Nervous System

The nervous system has two components, the central nervous system and the
peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system (CNS) consist of the brain and
the spinal cord. It receives and sorts out information coming from the environment and
from inside the body and determines the appropriate action. The peripheral nervous
system (PNS) is made up of nerves that extend throughout the body. These are 12
pairs of cranial nerves arising from the brain and 31 pairs of spinal nerves arising from
the spinal cord. It is through these nerve cells that communication between the central
nervous system and the body tissues take place. The peripheral nervous system has
two divisions-the somatic and autonomic divisions. The somatic division communicates
with the skin and skeletal muscles while the autonomic division communicates with
smooth muscles, heart muscles and glands. There are two groups of nerves in the
autonomic division. These are the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nerves which
have the opposite effect on the same body processes.
Three important functions of the NS
1. It receives information from the environment and inside the body.
2. It interprets the information it receives.
3. It makes the body respond to the information.
Neurons
Is the basic unit of structure and function of the nervous system. It carries information
from one place in the body to another. There are three types of neurons, the sensory,
motor and associative neurons. They differ in shape, location and function. Sensory
neurons connect the sense organs to the CNS. The information that the sense organs
get from the environment reaches the brain through the sensory neurons. Motor
neurons carry messages from the CNS to muscles and glands throughout the body.
Associative neurons carry information between two neurons.
Spinal Cord
The spinal cord is a part of the CNS. It begins at the base of the skull and extends
throughout most of the backbone or vertebral column. It is the link between the PNS
and the brain. Sensory messages from the sense organs pass upward through the
spinal cord to the brain. The spinal cord can also handle some information coming from
the senses and provide motor responses that do not come from the brain.
The Brain
The brain is a mass of billions of neurons and has three parts-the brain stem, the
cerebellum and the cerebrum. The brain is the body’s control center. It receives
messages from and sends messages to all organs and tissues of the body. It controls
both voluntary and involuntary activities. The brain gives us the ability to learn, to
reason and to feel.