Nes- grade 9- unit 1

Edited by: Aliaa Muhammed

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Multicellular organisms need
a way for cells to
communicate with one
another. This has led to
the development of nervous
communication systems, as
well as hormonal systems.
The nervous system
uses electrical impulses to
bring about fast, but
short-lived response

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The human nervous system
consists of:
the central nervous •
system (CNS) – the brain and
spinal cord
the peripheral nervous •
system – nerve cells that
carry information to or from
the CNS

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Receptors are groups of
specialised cells. They can
detect a change in the
environment (stimulus) and
produce electrical
impulses in (response).
Sense organs contain
groups of receptors that
respond to
specific stimuli.

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Sense organ Stimulus
Skin Touch, temperature

Chemicals (in food and

Tongue
drink, for example)

Chemicals (in the air, for

Nose
example)

Eye Light

Ear Sound

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Effectors are parts of the
body - such as muscles
and glands - that produce
a response to a detected
stimulus. For
example:
a muscle contracting to
move
an arm

Muscles squeezing saliva

from the salivary gland

a gland releasing
a hormon into the blood
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Nerve cells are also called neurones. They are adapted
to carry electrical impulses from and to different body
parts:
they have a long fiber (axon) which is insulated by a •
fatty sheath
they have tiny branches which branch further •
as dendrites at each end

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There are 3 types of neurons

1. Sensory neurons: conveys the signal from the

receptors to the central nervous system.

2. Motor neurons: transmit the signal from the

central nervous system to the receptor organ.

3. Relay neurons: Neurons in the brain and the

spinal cord. They connect the sensory and the
motor neurons.
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Two neurons do not make direct
contact. Where they meet, there
is a very small gap called
a synapse. The signal needs to
cross this gap to continue on its
journey to, or from, the CNS.
This is done by means of
chemicals called
neurotransmitters
which diffuse across the gap
between the two neurons . The
presence of neurotransmitters in
synapses guarantees that the
impulse is transmitted in only
one direction where the
receptors will be 9
1.An electrical impulse travels along
an axon.

1.This triggers the nerve-ending of a

neuron to release chemical
messengers called neurotransmitters.

2.Neurotransmitters diffuse across

the synapse (the gap) and bind with
receptor molecules on the membrane
of the dendrite of the next neuron.

3.The receptor molecules on the

second neuron bind only to the
neurotransmitters released from the
first neuron.

4. This stimulates the second neuron

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to transmit the electrical impulse.
.

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A reflex action is a
rapid, involuntry,
subconcious and
automatically co-
ordinated response as a
way for the body to
minimise any further
damage to the body. It
follows this general
sequence and does not
involve the conscious
parts of the brain:

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1. Receptors in the skin detect a stimulus (the change
in temperature).
2. Sensory neurons send impulses to relay neurone.
3. Motor neurons send impulses to effector.
4. Effector produces a response (muscle contracts to
move hand away

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The way the iris in our eye
adjusts the size of the pupil in
response to bright or dim light is a
reflex action if too much light
enters the eye it can cause
serious damage
In bright light:
radial muscles of the iris relax
circular muscles of the iris
contract
less light enters the eye through
the contracted pupil
In dim light:
radial muscles of the iris contract
circular muscles of the iris relax
more light enters the eye through
the dilated pupil
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The eye is a sense organ
that responds to light.

Light enters through the

pupil, and is focused by the
cornea and the lens onto the
retina. The shape of the lens
can be changed by the ciliary
muscles so that the image
always comes to a sharp
focus at the retina.
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 Lens: changes shape to focus light on retina
 Ciliary muscles: contracts and relaxes to adjust thickness of the
lens
 Suspensory ligaments: loosens and tightens to adjust thickness of
lens
 Iris: widens and narrows to control amount of light entering the
eye depending on light intensity
 Choroid: middle layer surrounding the eye. It contains many blood
vessels
 Sclera: outer most tough, protective layer of the eye.
 Retina: inner most layer. It is sensitive to light and it is where the
fovea is and it has rods and cons
 Fovea: very light sensitive spot
 Blind spot: Where the optic nerve touches the eye. No light
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sensitive cells in this area.
• The ability of the lens to change its shape to focus near and
distant objects is called accommodation. The following table
will show how accommodation works in relation to the eye
structure
• Light is focused onto the retina by (1). refraction at the
cornea, and by (2). the lens. The lens changes shape to make
the fine adjustments needed to produce a sharp image. This is
called accommodation. As we get older, accommodation
becomes slower and weaker.

Object Ciliary Suspensory Muscle Lens shape

muscles ligaments tension on
lens

near contract slackened low thick

distant relax stretched high thin 19

Accommodation

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• The retina is a thin layer of specialized cells located at the
back of your eye. It helps specialised neurons called
photoreceptors to transmit the information provided by light
to our brain. Of the most common receptors are rods and
cones. If we think of our eyes as a camera so the retina will
be the film.

• Rods are very sensitive to light but do not distinguish

colors. They help us distinguish between light and dark.
They are very light-sensitive, so we use them to see in dim
light. This is why our vision appears to be grey in dim light.

• Cones are less sensative to light but can distinguish colors.

they cannot function well without bright light.

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 The blind spot
Blind spot, small portion of the visual field of each eye that
corresponds to the position of the optic nerve head within the
retina. here are no photoreceptors (i.e., rods or cones) and,
therefore, there is no image detection in this area.

The blind spot of the right eye is located to the right of the centre
of vision and vice versa in the left eye. With both eyes open, the
blind spots are not perceived because the visual fields of the two
eyes overlap. Indeed, even with one eye closed, the blind spot
can be difficult to detect subjectively because of the ability of the
brain to “fill in” or ignore the missing portion of the image

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