators
   c.  Gases
   

Neural Integration (pp.452-457)

1. Why synapses exist
   
2. Postsynaptic potentials
   a.  Excitatory (EPSPs)
   b.  Inhibitory (IPSPs)
   
3. Summation and facilitation
   a.  Temporal summation
   b.  Spatial summation
   c.  Facilitation
   
4. Neural coding
   a.  Qualitative information
   b.  Quantitative information
   
   • Recruitment
   • Firing frequency
   • Relation to refractory period
5. Synaptic potentiation and inhibition
   a.  Tetanic potentiation
   b.  Posttetanic potentiation
   c.  Long-term potentiation
   d.  Presynaptic inhibition
   
6. Neuronal pools
   a.  Discharge zone
   b.  Facilitated zone
   
7. Neuronal circuits
   a.  Diverging
   b.  Converging
   c.  Reverberating
   d.  Parallel after-discharge
   

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