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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 1
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.

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Introduction to neurobiology

Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 2
Introduction to neurobiology
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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 3
Organisation 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…

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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 4
Neurones

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]

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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 5
Anatomical regions of the brain

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,…

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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 6
Cerebrum

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…
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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 7
Lobes of the brain

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…

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Neurosynaptic transmission

Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 8
Neurosynaptic transmission
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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 9
Neurotransmission

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…

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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 10
The synapse

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…

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Mental Health – Fundamentals of Neurobiology – slide 11
Process of chemical neurotransmission

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…

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