Fundamentals of Neurobiology

To understand psychiatric disorders, it is important to have a working understanding of the normal structure and function of the nervous system.

To understand psychiatric disorders, it is important to have a working understanding of the normal structure and function of the nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS; brain, spinal cord) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) are made up of…

The neurone constitutes the functional unit of the nervous system; there are over 100 billion neurones in the brain.^[1,2,5] Each neurone has the ability to interact with and influence many other cells, which creates a system of intricate complexity.^[5]…

The brain is divided into four anatomical regions: the diencephalon, brainstem, cerebrum, and cerebellum, as described on the slide.^[1,2]

References: [1] Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (eds). Principles of Neural Science. 4th edition. McGraw-Hill,…

The cerebral cortex is the main functional unit of the cerebrum.^[2] The three main functional areas of the cerebral cortex are:^[1,2]

• motor areas that control voluntary movement (primary, secondary, and association motor areas)
• sensory areas that allow for…

The brain can be thought of as comprising five ‘lobes’ – the four lobes of the cerebral cortex and a fifth lobe, the insula, deep within the brain, as shown on the slide.^[1,2,3] The lobes of the cerebral cortex…

Information moves through the nervous system via two integrated forms of communication – electrical neurotransmission and chemical neurotransmission, as shown on the slide.^[1]

An action potential is generated at the origin of the axon following sufficient excitatory stimulation of…

Neurones do not physically touch one another; two neurones are separated by a gap, known as a synaptic cleft.^[1] Because neurones do not touch, and an action potential cannot ‘jump’ across a synaptic cleft, the signal must be converted…

The idea that neurotransmission occurs at synapses and is mediated by chemicals was, at first, a contentious issue.^[1] It was in the first half of the 1900s that experiments proved chemical neurotransmission occurred.^[1] 

The process is outlined in brief…