Coordination and Response

Nervous control in humans 

Human nervous system is composed of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral
nervous system. 

The CNS is the brain and the spinal cord, whereas the peripheral nervous system is the nerves
and neurons which connect the CNS to the rest of the body. 

Nervous impulses are electrical signals that pass along neurons to transmit information to and
from the brain. 

The general nervous pathway 

We have various sense organs in our body. Sense organs have the ability to detect certain
sensory stimuli.

 Skin = touch i.e. pain, pressure, temperature etc. 

 Eyes = light 
 Nose = smell 
 Ears = noise
 Tongue = taste 

When these sense organs detect stimuli, they send raw information to the brain (CNS) via
nervous impulses in the sensory neurons. 

The brain then interprets the information. If an action is required, then the brain will send
impulses to the relevant muscles via motor neurons to carry out this action. These muscles are
called effectors. 

Sensory receptor -> Sensory neuron -> CNS -> Motor neuron -> Effector 
Example

“Imagine touching a very hot pan, causing you to IMMEDIATELY take your hands off it.”

 The skin (sense organ) detects high heat 

 Instead of nerve impulses being sent to the brain and awaiting it’s response, the
information is transmitted straight from the sensory neurons to the motor neurons 
 Motor neurons then transmit impulses to the hand/arm muscles 
 The muscles immediately take the hand off the pan 

This is a prime example of a reflex arc. If we had awaited the brain to tell the muscles to take our
hands off the high heat, then it would take too long. 

Instead, we are instinctively able to carry out this action WITHOUT the brain telling us to do so
because of this reflex arc.

Tongue -> Sensory neuron -> Motor neuron -> Tongue/mouth muscles

This is an example of an involuntary action i.e. an action which is instinctive and not by choice. 

Neurons
There are three different types of neurons that you need to be aware of. 

Sensory neurons

Sensory neurons carry impulses from sense organ to the brain (CNS). 

Motor neurons

Motor neurons carry information from the brain to the effector

Relay neurons

Relay neurons connect a sensory neuron to a motor neuron in a reflex arc 

 
Reflex arc 
As we discussed above, a reflex arc allows an immediate response to certain stimuli by
bypassing the brain (CNS).

Synapses
A synapse is a junction between two neurons. 

The function of a synapse is to ensure a single direction of neuronal transmission. 

Consider impulses passing from neuron A to neuron B. The space between the two neurons is the
synapse. 

 Neuron A = pre-synaptic neuron 

 Neuron B = post-synaptic neuron

The presynaptic neuron (neuron A) has vesicles which contain neurotransmitters. When
electrical impulses reach the pre-synaptic neuron (neuron B), these vesicles release the
neurotransmitters into the synapse. 

The neurotransmitters then diffuse across the synapse and bind to specific, corresponding
receptors on the post-synaptic neuron.

This allows the electrical impulses to be transmitted to, and carried along neuron B (post-
synaptic neuron). 

The human eye 

Structure and function

It is important to understand how the eyes work. 

1. Light rays hit the cornea 

2. The cornea refracts (bends) light 
3. Light passes through the pupils 
4. The lens refracts light further to focus it onto the fovea
5. The fovea contains light receptors that transmit electrical impulses to the brain 
6. The brain interprets these impulses and gives us what we call ‘vision’ 
  Cornea – Refracts light 
 Lens – Focuses light onto the retina 
 Iris – Controls pupil size 
 Pupil – Controls the amount of light entering the eye 
 Optic nerves – Carries impulses to the brain 
 Retina – Contains light receptors called rods (responsible for night vision) and cones
(responsible for color vision)
 Fovea – An area of the retina where most of the light is focused on, and has a very high
density of cones

Pupil reflex

Light enters the light via the pupils. While too much light can damage the retina, too little light
makes it very difficult to see. 

The pupil reflex is designed to appropriately control the level of light that entering the eyes.
They become smaller in bright conditions and larger in dim conditions. 

There are two muscles of the iris that control the diameter of the pupils. 

1. Circular muscles 
2. Radial muscles 

 
Accommodation

Accommodation is how the lens changes shape in order to fine focus the light directly onto the
fovea.

It does so by bending/refracting incoming light rays so that it converges onto the fovea. 

 Light rays from a distant object are parallel so it takes less effort for the lens to focus it
 Light rays from a close object are divergent so it takes more effort for the lens to focus it

For a distant object, ciliary muscles are relaxed. This allows suspensory ligaments to pull tightly
on each side of the lens. The lens therefore becomes stretched and thin. A thin lens has less
power, and therefore bends light less. 

For a near object, ciliary muscles are contracted. This allows the suspensory ligaments to loosen.
The lens thus becomes thicker.  A thicker lens has more power, and therefore bends light more. 
Hormones in humans 
Hormones are defined as a chemical substances produced by an endocrine gland and carried by
blood which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs. 

Examples

 Adrenal gland secretes adrenalin 

 Pancreas secretes insulin & glucagon 
 Testes secrete testosterone 
 Ovaries secrete oestrogen

Adrenaline

Adrenaline is a hormone secreted in fight or flight situations. 

It increases blood supply to the necessary parts of the body to cope with a dangerous situation. 

Adrenaline has multiple effects on the body: 

 Increased breathing rate 

 Increased heart rate
 Secretion of glucose from the liver 
 Pupil dilation

Nervous system vs hormonal system

There are some key differences between the nervous system and the hormonal system. 

Hormonal control: 

 Chemical transmission 
 Blood pathway 
 Slow speeds of transmission 
 Long-term effect

Nervous control 

 Electrical transmission 
 Nervous pathway 
 Fast speeds 
 Short-term effect