“Men ought to know that from nothing else but the brain comes the joys,

delights, laughter and sports, sorrows, grief, despondency, and

lamentations. And by this, in a special manner, we acquire wisdom and

knowledge, and see and hear and know what are foul and what are fair, what

are bad and what are good, what are sweet and what are unsavory…

And by the same organ we become mad and delirious, and fears and terrors

assail us. All these things we endure from the brain when it is not healthy…

in these ways I am of the opinion that the brain exercises the greatest power

in the man.” Hippocrates – ca. 400 B.C.

S. Ramon y Cajal

Generic Neuron…

Parts of a synapse…

Distinctive dendrites…

GABA

Glu

Neurons have distinct axonal patterns

…into clusters or “nuclei”

…into laminae or layers

Neurons tend to group ...so do axons

White matter

Chick embryo

Head and

Body axis

Bo

dy a

xis

Head axis

Caudal

Caudal

Rostral

Rostral

Dorsal

Dorsal

(or Superior)

Ventral

Ventral

(or Inferior)

Ventral

(or Anterior)

Dorsal

(or Posterior)

Some terminology…

Sagittal

Planes of view

Brainstem

Thalamus

Cerebral cortex

Spinal cord

Cerebellum

A’ B’

B A C

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

1

2

2

3

3

Some principles of neural systems